HomeMy WebLinkAbout031021-4.1 Service Delivery After COVID 19
SERVICE DELIVERY AFTER COVID-19
INTRODUCTION
The onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in March 2020 resulted in the need for the
Town to make immediate adjustments to both the range of public services provided
and methods of service delivery. The range of services was affected by the need to
close public buildings and facilities, while reducing staffing to offset fiscal impacts.
Immediate adjustments were required with respect to areas including:
• Conducting meetings and public hearings
• Community outreach and engagement
• Permitting and conducting business with the Town
• Ensuring the safety of Town employees
• Space planning and the physical configuration of employee workspaces
This paper discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of these changes,
lessons learned, and how some of these changes might be expected to carry over into
future post pandemic models for service delivery.
DISCUSSION
Much of the business conducted by public agencies occurs by virtue of meetings that
occur at all organizational levels, up to and including public hearings held by the
legislative bodies and the advisory commissions that support them.
A variety of different meetings involving staff occur internally, interagency and with
customers and the public. This is also the case with meetings involving elected
officials serving on multi-jurisdictional committees, boards and Joint Powers
Authorities. Even internal staff meetings require certain logistical coordination with
Town staff located in several different locations.
The use of platforms such as “Zoom” and “Teams” has replaced traditional meeting
formats featuring live, in-person participation in conference and meeting room
settings. After an initial adjustment period required to assimilate a different meeting
dynamic, it has become apparent that the convenience and ease with which these
meetings can be coordinated and staged is such that use of these platforms to conduct
virtual meetings will continue post-pandemic. Though unlikely to replace all live
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meetings, the use of live meetings will be much more selective and dependent upon
purpose and occasion.
Public Meetings
Under the state’s emergency declaration, virtual meetings have also been permitted
to be used for public meetings and hearings. Though necessitated by the pandemic,
this change has proven to be beneficial in a number of ways. Virtual participation is
more convenient for potential meeting attendees who may have technological access
but be constrained by time, distance, work and/or family obligations or mobility
limitations. For all of these reasons, virtual public meetings have achieved greater
viewership. The added convenience has also allowed public meetings to be
scheduled earlier in the day on set dates, when people are, generally speaking, less
tired and better prepared to engage in decision-making processes.
At present the Town plans to continue utilizing a virtual meeting format for Town
Council and Town Commission meetings through the end of the current fiscal year,
or until advised that live meetings can safely be resumed. Upon resuming live
meetings, incorporating certain aspects of the virtual meetings warrants
consideration.
One example would be the use of a “hybrid” meeting format for the Town Council.
Council meetings could be held on the first and third Tuesdays, starting at 5:00 p.m.,
at the Town Meeting Hall. In addition to the Town Council, staff and members of the
public, additional public attendance/participation could occur virtually, allowing the
Town Council to receive public input and/or testimony both in person and virtually
at the same meeting. Community members wishing and able to attend in person
would be encouraged to do so, while those unable to do so, would have the option of
engaging remotely. Based upon discussions with the Town’s I.T. staff, the technology
required to support this hybrid meeting approach is feasible and staff can present
more specific details upon direction of the Town Council.
Community Outreach and Engagement
Effectively engaging and communicating with residents and businesses is one of the
Town’s priorities. Over the past decade, the Town has sought to communicate and
engage with residents through a community outreach program that seeks to inform,
educate and inspire residents about the programs, projects and activities that take
place in Danville. The Town utilizes various approaches toward this goal, including
print, digital, media relations, and person to person contacts.
Despite the use of varied formats, prior efforts to invite community members to
attend “Town Hall” style meetings have produced underwhelming attendance and
engagement. Looking at options available to improve this was a featured topic at last
year’s workshop.
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Takeaways from that discussion included:
• Considering greater use of online surveys to ask questions and gather
community feedback on specific subjects.
• Getting out into the community, physically and virtually going to the places
where our residents are.
• A belief that better topic content drives increased meeting attendance.
• The need to meeting focus to be on education or engagement.
• An openness to considering multi-modal ways of engagement.
Focused implementation efforts were delayed as the Town was required to address
the pandemic. However, some of the approaches utilized by the Town to adapt
information sharing and engagement efforts to the pandemic have picked up on the
themes identified last year. These efforts have also demonstrated that the community
is both receptive and willing to engage in new ways that are both user friendly and
convenient. Some examples include:
▪ A Zoom meeting that featured the Vice-Mayor, Town Manager and Health
Services Officer responding to questions about the County Health Order;
▪ A regular Facebook Live program hosted by the Police Chief, addressing public
safety and other topics of community interest.
▪ Virtual comedy shows and arts programming.
