One of the biggest selling points of the strong-mayor charter was the candidates for mayor would have platforms that laid out the goals for their administrations. The goals would be the work plans by which the citizens measured the strong mayor’s success.
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward started with 20 solutions as his goals, which were divided into four categories – Creating Economic Opportunity, Investing in Our Neighborhoods, Promoting a Healthy Environment, and Restoring Trust and Taking Action.
For his first three years, those goals were listed in his proposed budgets, and his administration made strides in accomplishing many of them. Unfortunately, the goals in most his recent budgets have evolved into vague and feel-good statements that are impossible to measure.
These were his goals as listed in the FY 2012 Budget – Oct. 1, 2012-Sept. 30, 2013. Most of them were concrete and measurable.
CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
• Establish a $1 million economic development incentive fund to market surplus properties, provide incentives, and assist with site development.
• Grow our City and tax base through a program of voluntary annexation.
• Attract $100 million in public and private investment to Pensacola, to maintain vital fiscal resources and support continued growth. Studers alone have nearly met this goal
• Accelerate development of the Airport Commerce Park and update the Airport Master Plan to anticipate and accommodate future development at Pensacola International Airport.
• Invest in Port infrastructure to promote job growth and realize a job-creating, self-sustaining Port of Pensacola.
INVESTING IN NEIGHBORHOODS
• Promote safe and attractive neighborhoods by investing in neighborhood resource centers, beautification, and street and sidewalk improvements.
• Strengthen relationships with neighborhoods through Mayor’s Town Hall meetings, Neighborhood Leadership Academy, and other programs.
• Keep streets and neighborhoods clean by continuing to enhance code enforcement efforts.
• Establish a fund to encourage voluntary demolition of derelict and condemned structures.
• Promote mixed-income housing by developing incentives for redevelopment and for the creation of affordable living opportunities throughout neighborhoods within the city limits.
PROMOTING A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
• Complete an energy audit of all City facilities to increase energy efficiency and identify potential cost savings.
• Continue to transition the City fleet to natural gas vehicles to take advantage of lower fuel and maintenance costs and reduced emissions.
• Extend natural gas fueling stations to commercial fleets and individuals to provide a new business opportunity for Energy Services of Pensacola.
• Improve water quality by enhancing stormwater management, with nine new stormwater projects planned for FY 2013.
• Implement a Green Building Code to incentivize the adoption of greener, more sustainable building practices by residential and commercial construction projects.
RESTORING TRUST AND TAKING ACTION
• Continue to improve service delivery through careful and thoughtful realignment of departments and organizational assets.
• Improve delivery of public safety services by reorganizing the Fire Department, putting twelve additional firefighters on duty.
• Seek innovative solutions to improve operations, such as the use of cost-effective performance contracts where appropriate.
• Establish an Office of Diversity within the Mayor’s Office to ensure everyone has an opportunity to do business with the City.
• Address the City’s unfunded pension liability and annual pension costs in order to maintain the fiscal stability and level of service citizens expect and deserve.
—————————
By FY 2014 (Oct. 1, 2013-Sept. 30, 2014), Hayward had narrowed his goals, but kept the four categories. Throughout the year, the citizens could track his progress as he ran for his second term. Some of the goals did begin to slide during the year as his administration got mired in battles over food concessions at the airport, the Pitts Slip lease, and the fish hatchery. And the city had to deal with an ice storm and flooding.
CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Continue to accelerate development of the Airport Commerce Park and invest in the Airport infrastructure necessary to seriously compete for aerospace, supply chain, and logistics jobs. Done – Signed agreements with VT-MAE and DeepFlex
Create a plan to market and develop surplus public property at the Community Maritime Park, Port of Pensacola, Pensacola International Airport, and throughout the city. HIRED CBRE to market property
Position Pensacola as Northwest Florida’s leading city and continue to increase our city’s profile nationally and internationally. NO WAY to measure
INVESTING IN NEIGHBORHOODS
Keep our neighborhoods clean and attractive with enhanced code enforcement efforts and monthly Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanups. DONE – ongoing program
Continue to build and strengthen relationships with neighborhoods through Mayor’s Town Hall meetings, programs like the Neighborhood Leadership Academy and PCIP, and new initiatives like Common $ense Pensacola. LAST TOWN MEETING Dec. 2013
Begin redevelopment of the Blount School property by working with the newly established Westside Garden Neighborhood Association and holding public input charettes. NOTHING DONE after a initial meetings. Land still is undeveloped.
PROMOTING A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Continue transitioning City vehicles to compressed natural gas (CNG) and expand commercial and private use of the City’s CNG fueling stations. DONE
Maintain the City’s commitment to improving water quality and drainage with ten stormwater management projects under construction in FY 2013 or planned for FY 2014. DONE – though impacted by April 2014 floods
Maximize the impact of the planned fish hatchery and coastal habitat plant project by working closely with state and local agencies. FOUGHT environmentalists to get final agreement passed in spring of 2014.
