Let’s Go Digital

Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

The City of Tallahassee has had a long history of annexation activity as a means of

achieving growth. During its first 150 years, Tallahassee expanded from one-quarter of a mile in

size to 28.18 square miles by 1980. Since 1980, the City has witnessed a tremendous increase in

annexation activity with 75 additional square miles having been added during this time,

swelling the size of Tallahassee to 103.31 square miles as of December 31, 2014. Many of the

annexations in the early 1980's were accomplished through a double-referendum process that

required the approval of voters living in the area proposed for annexation as well the approval

of City voters. Since 1985 the vast majority of the City's annexations have been achieved

through a voluntary process where the owners of properties petition for inclusion into the City.

As an organization that has seen measurable growth, the stakeholders are just as

extensive. Refer to: (http://www.talgov.com/planning/planning-compln-stakeholders.aspx) for

a listing. Some of the most common publics consist of Engineers, Notaries, Surveyors,

Architects, Contractors, Internal and External customers, Vendors, Residents and Authorized

Agents. The City of Tallahassee Growth Management Division services in the public sector. The

organization as a whole is in the process of creating online digital platforms to accommodate

today’s most innovative technology.

Since the recession, over the last five years there has been a quantifiable increase in the

development of the city and the request for annexations within that jurisdiction. The City of

Tallahassee has the reputation of setting the foundation for other municipalities to follow. As a

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Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

quasi government entity the only competitor to be noted in this public sector would be the

Leon County Development Support and Environmental Management. As the City of Tallahassee

works diligently to keep up with today’s technology and innovations, the only concern of our

competitor (Leon County’s Growth and Environmental Management Department) would be the

attempt of County Commissioners to merge City and Leon county departments and maintain

either of the municipalities implemented procedures.

The City of Tallahassee’s aim will be focused on going 100% digital on a user friendly

online platform for Land Use and Building applications that provides support through various

channels easily accessible to our publics. This process will take months of building the most

appropriate software by our administrative staff, in addition to creating messaging to distribute

through the appropriate channels, to then distribute to our segmented publics. The City will

provide group training classes in office and on-site, in addition to office support available during

work hours, as well as online chat services. Our website is available 24-7 with instruction videos

and FAQ’s.

The mission of the City of Tallahassee Growth Management division is as follows:

http://www.talgov.com/growth/GrowthHome.aspx

It is our pledge to provide exceptional service to our customers by:

Understanding customers come first Delivering a smiling, helpful, positive, professional outlook and attitude Treating everyone with respect, fairness, dignity, and nondiscrimination

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Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

Listening to our customers with a caring demeanor Returning phone calls within one business day Providing knowledgeable answers, and resolving issues promptly and

accurately – within 24 hours if possible Keeping customers informed about their concerns Thanking and acknowledging our customers Continually exceeding customer expectations Soliciting customer feedback to improve our services Customer satisfaction is a direct reflection of our effectiveness as an

organization.

The mission resonates well with and is supported by the stakeholders. The Growth

Management division operates within the City of Tallahassee. Public Relations are handled

within the organization with guidance of outside consultancies on certain solutions to problems

outside of their expertise. Otherwise, for the sake of budget friendly operations, the

organization utilizes the talents within.

The Growth Management Department is the foundation for all development that is

proposed within the City of Tallahassee. The organization communicates with other

departments within its municipality to provide a service to the community. The reach of our

services expand from the city limits of Tallahassee, to Leon County, and Wakulla County.

The Growth Management division has lived up to its reputation as an organization that

strives to adhere to the regulations of the law, and create innovative ways to enhance the

services of the division while exceeding the expectations of their stakeholders and publics. In

doing so the division has employed a diverse group to service our community.

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Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

Currently, the Growth Management division is researching software to move the

organization to an online platform. The software will need to accommodate all compositions

within the Building and Land Use divisions, as well as all other departments that interact with

the organization. In which, at any given time can be all other divisions within the overall

organization of The City of Tallahassee. The digital platform must be easily accessible and user

friendly for our publics. Going totally digital may encounter issues with publics that may not

have jumped onto the tech-savvy world.

The publics’ outlook on the organization is of a positive nature. The department has

maintained its integrity and trust from the community as a division of innovation and supporter

of new technologies. Over time the department has maintained its good standing and will

continue to strive for the recognitions of such.

The deadlines that are set in place are to provide ample time for research and

development to find the most effective software to accommodate the needs of the division. To

organize focus groups that will critique to campaign of going digital from research and

development, to implementation, then to a targeted review date of the campaign. All deadlines

will affect process and procedures of the division, as well as the public relations messages to

inform the publics of the upcoming changes to the division’s services.

The City of Tallahassee Growth Management Department will take an informative

approach to the public relations aspect of this campaign. In doing so, there will be traditional

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Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

coverage through television and radio, as well as digital coverage through the City of

Tallahassee’s web page (www.talgov.com), and other social media platforms such as Facebook,

Twitter, and YouTube.

My recommendation for the City of Tallahassee, Growth Management division is to

utilize internal and external publics on all aspects of the campaign. It is my experience that the

people giving and receiving your services that can provide crucial information on the innovative

needs of the division, as well as important feedback on the success of your campaign.

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Let’s Go Digital

City of Tallahassee – Growth Management

Tammy Jimenez

References

History of Tallahassee | Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://talgov.com/planning/GovHistory.aspx

Post-Disaster Redevelopment Plan for Leon County | Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.talgov.com/planning/planning-compln-stakeholders.aspx

Growth Management | Growth Management. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.talgov.com/growth/GrowthHome.aspx

Talgov.com | The Official Website of the City of Tallahassee. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2016, from http://www.talgov.com/

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