▪ A virtual Community Awards and Mayoral Installation program that blended
pre-recorded and real time content into an event that garnered considerable
viewership.
▪ Increased availability of e-permitting and ability to conduct business with the
Town remotely.
▪ An enhanced and expanded website that provides better and more interactive
content.
While continuing with these efforts, potential additional steps could include:
o Continuation of the “Government 101” program started in 2019, using a virtual
platform.
o Utilizing Zoom to conduct a periodic, virtual “Coffee with the Mayor”, which
would present speakers and provide information on topics of community
interest.
o Virtual Town Hall meetings for the Town Council to solicit ideas and feedback
on topics such as the upcoming Housing Element.
o Other forms of ongoing virtual programming that provide content of interest
and benefit to the community.
o Greater use of citizen surveys through available social media platforms.
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Permitting and conducting business with the Town – business by appointment
For several years, the Town has aspired to expand the use of technology to broaden
the range of services and business that can be provided remotely or virtually.
Resource limitations coupled with the heavy ongoing workload have slowed and
delayed these efforts. The pandemic presented an immediate need and opportunity.
Safety and social distancing protocols necessitated an immediate re-tooling of
operations by significantly reducing the amount of business that could be conducted
in person. Development Services is a prime example of how the Town has adapted:
• An expanded range of applications, from Building to Encroachment Permits,
can now be submitted electronically and many can be issued online;
• Certain tasks, from Building to Engineering plan check, are transitioning to
more extensive use of electronic plan review;
• Where in-person service is required or preferred by the customer,
appointments can now be booked electronically from the Town’s website and
directly from the Danville Connect app;
• The ability for the customer to view and select an available appointment of
their choice (in-person, online or telephone) will be expanded to all of
Development Services and eventually organization-wide. This feature gives
the customer an ability to consult with Town staff at a time that is convenient
for them;
• To ensure business continuity, new technology will be installed to connect
staff working (or quarantining) remotely at the permit center, though this is
less than ideal and would function only as a back-up situation.
Similar approaches, albeit on a more limited basis, have been employed in other areas
of service delivery. Looking forward, many of these services are expected to continue
and expand organization wide, as they afford both convenience and scheduling
predictability that customers have come to expect in all aspects of their lives.
This will involve both additional investments in technology hardware, software,
training as well as potential expansion (or redeployment) of personnel to facilitate
online service delivery in the back office.
Working Virtually
The Town has always maintained a relatively small workforce (fewer than 100 regular
employees) in combination with the use of contract services. Approximately one-
third of the staff works in the field, while many others perform specialized duties that
are unique to specific position classifications; and, Town staff is deployed in six
different service delivery locations. These factors, combined with the strong customer
service approach, have necessitated having all staff on site and publicly accessible.
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The pandemic has necessitated changes in order to meet new federal and state safety
standards directed at ensuring employee safety. Owing to the small size of the
workforce, the Town has designated all employees as essential. However, it has been
necessary to reduce the number of employees working on site at any given time in
order to increase spacing, reduce proximity and ensure safety.
A significant number of employees currently have schedules that have them working
remotely for periods of time throughout the week. This varies by department and
function. All employees are accessible by phone and e-mail meaning that service
delivery continues uninterrupted. In many areas, remote work schedules have been
able to operate effectively with little or no change in productivity.
Certain critical front line and field personnel do not have the option of working
remotely and it has been necessary to incorporate other safety measures. In
Maintenance Services, field personnel have been divided into smaller cohorts with
operations staged from several remote locations, rather than being consolidated at the
Town Service Center.
Once health orders are lifted to allow for re-opening of facilities and return to full
public access, Town service delivery will shift back toward the pre-pandemic staffing
model. However, based upon lessons learned over the past year, this will continue to
include increased use of remote work schedules for some employees. As has been the
case throughout the pandemic, it will be necessary to ensure that uninterrupted
service delivery is maintained along with employee productivity and the ability for
supervisors to effectively oversee performance.
Space planning and physical configuration
The pandemic has changed employee norms and expectations with respect to factors
such as proximity, need for minimum separation, need to avoid physical contact, need
to provide for greater separation between employees and public at areas of public
interface, and re-assessing whether and how certain spaces can be shared. In general,
this will result in the need to evaluate our space planning for regular and temporary
employees to ensure that adequate spacing is provided between employees,
especially in shared work spaces.
SUMMARY
The Coronavirus has prompted adjustments to some methods of service delivery to
the community. Based upon the experience gained and lessons learned, many of these
adjustments are expected to carry over into future post pandemic models for service
delivery. Town Council feedback and input is sought preparatory to development of
the draft 2021/22 Operating Budget.
Attachment A – 2020 Paper on Community Outreach and Engagement
