So I might be the worst at blogging....but more likely there has just been so much going on recently that I just have not had the time to sit down and think/reflect.
I have still been working on the wastewater documents. Slowly but surely I will get through that backlog! Its amazing the records that have been kept over the past 6 years!
The HR survey I have been developing finally went out for respondents this week, which is both exciting and scary. I just hope people respond and that it is easy to use and understand. I think it will be quick and we will get some great data back.
The new stuff has been really exciting also! Last week Vickie and I attended the Arizona City/County Managers Association conference in Tucson. It is the state branch of the International City/County Manager's Association, and is a place where managers and other leaders from towns, cities and counties all over the state come for professional development. It was a three and half day conference and each day was broken up into continuing education type sessions. I really enjoyed the citizen's engagement talk and got a lot of great ideas for the new commissions system we are working on, as well as the sustainability and green government discussion. Recycling and others types of conservation is something that I am really into, not in a crazy hippie way, but a normal and reasonable way. I do not drive to work on french fry oil or anything, but I am a bit of a recycling dictator...So it was really interesting to see how, in this instance, Maricopa County was institutionalizing sustainable programs.
There were so many other lectures; pensions and retirement, ask the experts, economic update, legislative update, mobile governing, and many others. It was really cool to learn from others in the profession.
Did I mention that I have some new projects....
Well I am going to start working on something that the Town has done in the past, but due to budget restrictions had to discontinue, but they are bringing it back! I had this idea from the conference about how to generate employee buy in to reduce attrition and turn over, and that fits perfectly into the project with HR and the Clerk's office. They have a employee training program where new employees are introduced to Marana and what the Town has to offer. It is a great way to inform while promoting the Town. There is an external program also, that citizens can participate in to learn more about Marana and municipal government in general. This is so exciting, since I am the biggest government nerd out there, talking and teaching other people about it will be amazing!
The other project is similar to the wastewater project in that it centers around organization, but this time it involves the contracting process. So I will be using the same programs, but in a new way. I am learning more about the other departments; how they function and what types of work they do. It makes my rotation through CIP and Records that much more important since now I have a beginning knowledge of what they do, and I do not have to start from scratch. Contracts are unique because most of the work is done electronically, editing and revising drafts, but the most important part are the signatures and how do we remedy the signatures with the electronic versions. That is what I am going to be working on with folks from Finance, CIP, Tech Services, and Records.
I have really been having a great time here. The days just seem to fly by, and it never seems like I have enough time to get things done. I think that is real life though. I am glad to be here and feel like I am doing work that is meaningful for Marana residents. While it might not seem that way when I am sitting and sorting through documents, the end product will be significant.
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