City Manager Honors City Employees for ‘Innovative Government’ Efforts

CINCINNATI — City Manager Harry Black recognized several City employees Friday afternoon during the annual City Manager’s Innovative Government Awards ceremony.

The awards honor City of Cincinnati employees or teams of employees who have implemented cutting-edge ideas for how to move the City of Cincinnati toward becoming the “best managed city in the country.” This was the second year for the 

The City Manager handed out awards to various City leaders and those who've played vital roles in the success of City initiatives during a special ceremony inside the Office of Performance and Data Analytics (OPDA).

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Below is a list of award categories and recipients.

• Economic Inclusion. Patrick Duhaney, Finance Manager and Purchasing Agent and Markiea Carter, Director of Economic Inclusion was honored with leadership awards for their work in enhancing and improving inclusivity in Cincinnati’s business sector.
• Building and Inspections. The team of Arthur Dahlberg, Building and Inspections Director and Richard Schriewer, Deputy Director, Building and Inspections were recognized with leadership awards for overhauling and improving the building permit approval process. Several of their colleagues — Matthew E. Shad, Division Manager, Zoning Administrator, Edward Cunningham, Division Manager, Building and Inspections, Lindsey Mithoefer, Administrative Specialist, and Teia Letcher, Senior Administrative Specialist — received recognition for their support in these efforts.
• Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD). Jayson Dunn, Enterprise Technology Solutions Director; Donna Hurst, Police Lieutenant; Jennifer King, Computer Systems Analyst; Elizabeth Christenson, Senior Computer Programmer Analyst; Craig K. Beringhaus, Senior Computer Programmer Analyst; and Assistant Fire Chief Anson Turley received awards for helping to direct this project.

Karen Bentley, Operator and Dispatcher, Sarah Dennerline, Operator and Dispatcher; Melissa McVey, Emergency 911 Operator; Sarah Sittason, Emergency Services Dispatcher Supervisor; Laura Vogel, Emergency Services Dispatcher Supervisor; Sonya Williams, Emergency Services Dispatcher Supervisor; Rochelle Gooden, Emergency 911 Operator; Andrea Plummer, Operator & Dispatcher; Teneal Poole, Emergency Services Dispatcher Supervisor; Jazmine Stokes, Operator & Dispatcher all received awards as well..

As a result of their work, they were able to successfully update and implement a new CAD system for Emergency Dispatch Operators.

• CleanStat. Maraskeshia Smith, Public Services Director and Mary Ferguson, Senior Computer Programmer Analyst both received recognition for driving the CleanStat initiative. Their colleagues, Joel Koopman, Deputy Public Works Director; Tracy Grome, Administrative Technician; Damon Ulmer, Jr., Service Area Coordinator; Nicollette Staton, Administrative Specialist; and Emily Venosa, Computer Systems Analyst all received recognition as well. ODPA and DPS combined their work to develop and implement Clean Stat, resulting in a significant decrease in blighted properties surrounding Cincinnati.
• Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Lead Program. Cathy Bailey, Director, Greater Cincinnati Water Works received a top award for leadership, while her colleagues, Verna Arnette, Deputy Director, and Jeffrey Swertfeger, Treatment Superintendent, earned awards for their efforts in helping to move the needle. Their collective efforts resulted in the creation and implementation of a lead prevention program to ensure healthy and safe drinking water for all Cincinnati residents.
• Body Worn Cameras. Elizabeth Wetzel, Assistant to the City Manager received a top honor and her colleagues, Douglas Wiesman, Police Captain; Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate; Christopher Bigham, Budget Director; and Ryan Smith, Police Sergeant received awards for their contributions to the project. Together, this group worked to successfully implement a best-in-class body worn camera system for all Cincinnati police officers.
• Place-Based Investigation of Violent Offender Territories (PIVOT). Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate; Matthew Hammer, Police Lieutenant; Mark Manning, Senior Assistant City Solicitor were all honored for their work with PIVOT. Developing and implementing this innovative strategy is helping the City address small areas around Cincinnati affected by chronic violence.
• CollectionStat. Anne Smith, Senior Assistant City Solicitor received an award for leadership while her peers, Erica Faaborg, Senior Assistant City Solicitor; Joseph Neff, Senior Assistant City Solicitor; Jessica Powell, Chief Counsel; Nicollette Staton, Administrative Specialist received recognition for their support efforts. The CollectionStat reviewed outstanding claims and bills in order to ensure thorough fiscal review and save $523,840 in Fiscal Year 2016.
• Office of Performance and Data Analytics (ODPA). Brandon Crowley, Chief Data Officer and Leigh Tami, Chief Performance Officer both received top awards. Jennifer Bohl, Administrative Specialist received a plaque as well. They collaborated to ensure general performance management through the OPDA offices. These efforts led to improved customer service delivery and cost savings.
• Human Resources. Ed Ramsey, Supervising HR Analyst.
• Urban League. Dorothy Smoot, Chief Program Officer.
• Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP). Ethel Cogen, Senior Community Development Analyst received special recognition for her work with NEP over the past 10 years. The NEP helps to reduce and repair blighted properties in a target area over an extended period time. In addition, the NEP works with partner agencies on various community during a 90-day blitz on various efforts to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood. Efforts include bringing together various community stakeholders for discussions, neighborhood-wide cleanups and building various signature projects the respective neighborhoods can be proud of.

City department directors nominated this year’s recipients and the winners were chosen by a selection committee in the City Manager’s Office. This was the second year these awards were handed out and the plan is to continue in the program in the future.

Funds for the awards and reception came from the Centennial II vending machine account, earmarked in the budget solely for the purposes of employee training and employee recognition.