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Testimony of the Executive Office of the Mayor to the Council of the District of Columbia
Committee on Government Operations
Reba Pittman Evans
February 12, 1999

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Introduction
Office of the Mayor
Office of Intergovernmental Relations
Office of the Secretary
Office of Communications
Office of the Public Advocate
Office of the City Administrator
Budget Discussion

INTRODUCTION

Good morning Council Member Patterson and other distinguished members of the Committee on Government Operations. My name is Reba Pittman Evans, and I am the Chief of Staff to the Mayor. It is a pleasure to be here this morning to discuss the goals, organization, and budget of the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

I'd like to begin our discussion today by articulating four primary goals of the Mayor:

  • to educate our children,
  • to expand our economy,
  • to improve government services,
  • and to fix the human services safety net.

To achieve these goals, the Mayor has assembled a strong and committed team. At this point, I will present the organization structure and key staff in the Executive Office of the Mayor. You may follow along if you wish on the organization charts provided in your packets

There are seven key team members who support the Mayor. They represent the central points of leadership, management, and accountability for the executive branch of the District government, and they are:

  • the Chief of Staff;
  • the Legal Counsel;
  • the Chief Financial Officer,
  • the City Administrator;
  • the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development.
  • the Corporation Counsel; and
  • the Inspector General;

Based on a budgetary definition, however, EOM is composed of the following offices:

  • the Office of the Mayor;
  • the Office of the Secretary,
  • the Office of Intergovernmental Relations,
  • the Office of Communications,

For each of these departments, I will present goals, an organization chart, and budgetary information. Also, to honor your request, I will discuss the goals of the City Administrator, and Public Advocate.

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OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

The Of fice of the Mayor is responsible for providing high level direction to the government. In addition to the Mayor, there are five primary people who carry out this work:

  • I, the Chief of Staff, am responsible for overseeing all staff within the Executive Office of the Mayor. To summarize, it is my goal to ensure the highest caliber of efficiency, professionalism, and quality in all functions of this of fice I also stand in for the Mayor in key internal and external roles.
  • Noel Bravo, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, is responsible for overseeing the internal operations of the Executive Office of the Mayor. Specifically, Mr. Bravo is tasked with achieving the following goals:
    • Manage all personnel matters within EOM to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, and fairness; and
    • Manage all budgetary matters within EOM to uphold the highest standards of efficiency and trust in the use of public funds.

    In addition, Mr. Bravo oversees the following agencies:

    • Office of the Secretary
    • Office of Policy and Evaluation
    • Office of Planning
    • Office of Boards and Commissions
    • Office of Employee Relations and Collective Bargaining
    • Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Sandy McCall, the Deputy Chief of Staff for External Affairs, is responsible for serving as the Mayor's liaison to the public. In this role, his goals include the following:
    • Develop and execute a structured mechanism for collecting public feedback on Mayoral initiatives, and
    • Develop and execute a plan for regular communication between the Mayor and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

    In addition, Mr. McCall oversees the following agencies

    • Office of Asian/Pacific Islander Affairs
    • Office of Latino Affairs
    • Commission on Women
    • Office of Diversity
    • Office of Religious Affairs
    • Commission on Arts and Humanities
    • Office of Human Rights
    • Office of the Public Advocate
    • Office on Aging
  • Norman Dong, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Management, is primarily responsible for assisting the Mayor in his role as Interim City Administrator. Specifically, Mr. Dong is tasked with meeting the following goals:
    • Building a viable organizational structure under the Chief of Staff that can be transferred to the City Administrator when the position is filled permanently;
    • Facilitating resolution of daily operational impediments to efficient service delivery within the agencies and integrating them into medium- and long-term process improvements;
    • Ensuring that the Mayor is successful in fulfilling his short-term action priorities; and
    • Instilling a customer focused orientation into operations throughout the District.
  • And finally, Max Brown, Legal Counsel to the Mayor, is tasked with the following goals:
    • Provide legal counsel to the Mayor on key policy and operational issues
    • Serve as the lead manager for developing and implementing a managed competition program for the District and forging a Public Private Partnership program
    • Serve as the lead manager for developing and implementing a labor strategy
    • Serve as the policy coordinator for the Mayor's strategic policy objectives

Together, these individuals and I will be fully accountable for maintaining an effective, responsive, and accountable Office of the Mayor. At this time, I will not discuss the budget because I believe that discussion will be more productive if we first discuss the goals and organization of the other departments within the Executive Office of the Mayor.

