Lambert outlines three goals for City Hall

By ANTHONY WILSON / Staff Writer

City Manager Lanny Lambert's three goals for City Hall in 1997 are increased use of technology, more training for his people and a continued emphasis on customer service.

Lambert explained Tuesday that each year he drafts goals upon which he bases the success of city administrators and of his organization.

This year's goals, he conceded, are mostly a renewed emphasis on 1996's standards:

-- Technological development - Lambert said city government must find more effective uses of technological advances that boost efficiency.

For instance, he envisions a paperless city administration that shares data electronically. Lambert would like to offer more city information, such as meeting agendas and ordinances, on the Internet, a project the city is now dabbling in.

He also favors delivering agendas and meeting packets to the City Council through e-mail, with members relying on laptop computers at the council table to retrieve information. Paper copies would still be available to citizens, he added.

-- Employee training - Lambert notes the city's "only product" is people.

"And we need to continually improve our product," he said. "My theory is employees can't be over-trained or over-prepared for the job."

The administration recently hired a full-time training coordinator jointly funded by all city departments. The coordinator prepares training manuals and programs for each department and leads some training sessions. To date, she has trained about 400 people in customer service - Lambert's third goal.

-- Customer service - The city manager stresses that City Hall's "only purpose for existence" is to serve the taxpayers.

"Rather than be a cold, unfeeling bureaucracy," Lambert said, "we must develop a mentality of customer service, similar to the private industry. That's our challenge. Governments don't have a reputation of quality customer service. Abilene does, and we need to continue that. I constantly push that."

He also noted that customer service isn't about developing a "charm school" grace, but making and saving the city money. For example, he said, good relations between the building inspections office and building contractors can boost the local economy.