Employee Newsletter

Within the last six months, various changes have been made to Civil Service rules that affect employees. For a breakdown of what these changes entail, please click here to view a detailed Update.

If you have any specific questions regarding these rule changes, please contact the Human Resources department at 541-5404.

Supervisory Academy Graduates

The following employees recently completed the 40-hour Basic Clerical Supervisors Course. Deputy City Manager William Studer addressed the graduates and awarded their Certificates of Completion. Mr. Armando Peña, Administrator of Organizational Development, who conducts the course, was on-hand to congratulate the graduates.

Graduates:
Aida Elorreaga, Josefina Tabullo, Rose Olivas, Rachel Hernandez, Trini Corral, Angelica Garcia, Maria Maese, Norma Martinez, Daniel Mascorro, Josie Olivas, Olivia Saniesteban, Enrique Valadez, Barbara Garner, Guillermina Sarabia, Alex Montelongo and Martha B. Sanchez.

Preparing for Pandemic Influenza
by Jorge C. Magaña, M.D., F.A.A.P., Director, El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District

A pandemic is a world-wide disease outbreak. A flu pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which people have little or no immunity and for which there is no vaccine. The disease spreads easily from person to person and can cause serious illness and death. It can sweep across the country and around the world in very short time. It is difficult to predict when the next influenza pandemic will occur or how severe it will be. Wherever or whenever a pandemic starts, everyone around the world is at risk.

Public health professionals are especially concerned about the avian H5N1 virus. Until now, theH5N1 virus is only spread from birds/poultry to humans. If the virus mutates to a form that can be spread from human to human, there is a potential for a human pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that there have been 149 confirmed human cases with 80 human deaths in the countries of Viet Nam, Thailand, Turkey, Cambodia, Indonesia and China. There have been no cases reported in the United States.

A severe influenza pandemic could lead to high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life in communities such as El Paso would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time.

The effects of a pandemic can be lessened if preparations are made ahead of time. The El Paso City-County Health and Environmental District is working with many other agencies and organizations on a El Paso Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan. You can prepare for an influenza pandemic now. You should know what actions you can take to help lessen the impact of an influenza pandemic on you and your family. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a Pandemic Flu Planning Checklist for Individuals and Families to help you gather the information and resources you will need in case of a flu pandemic. It includes things such as storing a supply of food and water and having an extra supply of prescription medications. There is an emphasis on basic personal hygiene including washing your hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes with tissues and staying home from work or school if sick.
For more information visit www.pandemicflu.gov

City Recognized With Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

The City of El Paso was recently recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) and received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget.

The award represents a significant achievement by the entity. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as:

• A policy document
• A financial Plan
• An operations guide
• A communications device

Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories to receive the award. For budgets including fiscal periods 2004, 1,027 entities received the Award. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

Who’s Our Competition –
(from a staff memorandum written by Fire Chief Roberto Rivera)

I was leaving Village Inn after a nice supper a week ago. My family and I had spent a couple of hours enjoying the food I was leaving Village Inn after a nice supper a week ago. My family and I had spent a couple of hours enjoying the food and atmosphere of the popular restaurant.

As I handed my check to the cashier, the manager came up to me and said, “One of our customers, who wishes to remain anonymous, recognized you and wants to pay ten dollars of your bill. He says he really appreciates what you do. He wants to say thanks for all the good things you do.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Of course, I wasn’t the only one whom the customer wished to thank, but also the many people I represent, the entire El Paso Fire Department. The thanks was for the customer service we give to the whole community.

In his book “Inside the Magic Kingdom”, author Tom Connellan details how, in Disney World and Disneyland, the customers leave the parks feeling great about their visit and about the way they were treated by one and all who work in the park.

Here are the seven key success factors of the Magic Kingdom:

Competition is any business the customer compares you with
Pay fantastic attention to detail.
Everyone walks the talk.
Everything walks the talk.
Have multiple listening posts.
Reward, recognize and celebrate.
Everyone counts.

