Kendall County Times

Village of Oswego Committee of the Whole met Oct. 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

CALL TO ORDER 

President Troy Parlier called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.

ROLL CALL

Board Members Physically Present: President Troy Parlier; Trustees Tom Guist; Kit Kuhrt, James Marter II, Terry  Olson (attended at 4:11 p.m.), Jennifer Jones Sinnott, and Brian Thomas (attended at 5:07 p.m.).

Staff Physically Present: Dan Di Santo, Village Administrator; Christina Burns, Asst. Village Administrator; Tina  Touchette, Village Clerk; Jeff Burgner, Police Chief; Rod Zenner, Community Development Director; Mark  Horton, Finance Director; Joe Renzetti, IG/GIS Director; Scott McMaster, Economic Development Director;  Jennifer Hughes, Public Works Director; Billie Robinson, Asst. Finance Director; Corey Incandela, Admin. Intern; Natalie Zine, Planner; Susan Quasney, Engineer; and Jay Hoover, Building Services Manager.

PUBLIC FORUM

Public Forum was opened at 4:06 p.m. There was no one who requested to speak. The public forum was closed at  4:06 p.m.

OLD BUSINESS

E.1 Strategic Planning Workshop Part 2

Tonight’s Agenda

• Recap

• Establish priorities, outcomes, indicators, and targets

Craig Rapp, President of Craig Rapp LLC, gave a brief review of the October 21st session and reviewed the  Priorities/categories decided at the session. The Board determined there was a need to change some of the  terminology as follows:

1) Financial is now Financial Stewardship

2) Infrastructure is now Infrastructure and Maintenance

3) Development remains the same; will add details later

4) Workforce is now Personnel Recruitment and Retention

5) Mega Projects was removed and replaced with Water Project

6) Wolf’s Crossing was added 

Board and staff discussion focused on communication should be incorporated into each priority/category;  encourage more comments and opinions from staff; appreciate honesty and candor; need to know what the Board  needs to improve on; can’t change the past, can only change the future; implementing an anonymous survey to  employees in three months and another in six months; plan of action for change; focusing on the strategic plan.

It’s every department’s obligation to determine how they contribute to strategic success. Mr. Rapp asked the Board  and staff to determine what is most important and give three desired/target outcomes in the next three years. Need  to express the priorities to the public; want forward motion and achieve action. Board and staff defined the six  priorities as follows:

1) Financial Stewardship

• Maintain reserves

• Balanced budget

• Active management of resources

• Responsible use of debt

• Identify new no tax revenue sources

• No increase in property tax

• Rate of return

• Transparency

• Fiscally responsible growth

• Adequate resources to meet level and cost of service

• Return on investment

• Total cost of service

2) Infrastructure and Maintenance

• Identifying future upgrades

• Pro-active

• Risk based probability and consequence of failure

• Anticipate needs

• Continued maintenance with alternative methods

• Innovation

• Amenities; including technology

• Downtown parking and walkways

• Connectivity

• Agreed to levels of service

• partnerships

3) Development changed to Balanced Development

• What is the focus in the next three years?

• Orchard Rd corridor

• Expansion of commercial and residential

• Can’t encompass everything

• Return on investment

• All sectors

• Downtown focus

• Making attractive

• Oswego is a good investment

• Market based

• Diverse housing stock

• Fits with the Village’s vision

• Growing services and matching levels of service; not enough trucks and employees in Public Works • Resource growth

4) Personnel Recruitment and Retention

• Training and development

• Retirement/succession

• Investment in workforce

• Balance growth with capacity

• Career path

• Capabilities and capacity

• Employees first

• Invest in technology to support efficiency

• Evaluations

• Staffing analysis

• Staffing service demand

• Patient and thoughtful recruitment

• Active in professional organizations

• Showcase what we offer

• Multi-skilled/flexible and functional workforce

5) Water Project

• Water

• Cost/funding

• Rates 

• Determining option/selection

• Governance

• Legal 

• Legislation

• Educating public

• Setting expectations

• Design/construction

• Internal improvements

• Partnership with Montgomery and Yorkville

6) Wolf’s Crossing 

• Financing

• Development

• Timing

• Prioritization

• Land acquisition

• Partnership with other agencies/taxing bodies

• Grants/grant writing

• Project management

• Design

• Communicating with residents and developers

• Other infrastructure

• Disruptions

Desired Outcome

What outcomes are you seeking to achieve in each Priority area? What does success look like?

Key Outcome Indicator

What would be an indicator of the success you desire? What can/do you monitor, count, report?

Target

The measurable end state --achievement of desired outcome. Based upon the desired outcome, what is a realistic  target? What’s achievable in the next three years?

Mr. Rapp provided examples of how to determine the outcome, indicator, and targets.

Private vs. Public Sector Strategy

Private sector strategy definition- “A strategy is an integrated set of choices that position a firm, in an industry, to  earn superior returns over the long run”

Public sector strategy definition- “A strategy is an integrated set of choices that position an organization, in its  environment, to earn superior mission performance over the long run”; or “A strategy is an integrated set of  choices that position a local government to maximize public value and achieve its ambitions”

At 5:26 p.m. the Board and staff broke out into small groups to draft the desired outcomes, indicators and targets  for FY22, FY23 and FY24; ending 12/31/24. Each group will come back and present the information and defend  why the group chose the outcome, indicator, and target. Board and staff reconvened at 6:54 p.m. The group discussed each draft and made changes based on the discussion.

Board and staff discussion focused on staff needs direction so they can work on the initiatives; reality outcomes  can conflict with others; can have both, but will need reconciliation; will do an update to the list every year;  categorizing; levels of service and numbers on everything; defining levels of service; proactive versus reactive;  whether the targets can be achieved in three years; website for water source; water source recommendation will be  brought to the December 14th Board meeting; Wolf’s Crossing project contains ten projects at three years per  project; career development plan instead of succession planning; competitive wages and benefits.

Next Steps

Mr. Rapp will meet with the management team and determine initiatives, goal alignment, and put together a project  plan. Approximately 18 big items to achieve in the next three years with 25-30 initiatives.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 7:59 p.m.

https://www.oswegoil.org/home/showpublisheddocument/4534/637732820320900000