St. Helena City Council
May 19, 2026

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
20 Figure 16 – Example Quality Management System

5.2.4. Customer Relationship Management
The City has a broadly available Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system (we are applying a loose definition here of CRM) that is called “Grapevine.” Grapevine is available via the City’s website or on mobile app. The City describes Grapevine as, “a free, easy-to-use app and web-based platform that allows City of St. Helena community members to provide pictures, videos, specific descriptions, and more to request fixes to issues throughout the City including potholes, missing signs, and water leaks. This tool will allow various City departments, including Public Works, to manage requests more efficiently with a centralized and integrated reporting and task management system. City staff can assign tasks to specific individuals or teams, track its status, and engage with residents further as needed, including letting them know when an issue has been fixed or resolved.”
Grapevine is a type of municipal service request platform. While Grapevine excels at basic 311-style service requests (aligning with the city's goals for community information and engagement), it functions more as a narrow 311/constituent service tool than a full-fledged Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. True CRMs (e.g., Granicus or Salesforce for Governments) handle broader constituent interactions, including emails, surveys, event registrations, and analytics. There are many strengths with Grapevine; however, the City should also be aware of some of the likely key weaknesses, which we highlight in the table below.

Weakness Description Relevance to St. Helena
Limited Scope
Beyond Service
Requests
Primarily designed for one-way issue reporting (e.g.,
submit photo/GPS of a pothole, track resolution), lacking robust two-way communication, personalized outreach,
or integration with other channels like email/SMS
campaigns. No native support for proactive engagement,
Hinders broader resident relationship-building,
as noted in the study’s emphasis on
"Resident/Customer Interaction and Service
Delivery." For a small city, this silos interactions,
missing opportunities to tie requests to
educational content (e.g., sustainability tips).

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
21 Beyond Grapevine, the City has started making other strides in CRM. A basic example is pushing cultural change that emphasizes responding quickly to customer requests that arrive via phone calls. The City has also been making strides with customer communications that support CRM. However, we did not find evidence of a formal CRM system.

5.2.5. Change Management
Change is hard, and it often fails within organizations: “70% failure rate: A classic statistic from McKinsey (1995) and echoed in Harvard Business Review (2000), where initiatives like restructuring or cultural shifts often falter due to execution gaps. This is reaffirmed in 2022-2025 reports, with only about 30% fully succeeding.” This is why change management is critical for organizations. It will not guarantee success, but it will greatly improve the probability of success (and make it easier for everyone involved).

There appears to be little or no change management used by the City in a systematic way. We found no evidence that common change management models/frameworks (e.g. Prosci ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-step, etc.) are understood and being used. However, we know the City is attempting to make significant changes. Information Technology (IT) changes are an example. An ADKAR model (See Figure 17) would be an excellent fit for IT-centered changes. This situation is unnecessarily lowering the probability of success as the City moves forward with changes. such as newsletters or targeted surveys on council goals (e.g., water management feedback).

Basic Analytics and
Reporting
Offers simple status updates and community voting, but
lacks advanced dashboards, predictive analytics, or
segmentation (e.g., by neighborhood or issue type). No AIdriven insights for trends like recurring water leaks or infrastructure hotspots.

Conflicts with the study's call for better
"Efficiency and Performance" metrics; could
limit data use in budget processes (e.g., FY
2025-26 priorities for infrastructure). Small
cities need scalable analytics without high
costs.

Integration
Challenges with
Existing Systems
Minimal native APIs for linking to city tools (e.g., budget software, GIS for water resources, or HR systems).

Custom integrations (e.g., with the city's financial policies) may require vendor support or IT workarounds.

Amplifies "IT and AI Platform" gaps from the
study; poor coordination could frustrate
departments like Public Works (e.g., syncing
service requests with garage cost allocation in
budgets).

Scalability and
Customization
Limitations
Optimized for basic, high-volume requests in small towns but struggles with custom workflows (e.g., multi-step
approvals for environmental sustainability projects) or scaling to include non-issue features like event RSVPs.

As a city pursuing "Forward Looking Questions"
in the study, it may not evolve with needs like AIenhanced engagement; limited customization could strain the small staffing of Departments.

User Adoption and
Accessibility
Barriers
Relies on app/web access, which may exclude non-techsavvy residents (e.g., seniors in a wine-country town).

Community voting feature risks "popularity bias" over
equitable input, and there's no offline mode for field
reports.

Undermines "Culture" and "Talent" themes by
not fully engaging diverse residents; could
widen gaps in community information, per
council goals.

