HomeMy WebLinkAboutBack-Up DocumentsApplication Cities of Service
Printed On: 23 February 206 Leadership Grant Program 1
Leadership r
Cities of service
All applications must be submitted from the mayor's office.
Please provide name of your city and state.
Character Limit: 100
City of Miami, Florida
Please provide contact information for the primary contact completing this application.
Name:* Lillian P. Blondet
Character Limit: 250
Title:* Director, Cityf Miami
Character Limit: 250
Department* Office f Grants Administration
Character Limit: 250
EmaiV lbiondet@rniamigov.com
Character Limit: 254
Phone Number:*
Character Limit: 100
Mailing Address:* ndAvenue, Miami F33130
Character Limit: 500
Coalition r
Is your city currently a member of the Cities of Service Coalition?
Choices
Yes
No
If your city is not currently a member, please upload the signed Declaration of Service.
File Size Limit: 5 MB
1. Experience with EngagingVolunteers*
What experience, if any, does the mayor's office or other city agencies have with engaging
citizens as volunteers? Is there a primary department responsible for the coordination of
volunteer initiatives (ex. Office of Neighborhood Services, Office of Volunteers, etc.)?
Character Limit: 1500 (1492)
Although the City of Miami does not have a specific department to coordinate volunteering
activities, the Mayor's Office and other City departments have been able to maintain a constant
presence of volunteers within their programmatic efforts. Initiatives coordinated by the
administration seek to synchronize efforts with private and nonprofit entities to address
community needs. Several city programs have been engaging residents as volunteers for years.
One example is our AmeriCorp VISTA program dedicated to economic development which has
been available for over 8 years. The program has provided community support via the
placement of over 60 VISTA volunteers who serve for a year and are strategically placed in
various organizations such as a small business assistance center, food bank, micro -lender,
financial education partners and workforce center. Activities promoting sustainable and livable
communities such as the Keep Miami Beautiful campaign have attracted volunteers throughout
the City. With the assistance of community groups, the City has planted/distributed over 6,000
trees through tree giveaway, tree plantings, Arbor Day and other events.
The Mayor's Office has a legacy of engaging residents, businesses and community organizations
to address the City's most pressing needs. His office has also engaged international
organizations and consulates to partner with the City on recycling, fitness, sea -level rise,
business, elderly and youth volunteering activities.
2. Measuring act*
If your city currently measures the impact of volunteer activities, please give one or two
examples and explain how data is captured.
Character Limit: 1500 1479
In 2014, Miami launched a Strategic Plan outlining the City's six highest priorities to specifically
align resources to needs. This Plan established objectives and strategies along with
performance measures and targets to assess success. It also provides employees a
methodology to measure impact at all levels. Programs and initiatives are organized in support
of these objectives and resources are allocated based on the greatest needs. It is of upmost
importance to the City administration to be able to make relevant, data driven decisions and to
allocate resources accordingly.
Measuring outcomes is key to review the consistency of our volunteers in our annual IRS
partnered VITA tax preparation program. All tax site volunteers are trained and asked to
commit 40 hours to the program during tax season to provide vital direct service to our
residents. Tax site coordinators report on the hours worked by each volunteer and the amount
of tax refunds prepared and submitted to the IRS.
Furthermore, the City understands that volunteering is an important contributor to the delivery
of high quality public services and as such should be measured. Although the City collects data
for many of the volunteering activities, it does not have a centralize location to collect the data.
The Chief Service Officer will provide one point of contact and a standardized platform where
all the citywide data for volunteering activities could be combined to measure the holistic
impact.
3. Management of City-Ledneer Initiatives*
Is there a staff member who primarily manages city -led volunteer initiatives? If so, is this
person a candidate to be hired as the Chief Service Officer? If the staff lead is not a potential
candidate, how do you envision they would collaborate with the Chief Service Officer? 1268
Currently, the City of Miami does not have the proper candidate internally. We expect all
department project/initiative liaisons to work with the Office of the Mayor and the Chief
Service Officer once on -board, in implementing citizen -powered initiatives. Vital to the overall
integration, we envision our most prominent and recurring volunteer efforts to be housed
under the purview of the CSO. This will enable city and volunteer resources to be used most
effectively, and reveal volunteer specific needs in our programming. Existing programs
already having civic engagement components will be identified to further generate
community interest. Appropriate program specific metrics for measuring volunteer's efforts
will be developed in order to capture community -driven performance generated by the
volunteer network. The City envisions that the Mayor's Office of Volunteering Initiatives will
be able to consolidate Miami's volunteering efforts under one umbrella to measure the
impact residents have in their own lives and communities.
