Evansville can do Even Better
of business ownership and executive leadership experience.
Top Priorities
Economic Development:
Public Safety
Affordable Housing
Education
Community Engagement and Collaboration
Here As mayor of Evansville:
Work with rank-and-file police to address crime
Lead on economic development–attracting good-paying jobs to our community and keeping them here
Fix the city’s decaying parks so families have a safe place to have fun
Remember the entire city, not just Downtown
People Over Politics
The First 90 Days
The first 90 days will be critical for the new mayor of Evansville to establish an agenda for change.
The 90 day plan will address key actions that focus on:
• People
• Finances
• Priorities
• Partners
People
Having the right people in the right roles will be critical to driving the much needed change for our city.
• Meetings will occur with current city department heads to discuss:
• Perspective on state of the city and their area of control
• Key functional vision / priorities / action plans
• Timeline for change
• Meetings with 2nd level functional management and rank and file will occur to identify key areas of
internal concern
• A timeline for change and master plan will be established that ensures alignment of people to priorities
• A hiring freeze will be implemented day 1 to ensure master people plan in place prior to any new hire
Finances
The people of Evansville deserve fiscal responsibility. Changes must be made regarding how we are prioritizing
spending, and ensuring we have compliance and transparency in all transactions.
• A spending freeze will be implemented on all non-essential and un-committed funds
• Deep-dive discussions regarding past, present and future spending will occur with
• City controller
• City Council members
• Function Heads
• Internal Audit
• Departments will be challenged with identifying:
• How to reduce spending by 20%
• How would you use incremental funds to drive strategic change
• A 3rd party forensic audit will be performed to identify opportunities for ensuring compliance
Priorities
Ensuring People Over Politics will require laser focus on the priorities important to the citizens of
Evansville. A process for connecting with the citizens must be created, one that ensures city funds are
directed to the priorities that serve the people best.
• Meetings will occur with current city department heads to discuss:
• Short term and long term functional priorities
• Barriers to success
• Listening sessions will occur with key neighborhood and community groups
• Identification of areas of concern
• Brainstorm solutions and next steps
Partners
• Driving change for our city will require alignment with the external partners critical to the future of
Evansville
• Discussions will be held to understand the partnership and identify ways to maximize the relationship
• City Council members (one on one)
• Key corporate leadership
• 3rd party service providers
• Key neighborhood groups
• A plan will be created that ensures partnerships are based on merit and need, and are positioned for
success
People
Non-emergency hiring freeze
Meet with function heads
Finance
Non-emergency spending
freeze. Meet with city controller. Meet with internal audit
Initiate forensic audit
Partners
Meet one on one with city
council members. Meet with Vanderburgh
County Commissioner
lead
People
Meet with 2nd level down
Finance
Discussions with city
council members
Discussion with function
heads
Priorities
Discussions with function
leads on current priorities
and barriers
Partners
Discussions with key
corporate leaders
People
Meet with rank and file
Finance
Function leads submit
plans for 20% reduction
Function leads submit
ideas for investment
spending
Priorities
Community listening
sessions
Partners
3rd party provider review
and recommendation
People
People master plan
Timeline for change
Finance
Calendar for
implementation of
approved plans
Priorities
Community listening
sessions
Timeline for new priority
finalization
Partners
Long term partner
engagement plan
Michael's Action Plans
• City Leadership
• Measure for Success
• Police
• Fire
• Parks
• Potholes
• Economic Development
• Non-Profits
Roads
• Our city deserves strong, experienced, connected leadership across all functions in
order to lead the many dedicated city employees and optimally serve the citizens of
Evansville.
