City Manager’s Report November 2022 1 UPDATES FROM CITY MANAGER MICHAEL ROGERS  Announcement  City Manager met with the Chair of the PCOB, William Mendes, to discuss transition in the wake of the resignation of Executive Director Hansel Aguilar. The position will be posted immediately to reduce the time as much as possible before there is a new executive Director is appointed to assist the Board in its duties. It was agreed that the Board will review its proposed operating procedures and submit for the December 5 Council meeting.  Announcement  City Manager attended the Charlottesville Police Awards Dinner sponsored by the Charlottesville Police Foundation. Congratulations again to all awardees.  Announcement  City Manager Attended the Award Ceremony for the Charlottesville Fire Department. Congratulations to all awardees.  The City Manager held a four listening sessions with personnel of the Charlottesville Police Department to elicit their views on the characteristics they believe the next chief should possess. These were very informative discussions.  The City Manager hosted a virtual webinar with staff to consider alternative financing strategies for energy savings projects. As we look at the projects in the CIP, exploring alternative ways to finance projects using Private capital. The new PPA rules adopted at the last meeting will make this approach viable for the city.  City Manager as Vice Chair chaired the October 25 Board meeting of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.  City Manager Met with Paul Beyer of the Tom Tom festival to explore ways the City could support the festival and the benefits of doing so.  City Manager met with staff to review current operation of the Stormwater fund address issues of program operation.  City Manager attended the Chamber of Commerce Partner in Trust event  City Manager met with Superintendent Royal Gurley and his senior staff to discuss the CPS budget.  Following the shooting on Saturday night, the City Manager met with Chief Durrette and the command staff and investigators to discuss the status of the investigation and steps that can be taken to provide greater presence on the Downtown Mall. 2 UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER ASHLEY MARSHALL  Staffing Update  The City of Charlottesville would like to thank Mr. Hansel Aguilar for his hard work as our first Police Civilian Oversight Board Executive Director. Mr. Aguliar’s last day with the City was October 21, 2022, as he moves on to leading the Berkley, California Oversight Board. Best wishes!  Congratulations to Ms. Jamie Valencia for her promotion to fill the role of Deputy Director for the Department of Human Resources!  Office of Equity and Inclusion  November is Native American Heritage Month. The City of Charlottesville sits on land stolen from the Monacan People. The City of Charlottesville acknowledges the Monacan People as the Indigenous custodians of the land that creates the City, and we pay our respect to their elder's past, present, and emerging. OEI would encourage our community to learn more about the Monacan People through their website: https://www.monacannation.com/about-us.html as well as by visiting their museum in nearby Amherst County (https://www.monacannation.com/museum.html) UPDATES FROM DEPUTY CITY MANAGER SAMUEL SANDERS  Staffing Update  We welcome Ben Chambers, who joined NDS as our Transportation Planner to organize and coordinate comprehensive transportation planning for the city.  Notice of Funding Availability – Housing Programs  Next Funding Opportunity: Nov 1 – Nov 30: Housing development project investments, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects. CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE UPDATES  Office of the City Manager – Executive Assistant Terry Bentley (she/her)  The City Manager would like to remind the community to please make an appointment when requesting time with members of the City Manager’s Office. The nature of the City Manager’s schedule makes it virtually impossible to see walk-ins and we would very much appreciate being able to ensure that you can connect directly with the desired individual when making a trip to City Hall. The City Hall Ambassador can assist with scheduling at the main entrance to City Hall, or you can call the office at 970-3333 to schedule with Terry or Teresa.  Office of Budget and Management – Director Krisy Hammill (she/her)  The Office of Budget and Management is in full swing of Budget Season for Fiscal Year 2023. The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget proposals have been completed by Departments and are currently under review. The operating budget proposals were released Monday, October 10, 2022, and are due to the Budget Office on November 4, 2022. The Office is also working on an outward- facing webpage for the community to keep track of the budget process as the inaugural users of the City’s Zencity platform. Information about the Budget including the Budget Explorer tool and the PDF of the FY2023 budget can be found online at: https://www.charlottesville.gov/169/Budget.  