The City of Miami's mission of "Serving, Enhancing and Transforming our Communities" is a
pragmatic goal where residents, businesses, employees, and civic -entities work together to
have a sustainable and livable community.
Character Limit: 2000
What nonprofit and higher -education partners, if any, does your city collaborate with for
volunteer program implementation? Include scope of partnership and support provided.
Character Limit: 1500 1492
The City has collaborated directly with the following organization regarding volunteer program
implementation:
Annual VITA tax preparation campaign —10-20 trained volunteers assist at our 3 major tax
preparation sites. One of our oldest operating the site is housed in the Corpus Christi Catholic
Church community clinic. Our tax services are provided in the evenings and weekends when
the clinic is not in operation.
Financial Planning Day— multi -day event in partnership with Miami Dade College, the Florida
Planning Association, the Certified Financial Planner Board, and the Foundation for Financial
Planning. Skilled certified financial planners, volunteer their time to provide direct one-on-one
assistance to local residents regarding their finances.
Liberty Square Housing Development (Miami's oldest public housing project) involved in the
coordination of 800 volunteers to beautify the housing project.
Olinda Elementary School — coordinated volunteers included painting and landscaping 50
homes.
South Florida Homeless Veterans "Stand Down" event — provided volunteers that acted as a
support for the event and used for a variety of functions
Arbor Day —volunteers and community organizations assist with tree planting.
Digital Connectors —Elevate Miami and Miami Dade College recruited volunteer students who
taught older adults how to use their computer. Elevate Miami received support from Comcast,
Miami Dade School Board, Sprint, Intel, Clearwire, and Bellsouth.
5. Corporate Partnerships*
What experience, if any, does your city have collaborating with corporate partners for
volunteer activities? Provide specific examples. Character Limit: 1500
. Leveraging Skills-Basedof t ers*
What experience, if any, does your city have with leveraging skills -based volunteers?
Character Limit: 1500
Our also recruits individuals with business and
accounting background to complete income taxes for our residents.
, Supporting Impact Volunteering Initiatives*
As a requirement of this grant opportunity, the city must implement at least one impact
volunteering initiative. Please explain how your city will support the costs associated with
implementing an impact volunteering initiative. Character Limit; 2000 1101
The City of Miami takes the issues it faces head-on by first incorporating many of the Cities of
Service imperatives in the City's strategic plan. Considering the legacy and commitment to
areas such as poverty alleviation, the City ensures it will support the costs associated with
creating and implementing a new service plan and will support the costs associated with
successfully implementing at Feast one impact volunteering initiative
Internal infrastructure support will also be provide and include the following elements:
- Dedicated senior staff office space at City Hall, in close proximity to the Mayor's office
- Office related equipment- computer/printer/telephone
- Appropriate software/licensing and Internet access
- Clerical/administrative support
- Dedicated assigned parking
Use of City facilities such as parks and meeting rooms
The City foresees to already have budgeted -expenditures allocated for-projects/initiatives
that may be selected for implementation. Additional funding can also be incorporated in the
2017 City of Miami cycle which coincides with the award of this grant.
Mayor's Role
1. Mayor's Priorities* Character Limit: 1500 1500
Please provide a short summary of your mayor's priorities for the city. Are there currently any
volunteer activities associated with these priorities?
Mayor Regalado's priorities align with the City's Strategic Plan Priority areas: Public Safety;
Clean and Beautiful Neighborhoods; Growth and Development; Education and Economic
Access; Culture and Recreation, and Efficient and Effective Government.
Programs and initiatives completed during his tenure in support to these priorities include:
Elderly services/healthcare: Veterans services; Children and youth initiatives; Poverty
alleviation programs Financial empowerment & education; Development of job opportunities
thru the creation of the Office of International Business Development (Miami EB -S); and the
implementation of sustainable initiatives. These program and initiatives are all active and
utilize volunteers as part of the implementation strategy.
