City Secretary City of Fort Worth, Texas
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CITY SECRETARY CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS EXECUTIVE SEARCH PROVIDED BY Mission Working together to build a strong community Vision Fort Worth will be the most livable and best-managed city in the country Values There are six values that guide our employees as they go about this work ) Exceptional Customer ) Ethical Behavior ) Mutual Respect Experience ) Diversity ) Continuous Improvement ) Accountability Objectives ) Building a safe community ) Preserving the past and ) Providing exceptional ) Making Fort Worth a better building the future customer service place to live, work, and play 2 FORT WORTH, TX: CITY SECRETARY THE COMMUNITY Located in North Central Texas, Fort Worth is one of the largest cities in the state and the 13th largest city in the U.S. It is the second-largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area, which is the fourth most populous metro area in the country. The county seat of Tarrant County, Fort Worth encompasses 355 miles spread across Tarrant, Denton, Parker, and Wise counties. With a city population of more than 900,000 and more than 2 million in Tarrant County, Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the country. It has been named one of “America’s Most Livable Communities” by the Partners for Livable Communities and a “Safe Community” by the National Safety Council. It has been on Forbes’ list of the “Best Places for Business and Careers,” and it was ranked 18th on U.S. News & World Report’s list of “125 Best Places to Live in the USA.” Best known for its Western heritage, Fort Worth is a city rich in contrasts, where one is as likely to find a Caravaggio masterpiece as a herd of cattle, where a leisurely carriage ride through downtown’s acclaimed Sundance Square finds its counterpart in the 200-mile-per-hour NASCAR racing action at the Texas Motor Speedway, and where high-tech and state-of-the-art technology reside within the framework and folklore of the Old West. Much like the rest of the city, downtown’s popular Sundance Square meshes past and present together in exquisite harmony. Originally constructed around the turn of the last century, the nostalgic facades of Sundance Square’s restored Victorian and art deco buildings graciously coexist with the modern glass and steel structures that tower overhead. The city takes pride in its cultural icons like Billy Bob’s Texas, Fort Worth Stockyards, and the legendary Fort Worth Stock Show. It is equally proud of the Kimbell Art Museum, European-inspired Bass Performance Hall, and the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Fort Worth Cultural District is the third-largest cultural district in the U.S., surpassed in size only by New York City and Washington, D.C. 3 FORT WORTH, TX: CITY SECRETARY ABOUT THE COMMUNITY — CONTINUED The city’s proximity to DFW International Airport has enticed some of the best-known names in commerce and industry to locate their headquarters in Fort Worth, including American Airlines, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Bell Helicopter Textron. Transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing are driving factors behind employment in the city, and as Fort Worth has emerged as a popular tourist destination, the hospitality and travel sector has become a significant economic generator as well. Other major employers include JPS Health Network, Cook Children’s Health Care System, Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, Alcon Laboratories, GM Financial, FedEx Supply Chain, as well as city and county governments and the Fort Worth Independent School District. The median annual family income in Fort Worth is $76,000. Average home values are in the $230,000 range. Access to health care and education are important quality-of-life factors, and Fort Worth offers an abundance of both. The city lays claim to one of the finest medical communities in Texas, including Cook Children’s Health Care System, Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, UT Southwestern Moncrief Medical Center of Fort Worth, Medical City Fort Worth, John Peter Smith Hospital, and TCU-UNTHSC School of Medicine. Texas Christian University (TCU), one of the state’s most prestigious universities, offers more than 100 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, fine arts and communications, education, engineering, and nursing. Texas A&M School of Law, Texas Wesleyan University, and the UNT Health Science Center draw students from around the country and beyond while Tarrant County College District serves the community across multiple campuses. 4 FORT WORTH, TX: CITY SECRETARY GOVERNANCE AND ORGANIZATION The City of Fort Worth operates under a council-manager form of government. The City Council is comprised of the Mayor, elected at-large, and eight City Council members who represent single-member districts, all serving two-year terms. The City Council adopts municipal ordinances and resolutions, makes proclamations, sets the tax rate, and approves the budget. Positions appointed by the Council include the City Manager, City Secretary, City Attorney, City Auditor, municipal court judges, and members of City boards and commissions. The Fort Worth City Council’s goals and objectives include: ) Making Fort Worth the nation’s safest ) Strengthening the economic base, developing major city the future workforce, and creating quality ) Improving mobility and air quality job opportunities ) Creating and maintaining a clean, ) Promoting orderly and sustainable attractive city development City Manager David Cooke, who was appointed to the position in 2014, oversees the day-to-day operations of the organization and is responsible for leading the City’s 7,491 employees in implementing the policies set forth by the Mayor and City Council, as well as managing an almost $2 billion annual budget. Fort Worth’s ad valorem tax rate is $0.7475 per $100 of valuation. 5 FORT WORTH, TX: CITY SECRETARY ABOUT THE POSITION Office of the City Secretary Mission Statement Promoting open and responsive government through proper recording and preservation of the city’s legislative history and official documents; providing responsive customer service to our diverse customer base; and conducting fair and impartial city elections. The City Secretary is a statutory position required by State law and the City Charter, serves as an officer of the City, and is appointed by the City Council. The City Secretary is responsible for the supervision of the Office of the City Secretary which includes the Records and Information Management Office, the Mayor and Council Communication Center (M&C Center), and the Elections division. With a staff of 15, the Office operates with an annual budget of roughly $1.7 million. The City Secretary is responsible for recording all City Ordinances, Resolutions, and Minutes of Council and Council Committee meetings and processes and maintains all city contracts. Additional responsibilities include posting all notices of all City Council and board and committee meetings per the Texas Open Meetings Act, and managing the Public Information process for the City The City Secretary coordinates City elections through Tarrant, Parker, and Denton County Elections Offices and the Office coordinates the Public Official Ethics Ordinance, administers oaths, and serves as the official filing authority for financial disclosure reports and campaign contribution and expenditure reports for officeholders and candidates. The Office also coordinates the City Council’s boards and commissions appointment process, maintains the records relating to those appointments, and provides support services to various boards and commissions. The Office of the City Secretary serves as a central repository for a wide variety of official municipal records, contracts, and other information. The staff performs research and responds to requests for information from the City Council, city staff, and citizens, and administers the city’s Public Information Act request program by working with the City Attorney’s Office and City departments to receive, track, and respond to requests under the Act. 6 FORT WORTH, TX: CITY SECRETARY ABOUT THE POSITION — CONTINUED The Records and Information Management Office facilitates the management, retention, and destruction of records in compliance with the City Code, Administrative Regulations, and the Texas State Library. The Office works with the Information Technology Solutions Department to deploy and manage enterprise information management solutions among city departments. The Mayor and Council Communication Center (M&C Center) coordinates with the City Manager’s Office and all departments to produce and distribute city council meeting agendas and packets. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES To capitalize on the successful transition of Council and Boards and Commissions to a virtual platform, the City Secretary’s Office plans on further increasing functionality by incorporating a hybrid WebEx meeting environment. This will require additional technology and staff time and will be a priority for the incoming City Secretary. As more City processes become natively digital, the City Secretary’s Office will continue to implement and leverage the robust workflow of the city-wide Enterprise Information Management System (EIMS). The new City Secretary will continue the improvement of citizen participation in the Council meetings to account for those who do not want to attend in person. Performance Measures for the Office