Office of Communications & Public Engagement – Deputy Director David Dillehunt (he/him)  Office of Communications and Public Engagement team member Caroline Rice is leading the planning efforts for the annual community tree lighting, Grand Illumination. We are on track to have an outstanding 25th Anniversary event. Public Safety Information Officer Kyle Ervin continues to 3 support CFD and CPD with timely news releases and announcements. He will also be working on photographs to improve the overall City website. Communications Specialist Remy Trail continues to assist City boards and commissions with Zoom meeting setup and scheduling and coordinates the Sunday programming for CPA-TV. Further, Deputy Director David Dillehunt continues to provide management support the full team while leading the execution of the City's PEG-TV (public access television) operation. He has also completed the latest edition of the City employee newsletter for the month of October 2022.  Office of Community Solutions –Director Alex Ikefuna (he/him)  OCS Staff is ordering recycled bags for distribution through DSS to SNAP and WIC recipients in association with the implementation of the Plastic Bag Tax in January 2023.  Currently reviewing applications for Housing Program Manager; Interviews to begin in October with a selection of a new hire in November.  Finalizing Job Description for new role of Grants Manager to serve as a central repository for all grants pursued by city departments and to research and write grants on behalf of the city.  RFP for CDBG & HOME funds closed October 31st; proposals will be reviewed in November and recommendations to council in December.  Office of Economic Development – Director Chris Engel (he/him)  No update at this time  Office of Human Rights – Director Todd Niemeier (he/him)  The Office of Human Rights continues to receive a high volume of incoming requests for individual support. We are still entering service data for the month of September and October, but the current total incoming contacts for 2022 is 2,464. The total incoming contacts for the entirety of 2021 was 1,962, the highest of any year since the opening of the office in 2014. The office is also working on final drafts of job descriptions and interview questions ahead of posting for a Human Rights Intake Counselor and Human Rights Investigator. Victoria McCullough, Community Outreach and Administrative Specialist for the Office of Human Rights, in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission and the Communications Department, developed a community survey to solicit public feedback on the Commission’s legislative recommendations to Council, which closed on October 3rd at 101 respondents. Survey results show affordable housing as the highest priority identified by respondents, with mental health and emergency housing/support for people who are unhoused both identified as the next highest in priority. She is continuing to do outreach with organizations including Region Ten’s Community Based Recovery Support Services as well as through one-on- ones with service providers in the community to promote the Office of Human Rights and the services provided. Currently for the year of 2022 the Office of Human Rights has attended a total of 75 outreach events including 43 service provision events and 32 collaboration and leadership events. Victoria also contributes significant time to assisting with incoming inquiries and individual service follow-up and provided feedback on the Human Rights Intake Counselor and Human Rights Investigator position descriptions and interview questions. Human Rights Interns Lily Gates and Ginny Helmandollar continue to hold the primary responsibility for individual service data entry and completion of minutes for publicly noticed meetings of the Commission. They also made significant contributions to editing the Human Rights Intake Counselor and Human Rights Investigator position descriptions and interview questions. Ginny, who attends school at William and Mary while working remotely with the office, has recreated the office’s refugee resettlement simulation “Walk 10,000 Miles in My Shoes.” She is working with a professor and classmates to host a live simulation in November and the school plans to integrate the simulation into future class work at the college.  At its last regular meeting on September 15th, The Human Rights Commission voted to adopt the 4 CY2021 Annual Report for presentation to City Council on November 7. The Commission also received a draft copy of the amended Human Rights Ordinance (City Code Chapter 2, Article XV) for review ahead of the next regular meeting on October 20th. The draft amended ordinance contains numerous updates related to enforcement procedures including new language that is substantially equivalent to federal fair housing law: the first step toward entering a Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) workshare with the federal Fair Housing Office of the department of Housing and Urban Development. During this meeting, the Commission also hosted Delegate Sally Hudson for a discussion about pending and upcoming legislation within the General Assembly. The Commission will use this information, along with feedback solicited from the public, to develop its recommendations for City Council’s annual legislative agenda.  Office of Equity and Inclusion - Downtown Job Center & Home to Hope Program– Employment & Financial Opportunity Manager Roy Fitch Jr. (he/him)  Downtown Job Center: The Downtown Job Center (DJC) was in attendance for the BEACON Food Business Boot Camp Pop-Up Restaurant. The BEACON Project is a collaboration of New Hill Development and Culinary Concepts AB to promote new minority restaurateurs and caterers. The event took place the evening of September 15, 2022. Further, the Center’s collaborative efforts have ramped back up with both the City of Charlottesville Public Schools and with City of Promise. Parents are scheduling appointments as necessary for Job Center services.  