• Functional leadership must excel at servant leadership, earning the respect and
motivation of their teams
• Plans and metrics will be developed to ensure city leaders stay connected to their
teams and the citizens they serve
• Following a 360 degree review of current leadership, necessary changes will be
made as part of a comprehensive people plan
Measure for Success
• What gets measured, gets done. A comprehensive set of metrics with be developed to ensure actions and people are
aligned and moving our city in the right direction
• A “balanced scorecard” will be created and results published on a routine basis to hold our administration accountable
to the people of Evansville
• The scorecard will encompass metrics that monitor:
• Budget management to ensure fiscal responsibility
• Road Conditions to ensure issues are addressed in a timely and prioritized manner
• Parks to ensure timely repairs and maintenance is performed to keep our shared spaces safe, clean, and attractive
• Crime to drive alignment of resources to keep our citizens safe
• Community connectivity to ensure citizens are aligned an satisfied with progress
• City employee motivation, alignment, and action against key strategies and initiatives
• Other TBD
Police
• To fight the rising crime epidemic in our city, we need a motivated, well trained and equipped police force
with solid leadership.
• As part of the overall “people plan”, the current leadership will be evaluated and the necessary changes will
be made to ensure confidence from rank and file officers.
• The current total compensation package for officers (pay/benefits) will be evaluated and adjusted to
ensure our officers are compensated competitively for a community our size
• A coverage plan will be created to drive right-sizing of the force for proper coverage of all parts of the city
• Training programs will be enhanced to ensure officers are equipped to handle the day to day issues they
face, including mental health issues and use of force if necessary
• The current police car program will be evaluated with the goal of allowing more officers to have “take
home” vehicles, and extending the life of the assets through strategic scheduling and deployment
Fire
• Our firefighters deserve connected leadership they can have confidence in and top of
the line facilities while on duty.
• As part of the overall “people plan”, the current leadership will be evaluated and the
necessary changes will be made to ensure confidence from rank and file firefighters
• The current total compensation package for firefighters (pay/benefits) will be
evaluated and adjusted to ensure they are compensated competitively for a
community our size
• A comprehensive review of existing firehouses and equipment will be performed to
ensure all facilities are functional, clean, and in perfect operating order. Priority will be
given to any repairs and/or necessary upgrades identified
Parks
• Without dedicated leadership for several years, the Evansville city parks have fallen in a state of
disrepair. Necessary routine maintenance has been ignored and many areas are unsightly and unsafe.
• While a 5 year strategic plan is important to the long term future of our parks, the first priority will be
the revitalization of existing facilities to ensure attractive and safe facilities for city residents
• An online portal will be established that will allow residents to upload photos of park areas that are in
need of repair or maintenance.
• Using this direct feedback, the parks department will prioritize resources to ensure timely addressing
of identified issues
• Safety issues will be prioritized to the top of the list
• A plan will be established for routine maintenance that incorporates city resources and private and
corporate partnerships to ensure the ongoing beautification of our shared park spaces
Roads
• The city is required by law to address road repair needs within 14 days of being
notified of the issue
• Current tracking processes are either non-transparent or non-existent
• One of my first initiatives as mayor will be to implement an online identification and
tracking system that will allow residents to submit locations and photos of issues,
then track the progress by the city
• Performance reports will be monitored by the mayors office to ensure the program
success
Economic Development
• To be a growing, thriving city, Evansville must be able to attract, retain, and grow with the
businesses that choose to call Evansville home.
• While economic development is often though of as attracting large industry to the area, more people
are actually employed by local small businesses. A small business incubator will be developed to help
citizens take their ideas and develop a solid business plan for success. Experienced business leaders
will be tapped to assist in developing a world-class incubator. Additionally, routine listening sessions
will be set up with local small business leaders to ensure the city stays conducive to their success.
• Growth can come from new businesses, but equally, if not more important is retaining and helping to
grow existing businesses. Periodic discussions will be held with local business leaders to understand
their challenges and develop plans for growth.
• Businesses large or small need people. Reducing crime, while improving our parks and roads will help
make Evansville a place where people want to live and work.
Non-Profits
• An often overlooked segment in a community are the not-for-profit organizations.
These organizations employ our citizens just like for-profit businesses, but at the
same time providing services so important to the health and well-being of
individuals and families in our city.
• Emphasis will be put on ensuring city ordinances are conducive to growing our non
profits, so they can in-turn maximize their services to our city.
• To maximize the inflow of state, federal, and private grant funds, a skilled grant
writer will be made available to non-profits. This incremental funding will allow
non-profits to grow and serve even more.