In so doing, I will now discuss the Office of Intergovernmental Relations.

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OFFICE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

The Office of Intergovernmental Relations is led by Mr. Warren Graves. This office is the liaison between the Executive Office of the Mayor (EOM), and the following entities:

  • the Council of the District of Columbia;
  • the Congress of the United States;
  • Federal Departments and agencies;
  • local and state governments;
  • regional authorities and planning bodies; and
  • other related organizations.

The goals of this of fice are as follows:

  • Establish a computerized legislative tracking system
  • Coordinate the Mayor's legislative agenda for transmittal to the Council of the District of Columbia
  • Track and monitor the movement of legislation through the Council Ensure participation of appropriate executive branch officials in Council proceedings
  • Ensure the execution of Mayoral decisions on bills passed by the Council within specified time limits Respect the Rules and Procedures of the Council regarding timely submission of legislation
  • Monitor and evaluate Congressional legislation and federal regulations that affect the District
  • Initiate Congressional legislation and federal regulations reform that positively impact the District
  • Respond to Congressional inquires in timely manner
  • Establish and maintain liaison with all appropriate metropolitan and regional organizations, local county and city governments, and the state offices of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania

To fulfill these goals, the Office of Intergovernmental Relations is organized as follows:

  • Office of the Director
  • Council Affairs Unit
  • Congressional and Federal Affairs Unit
  • Metropolitan, Regional and National Affairs Unit
  • Office of Planning and Evaluation

I will now discuss the Office of the Secretary.

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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

This office is led my Ms. Beverly Rivers, who serves as the Acting Secretary of the District of Columbia. The goal of this office is to effectively execute the following functions:

  • ensure administrative support to the Executive Office of the Mayor,
  • commission notaries public,
  • authenticate documents for foreign and domestic use,
  • publish and sell regulations,
  • prepare ceremonial documents,
  • respond to mayoral correspondence,
  • preserve and maintain historical records of government, and
  • liaison with the international community for both government and the private sector.

The Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia has four major functional service areas. Those service areas are as follows:

  • The Office of Public Records Management, Archival Administration and Library of Governmental Information
  • Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances
  • The Notary Commissions and Authentications Section
  • Mayor's Correspondence Unit

I will now discuss the Office of Communications.

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OFFICE OF THE COMMUNICATIONS

The Office of Communications is led by Ms. Peggy Armstrong, who serves as Director of Communications and Press Secretary. This of fice supports the program and policy priorities of the Mayor through effective dissemination of information to the public, stakeholders and employees. The goals of this of fice are:

  • To inform and educate the citizens and the public about the policy priorities, initiatives, and accomplishments of the Administration;
  • To promote the public view of a unified municipal government;
  • To support agency directors, manager, and public information officers as they implement priorities; and
  • To promote the District of Columbia locally and nationally.

To accomplish these goals, the Office of Communications will:

  • Develop and implement a customer-service oriented press operation that provides timely and accurate responses to news inquires.
  • Promote policies and initiatives that support the goals of the Mayor through a proactive press strategy and operation.
  • Gather, develop and disseminate information and materials to agency directors, managers and public information officers that support our policies and priorities.
  • Develop and implement public relations strategies to support all major initiatives.
  • Provide technical assistance with new media (websites, live screen programs, etc.) and publication development.
  • Provide public relations support to the Mayor by writing speeches, greetings and service as official spokesperson.

To fulfill these goals, this office is structured in three primary units:

  • Press operations;
  • Public Affairs; and
  • Publications and New Media.

Next, I will discuss the Office of the Public Advocate.

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OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC ADVOCATE

The Office of the Public Advocate provides a critical point of contact between the Mayor and the public. Beginning next week, this office will be headed by Ms. Carlene Cheatam, who is a longtime public servant and community activist, and is well qualified to boldly advocate on behalf of the public. Her goal is to establish an effective system whereby public comments, complaints, requests, and compliments will be:

  • Heard effectively;
  • Routed to the appropriate government entity;
  • Responded to quickly;
  • Tracked carefully; and
  • Reported accurately.

As Ms. Cheatam assumes this role, she will develop specific operational plans and performance measures for these goals.