Home to Hope: On September 16, 2022, Home to Hope Peer Navigator Stacey Washington attended the Project Link Community Conference hosted at the Omni Hotel. Project Link is a Region Ten Initiative that provides much-needed support and resources for mothers who are pregnant and suffering with substance use disorder. The Downtown Job Center is also a regular attendee of the Project Link Advisory Committee meetings. Specific to support given to our community through the Home to Hope Program, in Fiscal Year 2022 the program has calculated that it provided $33,400 in housing and rent relief supportive services. Further, the program provided an additional $2,617 for emergency stay assistance. 5 CITY DEPARTMENTAL UPDATES  Charlottesville Area Transit – Director Garland Williams (he/him)  Working to retain consultant to complete the state required Transit Strategic Plan (TSP).  Working to hire firm to perform project management services in support of FTA compliance services to meet federal regulations and to help with capital and amenities projects for the system.  Coordinated city participation in the Regional Transit Authority Governance Study under the administration of TJPDC.  Continuing to work closely with Albemarle County and the DRPT for the launch of micro-transit services in the county next year.  Working with Traffic Engineer to relocate E. High bus stop in coordination with new sidewalk construction aimed at bringing a higher level of safety to the corridor.  Charlottesville Fire Department – Interim Chief Michael Thomas (he/him)  Managing the leadership transition to Interim Chief Michael Thomas who assumed command of the department on Friday, October 21 at 0800.  Finalizing the master plan with consultant, ESCI, to provide long-term guidance on optimizing Fire and EMS services.  Orienting multiple new hires throughout the department and supporting them in their new roles.  Charlottesville Police Department – Assistant Chief Major LaTroy Durrette (he/him)  The Charlottesville Police Department continues to work to ensure the safety of members and guests in our community. Of late, this unfortunately includes acts of both reported violence and actual violence. Reported violence includes the incidents of swatting (hoax reports called in to cause fear) in our school system, most recently on October 20, 2022, at Buford Middle School. CPD also acknowledges the latest incident that resulted in the loss of a young life on October 24, 2022, on the Downtown Pedestrian Mall. The public should be assured that emergencies or critical incidents such as these are the number one priority of the Charlottesville Police Department. It is our responsibility to protect and serve those who live in, work in, and visit our community. If you have any information regarding any recent incident, please contact our Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (434) 977-4000. Community engagement is vital in addressing and preventing future acts of violence.  Emergency Management – Jeremy Evans (he/him)  Jeremy Evans was selected as the city’s first Emergency Management Coordinator and started in the role last month. Jeremy will be responsible for developing and managing the city’s emergency preparedness and management framework for all hazards.  Development of an Emergency Operations Plan is the next priority, along with the development of an annual work plan to define the many projects ahead to ensure a robust emergency management framework is available for activation when needed.  Human Resources – Director Mary Ann Hardie (she/her)  The Department of Human Resources would like to announce that Jamie Valencia was promoted to the Deputy HR Director position effective October 31, 2022. The Department is also undergoing a reorganization which includes providing in-service training to staff and development of other key City training to help provide enhanced support to the organization.  The Department would like to make sure the community knows that there are many open positions with multiple departments in the City. Please go to our website to see all openings and encourage eligible applicants to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/charlottesville  Department of Human Services – Director Misty Graves (she/her)  Human Services is proud to announce that the Community Attention Foster Families (CAFF) team 6 was honored to receive the United Way of Greater Charlottesville Above and Beyond in Voice for Equity award! Further congratulations are extended to Shelly Bryant, the new Westhaven Clinic Coordinator. The Clinic hosted an open house on October 12th to provide an opportunity for residents to meet the new Coordinator. This role, in partnership with the UVA School of Nursing, continues to provide access for residents of public housing to a multitude of resources aimed to address social determinants of health. The Community Resource Hotline (Pathways Program) is hiring for a Hotline Coordinator that will support and supervise the operators, collect and manage data and outcomes, as well as ensure the highest quality of trauma-supportive customer service. As of October 12, 2022, the Hotline has a balance of 478,622.57 available for disbursements at a rate of approximately $30,000 a week. The Vibrant Community Fund (VCF) launched their application process on October 4, 2022, with a hybrid Orientation session held at City Space. Additionally, VCF staff hosted guest presenter Mack McLellan, owner of Simunye, on October 11, 2022, to facilitate a workshop for applicants on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion principles and practices. Applications are due November 9, 2022.  