RESTORING TRUST AND TAKING ACTION
Protect our City’s financial stability while maintaining the quality services our citizens expect and deserve. ***NO WAY TO MEASURE
Reach an agreement on pension reforms with the Firefighters Union, including the closure of the fire pension plan to new entrants. ***Approved by council in 2015. However, the fire pension plan was not closed. Today it’s the best funded of all the city pensions.
Seek innovative solutions to improve efficiency and make the most of limited resources. ***NO WAY TO MEASURE
—————————
By FY 2015 (Oct. 1, 2014-Sept. 30, 2015), many of the goals were the same for the first year of his second term, but little was accomplished.
CREATING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Make targeted infrastructure investments at Pensacola International Airport and the Port of Pensacola in order to maximize their value as economic engines for our region. ***VT-MAE didn’t begin due to FAA not approving $3 million grant. DeepFlex stalled as crude oil prices dropped.
Continue to leverage surplus property for redevelopment by marketing and developing surplus public property at the Community Maritime Park, Port of Pensacola, Pensacola International Airport, and throughout the city. ***City loses $60-million deal proposed by Miami developer. Mayor rejects CMPA-approved lease agreement with Studers for $30-million investment in Center of Entrepreneurship and conference center at CMP. Council can’t agree on selling Hawkshaw property.
Position Pensacola as Northwest Florida’s leading city while continuing to “think regionally†by building strategic relationships with other area and regional economic development partners. ***AGAIN NO WAY TO MEASURE
INVESTING IN NEIGHBORHOODS
Raise the bar in every neighborhood with enhanced code enforcement efforts and monthly Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanups. ***On-going program
Add value to our neighborhoods with targeted investments in infrastructure such as public safety and sidewalk segments which connect gaps and link neighborhoods to amenities. ***Most work done on east side of city. However, much needed sidewalk to schools in District 2 ignored.
Begin to leverage the Westside and Eastside TIF districts to continue supporting, stabilizing, and rebuilding some of our City’s most underserved neighborhoods. ***No concrete results
PROMOTING A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT
Continue key investment in stormwater infrastructure, using City dollars in combination with public and private grant opportunities to fund new projects. ***Work on Government Street Stormwater Pond delayed a year
Maximize the impact of the planned Gulf Coast Marine Fisheries Hatchery & Enhancement Center, providing our community with an incredible asset as well as increased public access to Bruce Beach. ***Project delayed and will not be completed until 2018.
Identify a viable, local, long-term recycling solution in close partnership with other local agencies and stakeholders. ***City loses recycling center in Montgomery.
RESTORING TRUST AND TAKING ACTION
Make information available through every medium available, including the web, social media, email, television, town hall meetings, and direct engagement with neighborhood associations and other stakeholder groups. ***Town hall meetings discontinued. In UWF survey, citizens gave the Hayward administration’s communications low marks.
Build on our progress on public records and transparency issues by continuing to set goals and measure our performance. ***City creates Transparent Pensacola page – July 2015. City Administrator Eric Olson calls the boss of neighborhood association president about her emails. Olson has to retract his order that city employees cannot open emails from federal workers. City planning board member has to apologize for representing his client in a matter before his board.
Focus on continual improvement in all areas, seeking innovative solutions to improve efficiency and make the most of limited resources. ***NO WAY TO MEASURE
—————————
The last two budgets have very vague, general goals that could written by any mayor of any city in this country. Nothing concrete, nothing measurable.
No explanation was given as to why Mayor Hayward moved to this format. Maybe it was the lack of accomplishments in FY 2015.
Here are the current goals Mayor Hayward is operating under:
“The purpose of the Mayor’s Standing Goals and Strategic Direction is to articulate key policy and service priorities that will ensure that Pensacola remains an attractive, vibrant and inviting place to live, work and visit. The goals guide the allocation of resources through the budget and capital improvement program to assure that departmental work plans and projects are developed that move the City forward. The goals are long term in nature and the City’s ability to make progress towards their achievement is based on the availability of resources at any given time.
Nevertheless the strategic direction is clear – core services will be delivered in a manner that optimizes the limited financial resources so that Pensacola will be a city that is:
Safe Everyone who spends time in the city, not just residents, will not only be safe, but feel that they are personally safe and so is their property. The City will be prepared for disasters and provide for the protection of life and property in such event.
Attractive Public streets, parks, rightsâ€ofâ€way and other public facilities will be maintained in a manner that is consistent with the level of maintenance our citizens provide to their private property.
Fiscally Responsible City assets will be managed and safeguarded through reasonable internal controls, policies and systems that ensure legal compliance and fiscal stability in order to provide the highest quality municipal services, consistent with the resources available to us.
Efficient Core City services will be delivered in a manner that maximizes the taxpayers’ return on investment.
Accountable Financial resources will be aligned with goals that reflect citizen priorities and the public will be able to measure progress towards those goals.
Transparent The public will be wellâ€informed and able to fully access City services and participate in local government.
—————————
We have the strong mayor promised in 2009 when the charter was passed, but without the accountability.