And last, but certainly not least, I will now discuss the Office of the City Administrator.

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OFFICE OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR

At present, the Office of the City Administrator is led by the Mayor, who is assisted by myself and Norman Dong, Deputy Chief of Staff for Management.

The Office of the City Administrator provides direction and coordination to agencies as they strive to provide effective management and services. As mentioned before, the goals of the Office of the City Administrator are concentrated into four interconnected areas:

  • Building a viable organizational structure under the Chief of Staff that can be transferred to the City Administrator when the position is filled permanently. The organizational structure (attached) is the result of this effort, although some transition in both personnel and design may still occur
  • Facilitating resolution of daily operational impediments to efficient service delivery within the agencies and integrating them into medium- and long-term process improvements
  • Ensuring that the Mayor is deemed successful in fulfilling his short-term action priorities
  • Instilling a customer focused orientation into operations throughout the District.

The Office is organized to perform these activities as described below.

1. Operating Support

The key functions of the Office of the City Administrator are performed by three special assistants who provide daily operating support to the agencies under the purview of the City Administrator. The special assistants are each responsible for a "cluster" of agencies — Health and Human Services, Governmental Direction and Support, and Public Safety and Justice and will operate as extensions of the City Administrator to solve problems and promulgate the Mayor's agenda. These special assistants will:

  1. Establish new process flows within the Executive Office of the Mayor to streamline the process of obtaining input and approval on key operating and policy issues from the Office City Administrator and the Executive Office of the Mayor;
  2. Facilitate day-to-day problem resolution with agency directors including front burner issues;
  3. Implement a performance management framework that tracks and refines performance expectations for each agency based upon performance contracts, short-term action agenda items, and concrete indicators of organizational effectiveness;

2. Short Term Action Team

A Short Term Action Team of 8-10 staff has been created to ensure the Mayor's success in fulfilling his short-term action agenda. These actions include coordinating rat abatement efforts in major areas of infestation, reopening Thomas Circle underpass, and establishing a satellite one-stop career center at the Latin American Youth Center in Adams Morgan, among many others. To do this, the Team provides exclusive attention to the Mayor's immediate priorities.

3. Customer Service Management

The Customer Service Manager will:

  • Lead the instillation of customer focused operations throughout the District
  • Develop a concerted and unified approach for customer service to ensure that all agencies are meeting the same goal.

Examples of customer focused priorities include:

  • Improving the 727-1000 telephone help center listed on the Mayor's short term action agenda
  • Extending the hours of operations one day a week for service centers such as DHS, DOES, DMV and DCRA
  • Establishing a referral system that allows customers to obtain accurate and timely information on service providers throughout the city, and improving the look and feel of our service centers.

This concludes the discussion of the Office of the City Administrator.

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BUDGET DISCUSSION

As you have seen today, the Mayor has assembled a strong team to carry out the functions of his of fice To provide this team the necessary resources, we have developed a revised budget for Fiscal Year 1999. The need for a revised budget arose from three key factors:

  1. The departure of the Chief Management Officer created the need for the Mayor to reunify the government — and the associated resources — under his office.
  2. The severance costs associated with the departure of the former Mayor's staff created a substantial projected deficit in our budget; and
  3. Any new administration must have the opportunity to reassess resource needs and redeploy those resources to support new priorities

Most important among these is the fact that the Executive Office of the Mayor and the Office of the City Administrator must now take on the functions of the former CMO. As such, it is appropriate that these budgets be supplemented with the operating funds that otherwise would have supported the CMO's office.

Specifically, we are in discussion with the Authority to arrange a transfer of $1.1 million in "other revenue" to help rebuild the Executive Office of the Mayor and the Office of the City Administrator. These funds would be accompanied by the approval of 24 additional FTEs.

With the addition of these funds, the Mayor and City Administrator's combined budget will be $10,680,000. This amount is $9,000 less than the budgets of the former Mayor, City Administrator and CMO.

Likewise, the Mayor's revised FTE authorization will be 134, which is one FTE fewer than that of the previous administration.

So, in summary, the Mayor is fulfilling his commitment to do more with less.

To rebuild this government while protecting the public purse. To restore one government, good government, and self government to the District of Columbia.

And with that, I thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today. My colleagues and I will be happy to take any questions you may have at this time.

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