Citygate performed an organizational review and analysis of Monterey County’s current homeless programs, funding, and coordination services. For this review, Citygate identified, evaluated, and recommended funding sources and budgeting structure for the Homeless Services function; identified and recommended organizational best practices, including comparisons with similar cities and counties; evaluated and recommended best practices for collaboration and coordination with various County departments, the Continuum of Care, local cities, school districts, businesses, and homeless service providers; and evaluated and recommended formal and informal organizational alignment, structure, and staffing for the Homeless Services function.

Citygate conducted a sewage discharge after-action review for the City of Los Angeles Sanitation and Environment Department. This review was conducted on behalf of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. This review investigated the cause of the delayed response by County agencies and identified a corrective action plan to ensure faster response, coordination, reporting, and communication about future sewage discharges that may require timely beach closures to prevent public exposure.

Citygate assisted Salt Lake City in evaluating the implementation of the building service process review completed by Citygate. This also entailed an analysis of the Building Services Division’s performance measurement and management system. Citygate provided “on-call” auditing services for the City to assess performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop specific recommendations for action in the programs or functions selected by the City.

The Housing Authority of Salt Lake City (HASLC) engaged Citygate to conduct a review and analysis of the Human Resources (HR) Department employment selection and performance review processes and practices. HASLC expressed a desire to enhance its employment selection processes to attract quality job candidates and hire employees of higher quality and character. Citygate’s primary task was to review and analyze existing HASLC human resources-related policies, procedures, and practices related to the recruitment and selection of staff and to conduct in-depth interviews of key leadership staff, HR Department staff, and a newly hired employee.

Citygate completed a police staffing and efficiency study for the City of Elk Grove, California. This study determined an optimal staffing model, appropriately considering workload, performance measures, service delivery expectations, operating budgets, community priorities, and Departmental organization. In addition, this study forecast future needs, taking into consideration both short- and long-term objectives, community growth, and any other factors that could impact staffing requirements.

As a follow-up to Citygate’s assistance in preparing a comprehensive and neutral external After Action Review (AAR) of the Woolsey Fire Incident on behalf of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, Citygate was retained to assist with the development, implementation, and monitoring of an After Action Plan (AAP). The AAP addressed each recommendation from the AAR, determined the sub-deliverables and individual tasks necessary to implement each recommendation, identified the County departments responsible for each deliverable and task, and estimated macro costs and a feasible timeline for implementation as needed by recommendation.

Citygate conducted a review of the Resource Management Agency (RMA) of Monterey County, California. The objective of the study was to review current conditions, analyze opportunities for organizational changes and process improvements that can further enhance customer service, evaluate future service demands, and develop a Strategic Action Plan with a prioritized implementation schedule. Included in this objective was an emphasis on assessing the adequacy and currency of underlying land use and related policies, the allocation and assignment of long-range planners versus current planners, and how the current situation and practices may compound difficulties in the backlog of application and permit processing, consistency, reliability, timeliness, and overall customer and stakeholder service delivery and satisfaction. Also included was an analysis of the functions included under the structure of the RMA to determine if there are too many or too few functions. Ultimately, this review resulted in Citygate’s recommendation to reorganize the RMA into separate Community Development and Public Works departments, in which Citygate provided strategies and detailed recommendations regarding organizational alignment, staffing, classifications, and business processes. Monterey County completed the reorganization within six months of Citygate’s Final Report delivery. Subsequent to the completion of the review, at the County’s request, Citygate reviewed and evaluated the RMA’s efforts implementing the recommendations from the final report. Additionally, Citygate assisted in onboarding new leadership and management staff.

Citygate completed an operational enhancements update for the County of Santa Barbara Fire Department. Citygate used the Standards of Coverage multiple-step process to determine if fire station locations and crew/apparatus staffing were meeting the unique needs of the Department’s service areas. This study was an update to the fire service deployment and departmental performance audit study Citygate completed for the Department in 2012.

Citygate provided an independent operational assessment of the outstanding sponsorship fees that were owed and collectable for Foster City, California. As part of this assessment, Citygate also provided the City with recommendations for implementation of best practices related to the sponsorship program, including those pertaining to the policies, practices, and procedures used to solicit sponsors; management of the sponsorship program; maintenance of records, and collection of donations from sponsors.

Citygate assisted the City of San Luis Obispo, California, and its partners to study the opportunities and constraints in merging some of the County’s police and fire dispatch centers into one shared center located at the San Luis Obispo Police Department dispatch center.