Twice a year Veteran Services, host the Homeless Citizens Stand Down. Led by the Volunteer
Director along with many local partners, the community is mobilized to assist homeless citizens
and veterans to get off the streets of Miami. This Office has also been able to rehabilitate
homes for veterans with disabilities utilizing private funding and community partnerships.
In 2014, Mayor Regalado accepted the "My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge" to enact
sustainable policy, programs and partnerships to implement cradle -to -college -and -career
strategies for improving life outcomes of all young people. Community leaders and
organizations have participated in working groups to expand efforts to better serve the needs of
the youth.
. Mayoral Engagement*
What role will the Mayor take in supporting the successful installation and tenure of a Chief
Service Officer in your city? Character Limit: 2000
At the City's publically held Commission meeting, the Mayor will present and seek the
approval of the five elected Commissioners to officially appoint the new CSO to the City. The
public is normally present at these events. Included are administration's departmental
directors and the Chief Administrator, the City Manager. This formal public and televised
forum, ensures the focus and duties of the new CSO are well publicized and officially
integrated. After final commission approval, many times these important appointments are
further publicized by a Press Conference which will outline the City's Service Plan, the
individual in charge (the CSO), followed by the Mayor's commitment to the initiative.
. ""
1. Organizational art*
Please upload an organizational chart that delineates where the Chief Service Officer lies within
the city's structure.
File Size Limit: 5 MB
2. Chief Service Officer Supervision*
If the Chief Service Officer will not be reporting directly to the mayor, please explain why.
A new office - Office of Volunteering Initiatives — reporting directly to the Mayor will be
established once the Cities of Service grant is awarded to the City of Miami.
Character Limit: 1500
3. Communication with the Mayor*
How will the mayor engage with the Chief Service Officer and be informed of his/her successes
and challenges? Character Limit: 15001328
The CSO will report and have direct communication with the Mayor.. The CSO office will be
located in close proximity to the Mayor's executive office in order to facilitate the meeting,
planning, recruitment and implementation of selected programs. Weekly meetings between
the Mayor and the CSO will be scheduled to ensure opportunities and impact initiatives are
appraised. The CSO will also be apart of the monthly executive meetings, thereby providing
the CSO appropriate face time with the City Manager and all key departments within the City.
This one meeting alone provide an overall view of the city and can provide substantial
opportunities to showcase the City's Service Plan along with the needs, challenges and
integration to existing City programs. In addition, the CSO will meet with the Mayor
quarterly to review the Service Plan and the scheduled volunteer impact initiatives and their
metrics.
Understanding that communication and transparency are critical to effective public
engagement, the Office of Volunteering Initiatives will also be included in the City's Strategic
Plan and will be required to report its departmental metrics to the Office of Strategic Planning
and Performance on a quarterly basis. These metrics are available in the City's website and
are easily accessible to the public.
Position Compensation & PrivateGrants
1. Hiring Freeze*
Does your city currently have a hiring freeze for city employees, particularly within the mayor's
office?
Choices
Yes
Na
Does your city have prior experience with. creating high -Level positions for the mayor's office
using private funding? Yes
M If yes, what were the positions and when were they filled? For the creation of the Office of
International Business Development, the Mayor's office approved and appointed a Senior
Advisor that currently manages the City's EB -5 Regional Center.
I7 Are those positions still active? If not, why? This position is active.
0 What challenges, if any, did your city face in creating a position using private funding and how
did the city overcome those challenges? None
Character Limit: 2500
3. Process for Accepting Private
Describe the process for your city to accept and use private funds. Character Limit: 15001028
For awards in excess of $25,000, City Commission authorization is required to accept funds
and authorize the administration to execute necessary documents for the implementation of
the program/initiative. The formal acceptance must follow a particular protocol including:
- Creation, review and publishing of legislation (resolution) which outlines the intent and
use of the funds, any agreements and exhibits,
- Routing packet to key departments for review and approval;
At the prescribed Commission date, present matter to City Commission during a public
meeting for discussion and approval.
The executed agreement and resolution are used internally for administrative purposes such
as creating a complete accounting, including a budget and subaccounts (if needed) of the
program. This enables the City to detail and track all expenses related to the private funds
received.