Security and
Compliance Risks
Handles public data (e.g., photos of issues) but may lack advanced features like GDPR/CCPA-level privacy controls or audit trails for sensitive reports (e.g., environmental hazards). As a free tool, vendor support might be basic.

Poses risks for a city with strict financial
policies; could expose data in transformation
efforts without robust governance.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
22 Figure 17 – ADKAR Model of Change Management

5.2.6. Asset Management
City assets encompass a broad range of items: Land and parkland, buildings, vehicles, infrastructure (sidewalks, roads, bridges, etc.), equipment, utilities (water/sewer systems, streetlights, etc.), furniture, cash, and investments. We can subdivide assets in various ways; however, for this section, we simply address two broad categories: 1) savings accounts, checking accounts, and investments and 2) tangible assets. The management of cash and investments fits within the category of finance and accounting, which the City has examined separately. Therefore, we focus on tangible assets outside of that.

Overall, the City is severely lacking in asset management systems and frameworks.

We found evidence that City Departments and Divisions track some tangible assets through spreadsheets and other documents. However, in other cases, it appears that there is no tracking. This problem becomes particularly acute when we expand the concept from a simple list of tangible assets to maintenance and condition management. The problem grows further when we begin searching for information that addresses what work has been completed on assets (e.g. what maintenance has been performed this year; what new installations have been completed this year; etc.).

We have seen evidence that there is some monthly and weekly planning for work to be completed, but there is a lack of benchmarking and quantitative measurement of it. There is also some basic planning for seasonal tasks that occur annually, but it is limited to major, well-known items, such as brush clearing for fire prevention. The individual that provided us this information also stressed that these monthly and weekly planning sessions had only started in the past year, and prior to that, there was none. A separate individual reported to us that they were having a conversation with multiple Public Works employees at lunch. When that individual asked the Public Works employees what they would be doing the rest of the afternoon, they said, “we don’t know, we don’t have anything scheduled.” There is a complete lack of centralized management. There is no centralized system that tracks all the asset maintenance and condition. The City does use ArcGIS, but it is not being used effectively. This is a key point. We have heard the usage of misleading responses or information. For example, “does the City have a centralized asset management system?...Yes, we have ArcGIS”. However, there are many different ArcGIS solutions and simply having the system does not mean it is being used effectively or correctly. We heard many reports of residents requesting a service for items ranging from potholes to road signs, yet the time period to have them addressed spanned years in some cases. Further, there was no follow-up with the resident to explain when it will be fixed or why it will not be fixed.

This is an area we need to investigate further; however, it has been difficult to get information from Public Works. For example, we made the following request to Public Works on September 29, 2025:

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
23 Joe,
Good afternoon, I'm a Blackberg consultant and am trying to get some volume of work data for public works. Do you have any data similar to the following:

Buildings and Streets: Annual counts like number of street repairs, pothole fixes, sidewalk installations, building inspections, maintenance tickets, etc. Do you have square footage maintained for buildings, miles of streets paved or repaved, and maybe emergency response logs for urgent calls.

Parks & Trees: Annual tree planting, pruning, or removal counts; park maintenance hours or visits logged; playground inspections; trail upkeep miles; or irrigation system repairs. Also, any season workload data (e.g. brush and debris removal for fire prevention).

Underground Utilities: Annual water, sewer, gas repairs, sewer line cleanings or CCTV inspections, hydrant flushes, new service connections-both residential and commercial-and average response time to emergencies like breaks or backups; and footage flushed or jetted each year.

Water Treatment: Gallons processed daily or annually, annual number of filter changes, chemical usage volumes-like chlorine or fluoride-backwash cycles run, compliance test results, and any maintenance downtimes.

Waste Water Treatment: Gallons treated yearly, sludge volume hauled off, pump station calls-outs, overflow incidents, biosolids processed-like tons per month-and permit violation counts, meter readings for flow rates and energy use.

Also, is public works tracking any benchmarking data or performance data for these divisions? I know this is a lot to ask for, but it is important for our analysis.

After multiple follow-up emails to Public Works and City Executives, we received the following response on October 8, 2025: “Here's some data from a community academy presentation in 2024. The other data requests are not readily available and will take more time...”
Figure 18 – Public Works Fun Facts Data
As of October 20, 2025, Blackberg has not received any further information from Public Works.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
24 Even with the limited data provided by Public Works, we find areas of concern. First, this data implies that Public Works is managing 65,000sf of building space; however, we received reports that the Library has a roofing issue and there is no planning or budgeting for this issue. The reports also stated that there was confusion over who is responsible for requesting money in the budget for the roof repair. Second, Public Works stating “120 acres over 10 parks, 4 pathways, Wildland Urban Interface” is misleading. Most Cities differentiate between “natural areas or undeveloped parkland” and “developed parks or active recreation spaces”. A resident could see such a report and think: “the City is mowing, weedeating, fertilizing, irrigating, and gardening 120 acres of land every week”. However, is the City actually doing this, or does the 120 acres include a substantial amount of undeveloped parkland? We received input from one resident who said: “We had been trying to get the City to make some repairs at the skate park for a very long time. When they finally came out, it was four or more managers all talking about what to do. The repair request was pretty simple. Why would it take all these different managers to visit the park?”
We did find that asset management at the Water Treatment facility was more robust; however, the data remains at the plant and not in a centralized system.