Information Technology – Director Steve Hawkes (he/him)  October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! The Information Technology team would like to make everyone aware of the highly targeted and evolving threats we are seeing on a daily basis. For the City, our first line of defense against such threats is the staff who are well-versed in cybersecurity and working to remain vigilant in protecting City resources. In an effort to continually train staff about cybersecurity threats, a Phishing Email Training campaign ran from July through September 2022, and the IT department will continue to run training campaigns to strengthen the organization's cybersecurity awareness. The IT Security Team is also finalizing a formal Incident Response Plan (IRP) which is a document outlining steps to be taken when the organization experiences a cybersecurity incident. The IT team would also like to make the community aware that they are actively hiring for the open Systems Engineer position and the department hopes to have someone hired in the role within the next month. Future hiring will include the open Software Engineer role.  A couple of noteworthy projects that will soon be underway include the expansion of the free downtown mall and the emergency notification system. For the downtown mall Wi-Fi project, our partner, Ting, will be installing additional access points in the next few months to extend free Wi-Fi to the west end of the mall. IT will also be implementing the Emergency Notification system, CivicReady, in October and November. Finally, the department continues to move staff to using Microsoft OneDrive and continues to provide space improvements to our server drives.  Neighborhood Development Services – Director James Freas (he/him)  Over the course of the last eight months Neighborhood Development Services experienced a significant set of challenges in its ability to conduct building permit plan review and inspections. The primary factor was staffing vacancies within this division, which at its peak resulted in there being only one staff person remaining in the building division. As the graph above indicates, this staffing shortage coincided with the spring building permit application peak. As is also clear, as the volume of permits increased, the backlog compounded over time as the stack of unreviewed plans grew. 7  There are two primary actions taken that allowed the department to change course and bring down the Average Review Time (measured as the average days for review for all plans submitted in a given month). The first was an agreement signed with the office of the UVA Building Official to provide plan review and inspection services for the City. That work began at the beginning of July and served to arrest and ultimately reduce the review times of plans submitted in previous months, showing up clearly in the June review times. The second major factor occurred at the end of August with the hiring of a new, fully qualified and experienced, Building Code Official and filling the Support Services Manager position, which, in part, oversees the permit intake and file management aspects of the review process. The impact of this change can be seen in the substantial improvement between July and August and that there has not been a substantial rise in the review time even as the number of permit applications has increased in September.  Looking ahead, our review time goal will be to bring this average down to under two weeks (14 days). Reaching this goal will require continued work towards fully staffing the building division, which is currently at three of five positions. Getting there will require that we address pay competitiveness and continue to improve building permit review process management. Addressing these challenges over the last many months has been a collaborative effort across the entire Department.  Parks & Recreation – Director Dana Kasler (he/him)  Meadowcreek Golf hosted the fall Adaptive Golf clinic on October 18. This introduces adaptive recreation participants to the game of golf and teaches them basic skills like putting and chipping. This was a joint effort with the golf staff along with the team from adaptive.  Implemented the Rainout Line software system in October. This new system works like a traditional rain out phone line but also incorporates into the website. Customers can also opt-in for email/text alerts for specific park amenities or facilities. This will improve the notification system for closing or delays due to inclement weather or mechanical issues.  Marketing continues to design and distribute materials that increase awareness, participation, and revenues for the Department. Currently the Winter/Spring program guide is in its final rounds of edits and will be distributed in November with registration opening on December 5.  Applications are open for the Holiday Market which runs from November 26 – December 17 every Saturday, 8:00am – 1:pm on the City Market lot at 100 Water Street. This holiday themed market 8 provides a variety of locally produced and hand-made decorations, gifts, and food.  