The City anticipates that this process can be finalized in a timely manner so that the hiring of
the Chief Service Office can be completed by June 1, 2016.
4. Potential Challenges i Private Grants*
At this time, do you anticipate any challenges using private funding to create a high level
position? How would you overcome any such challenges? We do not foresee any challenges
arising with the creation of this position.
Character Limit: 1500
S. Funding Request*
Your city may request up to $100,000 for salary for the Chief Service Officer role. Please specify
the amount requested. $97,500 including benefits
Character Limit: 20 ($69,000 + $7200 [$600 *12] +$6658 [9.65% of salary (Fico/Mica, WC, Unep)] = $82,858
10% pension = $6,900, car allowance $250 * 12 = $3000, cell allowance $50*12 = $600, + $4000 other
Total Salary and Benefits = $97358
6. Explanation Salary*
Describe how the salary for this position is established and how it compares to similarly
situated, high-level positions within your city. Character Limit: 1500
The City's HR Compensation Division (HR) is responsible for the administration of the compensation
system, position management and ensuring salary ranges are competitive with current labor market
conditions. eased on the job description and requirements for the Chief Service Officer, the HR
will identify a job classification suitable for this position. The salary and benefits will be
commensurate to existing high-level positions with similar management and administrative
responsibilities. Utilizing existing job classifications will also expedite the hiring process,
thus facilitating the placement of the CFO by the required timeframe.
7. Supplementing the Grant *
If the salary exceeds $100,000, how will the city supplement the grant award to meet the full
cost of the position? Character Limit: 1500
At this time, the City does not expect to exceed the grant award, however, additional costs
related to this position will be included in the Mayor Office's budget if required.
8. Position Sustainability* Character Limit: 1500 1488
This grant is only for one year and should be considered seed funding in order to create the
Chief Service Officer position, with the expectation that it be sustained by the city into the
future. How will the position be sustained beyond the grant term?
It is expected that Miami high impact service plan will directly align with its own strategic
plan and Cities of Service priorities. In partnership with faith -based organizations and
community-based organizations, the Miami will continue to support and/or facilitate access
to services and resources that engage Miami residents in identifying challenges and solving
problems. City -led, citizens -driven solutions will be woven into the City day-to-day operation
by incorporating performance metrics into the strategic plan.
This seed funding will allow the City an immediate launching pad to sustainable volunteer
programs that can move the needle in various strategic areas. With this initial investment,
the City can pick up the mantle and continue fine-tuning the volunteer network and outcome,
using direct general funds from the City. As previously mentioned, the legislation presented
for Commission approval will, within it, also contain language to the effect of future city
funding responsibility.
"Serving, Enhancing and Transforming our Community" is the City of Miami Mission. Public
engagement and volunteering programs/services are integral to ensuring that priority areas
address all of Miami's cross-cultural, multi-lingual, and socio-economic levels. Sustaining the
Chief Service Officer position thru the general fund budget will ensure that citywide impact
solutions are implemented with the assistance of the residents, businesses, organizations and
stakeholders.
By acknowledging the following statements, your city understands and commits to the award
requirements. Under this award, Chief Service Officers will be expected to drive the
development of a city-wide service plan, coordinate at least one impact volunteering initiative,
create a Service Advisory Board, and bring other resources to the table.
City -Wide Service len*
A citywide service plan is an essential, living document that establishes goals and means,
evolves over time with city priorities, and is I<ey to successful implementation of impact
volunteering initiatives.
Choices
My city commits to creating a city-wide service plan during the grant period.
Implementation of act Volunteering Iitiaties*
Impact volunteering initiatives are city -led, citizen -powered programs that target specific needs
and produce measurable results. Pillars of impact volunteering include: leadership by the
Mayor, engagement of citizens and community partners, planning for strategies and goals, and
accountability through measurement and reporting.
Choices
My city commits to creating at least one impact volunteering initiative during the grant period.
It is a best practice to create a Service Advisory Board to align volunteer activities to target
neighborhoods, support the development of the city-wide service plan, and serve as champions
of impact volunteering in your city.
Choices
My city commits to creating a Service Advisory Board.
Applications will be evaluated by Cities of Service according to their established criteria. Please
note that JPMorgan Chase does not have any role in the selection process.