Common sense? Of course, but too many of us don’t see this. Common sense is not as common as we have been led to believe.

COMPETITION IS ANY BUSINESS THE CUSTOMER COMPARES TO YOURS

911, what is your emergency and which fire department would you prefer?”

Only one department, the El Paso Fire Department, will roll to any address in the city limits and even some outside the city. Who else would someone call to extinguish a fire in their home or to help with a medical emergency? We have no competition. We have no worries. Wrong!

Mr. Banks calls Solid Waste Management (SWM) to ask if someone could come by to pick up his garbage can. He forgot to put it out at the curb this morning. Within a half hour, a SWM supervisor knocks on the citizen’s door, gives him a cute refrigerator magnet that says “TRASH ON TUESDAYS” and empties the gentleman’s trash into the SWM pick-up.

A few weeks earlier, the same citizen had stopped at a fire station to ask about the requirements for portable fire extinguishers in his small business. The firefighter who answered the door said, through the screen door, “We don’t do that here. Go to 8600 Montana and ask for the Fire Marshals Office.” The door closed. The firefighter went back to his lunch.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are conducting these neighborhood meetings to get input directly from you, the taxpayer. We can buy a fire truck or a garbage truck but not both at this time.” The city representative looks around the room for anyone willing to offer an opinion. Sitting in the far corner, Mr. Banks slowly raises his hand.

Most things are not this obvious. The point is that the department is and will continue to be compared to anyone else who gives customer service. Everyone is our competition. Would we want to be considered the worst of 36 departments in the city of El Paso?

During Mayor Caballero’s tenure, I always felt him comparing me to Police Chief Leon and FD to PD. My response then was that we were not in competition with the police department. They were them and we were us. Again, wrong!

Benchmarking against entities who have documented successes, against leaders who are perceived as customer oriented, is a positive. Why not learn from those who have been there and done that? All of us are in it for the customer, why in the world not learn from success stories?

People go to any city department expecting service. If their concern cannot be resolved at the office visited, the worst the citizens should feel upon leaving, is that they will have to go elsewhere. Never, should they feel that it was their mistake or that it was a bother to a city employee. The specific office visited may have lacked what was needed, but the clerk, police officer, firefighter or tax office department head or whoever was there to serve the inquiring citizen, should do all things possible, such as putting the citizen in contact with the appropriate office at that very time.

Although each department has specific and distinctive functions, all exist only because the citizens need and pay for services. The customer is the most important player in the whole scenario. In comparison to other organizations who deal with mutual customers, we are all in competition.

City of El Paso Welcomes New Director of El Paso Museum of Art

The El Paso Museum of Art recently announced the appointment of Michael Tomor as its new director. Tomor is currently the director of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA) in Pennsylvania and will begin working at EPMA on March 20, 2006.
The City of El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department engaged in an intensive selection process that identified five qualified candidates from across the country. The interview process included a thorough review by multiple panels of community representatives, including members of the El Paso Museum of Art Foundation and Advisory Board, as well as City staff.

Michael Tomor is a native of El Paso, Texas and graduate of Coronado High School.

New Assistant Director Joins Sun Metro Team

Mr. Kevin Bunce, new Assistant Director of Mass Transit – Operations & Maintenance, is now among the ranks of the Mass Transit Department. In this capacity, Mr. Bunce oversees, directs and manages the Sun Metro Fixed Route (large buses) and LIFT demand-response Operations, Fleet Maintenance and Facility Maintenance sections. Prior to being hired at Sun Metro, Mr. Bunce worked as Transportation-Maintenance Director for Corpus Christi Independent School District and has over 25 years of leadership experience in the public transportation field.

Mr. Bunce is already in the process of applying his expertise and knowledge of the transit industry to implement may positive changes to the department, particularly in the Maintenance section, bringing the bus fleet up to the highest standards.