06 July 2018

IMAGINE Mesa: From the City Manager’s Desk. Nah, That's only in Topeka, Kansas

Some people might remember all the hoopla about three years ago when the City of Mesa joined Bloomberg's WhatWorkCities which City Manager Chris Brady signed October 15, 2015.  
This is a link > https://whatworkscities.bloomberg.org/
As of May 2018, their partners have provided direct support to 100 cities in 39 states.
Setting the Stage Mesa Mormon Republican Mayor John Giles came into office promising to build the “NextMesa", admitting at the same time in his first State-Of-The-City speech in 2014 that he needed some help with new ideas. He also stated that city government has failed to interest or engage citizens in city government. . . How's he doing now?
 
"Through its work with What Works Cities, Mesa has made significant strides toward a new vision of NextMesa that Mayor Giles and City Manager Brady has set for the city. Mesa city staff has successfully built upon their existing processes and systems to fuel a culture of continual self-improvement and innovation based on the use of data and evidence. . . " HUH?
 
Click here for a PDF copy of this City Feature
 
True that in October 2015 Mesa enacted its first Open Data policy, established an Open Data leadership board, conducted a data inventory and established a process for the release of data . . . and then what?
Topeka Becomes a #TopCity for Citizen Engagement
"When it comes to government, citizens usually want to know about two things: spending and outcomes. The city of Topeka, Kansas set out to proactively address these issues, not only by transparently providing this information to its citizens, but also by finding new and innovative ways to get citizens to pay attention to it. Topeka’s adoption of an open data platform was an easy win with local administrators, but the city’s greatest success may lie in getting citizens interested and engaged with government.
. . . The city’s open data program started as a clear directive from a city manager in 2015 to do something about transparency, . . The first step was adopting an open data platform, but not one that provided data for data’s sake. Topeka's deputy IT director and team were looking for something that didn’t have the one-dimensional limitations of a PDF, and didn’t “require a degree in accounting to understand, . .
Topeka Open Budget
Socrata had the tools that fit the bill. . .
Next, the city added Capital Projects Explorer, a site that details the city’s many infrastructure projects, including budgets, status, timelines, and images. This information is updated daily from a project management application. Currently, over 170 active projects are displayed.
Topeka started using Open Checkbook to provide access to information on exactly how the city spends money - which vendors are paid, for what, and how much. The site was another success, particularly among city and regional government workers who use the database as a handy source of truth . . .
Encouraging a New Level of Engagement
But having the data online and accessible was only the first part of Topeka’s strategy. The next goal was to get more residents engaged with it. Thinking like a customer-service organization, Schoonover’s team began using creative tools to encourage access in ways that reach the community.
For example, a weekly digital newsletter, “From the City Manager’s Desk,” has been a central way to share city updates. Originally, it was built as a PDF then placed online for download and attached to an email sent to city council members. . .
Twitter is also a great way to get feedback about the city’s open data programs. A series of tweets ask Topekans to fill out a survey about the city’s Open Government Initiative.
Tweets with replies by Alex Deshuk (@alexpd) | Twitter 
Twitter   Alex Deshuk
Retired
Goodyear, AZ
mesaaz.gov
Joined August 2008
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Visit the Data Portal for data sets from the City of Mesa >> https://data.mesaaz.gov/
 
Public Records Requests LINK >> http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/public-records-requests 
Commonly requested Mesa items available online
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here's a link to the entire case study from Socrata:
https://socrata.com/case-study/topeka-becomes-topcity-citizen-engagement/
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Here are some of the promises made in an opinion piece by Alex Deshuk on August 10, 2015 published by The Sunlight Foundation  
". . . With open data, Mesa, Ariz., is inviting the public to share in this challenge and join us in that conversation.
Mesa is excited to be involved in Bloomberg’s What Works Cities initiative because of the way it engages the public in discussing the data behind key strategic decisions. We plan on using Sunlight’s open data principles and guidelines as we build our strategic priorities and open data strategy to improve where we work, live and play in Mesa.
We want to build an open data portal that provides a visual around our strategic goals to increase understanding internally and externally.
In addition to the visual charts or maps, we’ll provide the full dataset for the public to use and expand upon.
Aligning with mayoral, council and city manager priorities, we will begin this process concentrating on three, citywide strategic efforts:
  • Increase the prosperity of Mesa residents
  • Reduce blight in Mesa; and
  • Increase the vitality and vibrancy of downtown Mesa.
Much more to come on the specifics!
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Who is Alex Deshuk?
Alex Deshuk is the chief innovation officer for the City of Mesa, Ariz., and is a direct report to the city manager. He oversees a combined team of 400 employees and an operating budget of approximately $50 million. He is responsible for championing new and existing initiatives that streamline operations and improve customer service, as well as overseeing complex organizational change projects including technology and vertical business applications.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation.
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Topeka Becomes a #TopCity for Citizen Engagement
 
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RELATED CONTENT ABOUT WORKWORKSCITIES
Learn more about their projects by going to https://whatworkscities.bloomberg.org/cities/
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