Assistant city manager proposes reorganization, pledges faster code enforcement

Assistant City Manager Nicole Ferini gave an extensive presentation about a reorganized city executive structure and process improvements intended to strengthen service delivery and accountability.

Ferini described a structure centered on the city manager with four broad branches and two assistant city managers dividing development/infrastructure and organizational services. She said the reorganization aligns operations with the council's strategic priorities and supports faster decision-making.

On code enforcement, Ferini said staff brought in an external consultant and conducted a full-day workshop to process-map 45 categories of enforcement. "The current process can take as long as 100 days," she told the council, and the consultant helped identify steps to bring specific cycles under 30 days and in some cases to under two weeks. Ferini also described GIS mapping work that field-verified the condition of about 3,700 structures and said the city is using data-driven triage to prioritize dilapidated buildings.

Council members asked about accountability, consultant oversight and contract deliverables. Ferini said assistant city managers and the city manager ultimately oversee consultants working in their portfolios and that future contracts will have clearer deliverables and benchmarks tied to strategic-plan metrics. She pledged quarterly reporting to the council on metrics such as permit processing, code-enforcement cycle time and infrastructure updates.

The presentation emphasized transparency, technology (including a ClickFix-style reporting app), and an intent to provide public dashboards to show progress against the strategic plan.