Police Civilian Oversight Board  The City Manager’s Office is working with PCOB Chair William Mendez to ensure that the good work of the community leaders who paved the way for the PCOB continues through this time of transition. The Community should be aware that both complaints and commendations can still be submitted online for the Board to review, and the City is moving swiftly to begin the hiring process to replace Mr. Aguilar after his departure to Berkley, California’s Civilian Oversight program. Community members who may have a complaint or commendation may file those at any time on the PCOB website: https://www.charlottesville.gov/1440/Police-Civilian-Oversight-Board  Public Works – Director Stacey Smalls (he/him)  Administration: Continuing to pursue candidates for available positions: Transportation Project Managers, Management Analyst, Traffic Engineer, Traffic Inspector, and various Public Service staffers.  Engineering: Working to support final edits and updates to the Standards and Design Manual.  Engineering: Continuing to evaluate process improvements for the development review.  Environmental Sustainability: Comment Period for the Climate Action Plan remain open until November 9th.  Environmental Sustainability: Working to finalize the Climate Action Plan for presentation to the Planning Commission to initiate its amendment to be integrated into the Comprehensive Plan.  Facilities Development: Currently working on the improvements to the fueling station at the Avon Yard; project to include replacement of fuel pump, retrieving underground gas tanks and replacing with above ground tanks.  Facilities Development: Continuing work to support the construction of the new General District Court building in partnership with Albemarle County; recent focus has been on long-term parking arrangements.  Facilities Maintenance: Working on various security matters aimed at building safety and access.  Facilities Maintenance: Working with Redevelopment Manager to standardize building maintenance for lease arrangements with city-owned properties.  Fleet: Currently developing workarounds for challenges with fleet acquisitions due to supply chain issues.  Public Service: Leaf Season kicked off Monday, October 31. The public is reminded to please ensure leaf piles have been placed appropriately for collection. Members of the public can sign up for text alerts by texting your street address to 434-771-0251.  Utilities – Director Lauren Hildebrand (she/her)  The holiday season is almost here, and with its arrival comes an increase in cooking and baking. The Department of Utilities reminds households of the importance of the proper disposal of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) produced by cooking. FOG, as well as other thick or creamy foodstuffs, should never be disposed of in the sink. FOG buildup can clog sewer and drainage pipes, resulting in messy and costly overflows. More information on FOG, and how to receive a free FOG Kit to assist with its disposal, will be sent to Utilities customers via a Utility Billing insert in the next billing cycle, and in the Utilities electronic newsletter for November.  Natural gas is a common energy source in our area, and the Department of Utilities prioritizes gas safety awareness among the public. Every four years Utilities administers a federally mandated gas safety survey to all stakeholders in the community. The University of Virginia Center for Survey Research is assisting Utilities in this action, and is conducting the safety survey for residents, commercial businesses, and excavators; compiling a comprehensive sample of the opinions for 9 those stakeholders. Safety surveys to public officials and emergency officials will be sent internally by the Department of Utilities. These surveys will be conducted through the end of the year, helping Utilities continue its robust safety program.  Social Services – Director Sue Moffett (she/her)  Representatives from the Department of Social Services are now out stationed at the Haven every Wednesday from 8 am to 10 am. The first week of this effort proved to be fruitful in that the team took an application for SNAP from one of the Haven guests and was able to approve it the same day! In addition, the Department is working with CRHA to house 6 homeless families through housing stabilization vouchers that recently became available. Should any member of the community need assistance please contact the Department of Social Services at 434-970-3400 for additional information/ Comuníquese con el Departamento de Servicios Sociales al 434-970-3400 para obtener información adicional. 10 APPOINTEES AND ELECTED OFFICIAL UPDATES  Circuit Court – Honorable Lizelle Dugger, Clerk of Circuit Court (she/her)  No update at this time  Commissioner of the Revenue – Commissioner Todd Divers (he/him)  No update at this time  Finance Office – Director Chris Cullinan (he/him)  No update at this time  Treasurer’s Office - Treasurer Jason Vandever (he/him)  The City Treasurer's Office is currently preparing second half real estate and personal property tax bills. Customers will start receiving paper or electronic statements the first week of November. The 2nd half due date is December 5, 2022. As a reminder, customers will be able to view their invoices and make payments on the City's payment website. In mid-October our office worked with the Commissioner of the Revenue to process Charlottesville Homeownership Assistance Program (CHAP) grants, providing over $1.3 Million in grants to Charlottesville Home Owners.  Voter Registrar – Registrar Taylor Yowell (she/her)  No update at this time 11