Minutes 03/26/2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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March 26, 2018 This significant commitment of School Capital Funding was my priority in developing the City’s Capital Budget and required some critical maintenance projects to be set aside to future years so that we could address our School facility needs. The construction of a New Middle School will require the City to further identify an additional $3M dollars annually in debt service payments over the next 20 years. The funding will require new recurring revenues to be identified and dedicated for School debt service beginning with the FY 2020 Operating Budget. The New Middle School project will consume a majority of the remaining debt capacity for the City with an estimated total project cost of 60 million dollars over the 20 year period. Workforce Development: The second strategic budget initiative is Workforce Development. Workforce development is uniquely connected to Economic Development. For the city of Portsmouth to maintain its position in an increasingly competitive and challenging environment, workforce development must be a top priority. The city’s new approach to Workforce Development will enhance not only Portsmouth but also the region’s economic stability and prosperity, by focusing on people and their connectivity to job opportunities through successful businesses. It is imperative that we focus on preparing our citizens, at the same time we must attract and retain city employees, and attract employers to create the workforce opportunities for the future. Workforce Development – Internal In the Proposed FY 2019 Budget, we are utilizing a twofold approach. The internal workforce development approach seeks to provide for city employees a holistic and future-focused approach by incorporating talent acquisition and management, compensation, professional development, and wellness to place the city of Portsmouth on the forefront of Economic Development through our collaborative workforce development plan. The framework for the internal workforce approach is to:  Create career ladders to facilitate the development of skills and industry knowledge essential for success;  Focus efforts to address succession planning;  Create professional development and training programs to include a Global Leadership Academy and an Emerging Leader Program; and  Create a Wellness Program to improve employee health and well-being via incremental, sustainable lifestyle changes through education & lifestyle skills training. As stated earlier, the fiscal challenges we face today are daunting and will require sacrifices and prioritization of services to build the strong foundation needed for Portsmouth’s future. As City Manager, I recognize the important contributions to critical services employees provide our citizens daily. I am proposing to continue the Living Wage salary adjustment initiative that began in FY2018. The Living Wage initiative is a multi-year plan that will lift the salaries of city employees who are our most modest wage earners. In a year where there are critical funding constraints, and wise fiduciary decisions are necessary, it is my hope and intent to work toward identifying efficiency savings over the next five months to achieve the goal of a BONUS for our dedicated city employees. Workforce Development – External The core of any workforce development effort is the need to help workers build the skills necessary to adapt to change, meet the challenges of an evolving economy, and find good-paying jobs. The city is fully engaged and proposing to create a program to address this important issue.