Title
Citizen Centered Gainesville Quarterly Update (B)
This item is a request for the City Commission to receive a presentation on implementation efforts related to Citizen Centered Gainesville. **ESTIMATED STAFF PRESENTATION 20 MINUTES**
Explanation
The purpose of this item is to share a quarterly update on the progress of Citizen Centered Gainesville initiatives. The Commission will hear an update from project team members regarding the following initiatives: the Gainesville Business Portal, the Talent to Win, and the Thomas Center B Redesign.
Noteworthy occurrences since the last update to the Commission include:
• The launch of safeGNV.org <http://www.safegnv.org/> - a website that connects citizens with real-time event and emergency information. During Tropical Storm Colin, the most significant weather event that has occurred since the website’s launch, we saw activity of over 550 sessions in a 24 hour period. Analytics demonstrate that the site continues to draw predominately new users that are located in Gainesville.
• The Code for Gainesville brigade debuted in conjunction with National Civic Day of Hacking on June 4, 2016 to bring the Gainesville Business Portal and other civic/government innovations to our community.
• Work continues in redesigning the city’s budget and strategic plan with the first session of the Gainesville Creative Series: Inspiration Session being held with the Commission, Charter Officers and staff at the Prioria Catalyst building.
• Information and educational outreach related to Citizen Centered Gainesville and Design Thinking has begun across the city’s functional areas and is expected to be completed by early fall.
• The city’s proposed budget was released through a new medium, OpenBudget, at budget.cityofgainesville.org <http://www.budget.cityofgainesville.org>. In addition to increasing the transparency and accessibility of the city’s budget, Gainesville is the first government in the state of Florida to publish FY17 budget data and make it API available.
• A national search for the first Department of Doing Director in the country is in progress. An article written by the American Planning Association highlighted this unique position to a national audience.
Looking ahead to forthcoming projects, the first meeting of a City Hall design team was recently held to begin assessing the needs and potential scope of City Hall improvements. It is also expected that work surrounding the Department of Measuring, and communicating with the public regarding our citizen centered platform, will be priorities in the next quarter.
Fiscal Note
None
Recommendation
The City Commission receive a presentation from staff.