5.2.7. Strategy
Originally, we were told that St. Helena had a Strategic Plan; however, it is no longer in use. We then discovered that the City might not have ever had a strategic plan, but it does have a mission and vision statement. The City has a “General Plan,” but its purpose differs significantly from a Strategic Plan. The General Plan “…sets forth the City’s policies to guide future land use decisions and provides the needed framework to preserve the character and quality of development that the community desires. The General Plan also helps to establish the processes by which the City’s evolution and changes to existing land uses will take place.”
A strategic plan is vital for St. Helena to provide a clear roadmap for achieving long-term goals, ensuring fiscal resilience, and enhancing infrastructure. It aligns resources with City Council objectives, such as water security and community engagement, fostering efficient governance. This structured approach enables proactive decision-making, adaptability to challenges, and sustained community development, as outlined in the FY 2025-26 and 2026-27 budget documents. It also supports communication with managers, employees, and residents. Currently, communications are ranked relatively low by residents based upon the Godbe Research report of a 0.60 rating for “Communicating with Residents.” Critical Considerations: The City’s website contains a copious amount of information. The routine communications are good, and they meet or exceed what Blackberg typically sees in a town of this size. However, the communications do not address the key issues facing the City (Water, Roads, Budget, etc.). Further, communications lack a unifying document that provides a summary of the City’s efforts in a relatively easy to understand format. We emphasize the “easy to understand” because many publications are dense legal or accounting focused documents (e.g. 300+ page budgets). When we visit the website, we see key issues being addressed, albeit sparsely (See Figure 19). However, when one clicks on the “Water Enterprise Spending…” link, you arrive at a letter from a law firm (See Figure 19). This is excellent for transparency, but it is challenging for 90% or more of Residents to understand. Further, it does not overtly show how this links to any larger strategy to address Residents’ concerns or interests. A City Strategic Plan would provide the missing “unifying document” that the website lacks and would significantly improve communications with Residents (i.e. what is the City doing about water quality, affordable housing, road repairs, and the budget issues).

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
25 Figure 19 – Example City Communications

5.2.8. Culture – Library and Parks and Recreation
In both the Library and Parks and Recreation, the culture demonstrates commitment to quality and desire to serve the St. Helena community. We found evidence of a culture committed to collaboration, transparency, and improvement. However, there are also clearly negative elements in both Divisions. These negative elements are job insecurity and mission insecurity. Both negative elements stem from the budget challenges faced by the City. Employees are concerned, given the non-critical nature of their Divisions, that they may face significant budget cuts or be dissolved entirely. This results in feelings of, “why am I working hard to build and improve this Division if it’s going to be dissolved.” There are also direct concerns about future employment.

In addition to these negative elements, there is also a sense that they are an “after thought” of executive leadership within the City. They also discuss receiving little in terms of communications from executive leadership.

Critical Considerations: To the extent possible, communications to these Divisions about future plans would be helpful. Undoubtedly, there are legitimate degrees of uncertainty; however, the City should focus on preventing untrue rumors from spreading by directly addressing these types of concerns with employees.

5.2.9. IT & AI Platform
The City is currently using Apex Technology Management, LLC (Apex) to support IT. Prior to Apex’s engagement, the City experienced a major cybersecurity event in May of 2024 that involved a ransomware attack. This attack and prior attacks targeted the City’s on-premise servers.

This incident highlights ongoing risks to municipal systems, that was similar to attacks on other California cities. California municipalities, counties, and local government entities (including school districts and utilities) have been frequent targets of cyberattacks in recent years, with a notable uptick in 2024 and 2025. Based on official reports and security analyses, the most common types include:
• Ransomware Attacks: Malicious software encrypts systems or data, demanding payment for restoration. These often disrupt city services like payments, libraries, and administrative functions. • Unauthorized Access and Data Breaches: Hackers gain entry to networks, stealing sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, medical records, financial details, or personal identifiers. This is the most reported type, leading to identity theft risks.
• General Cyber Attacks: Broad category including phishing, malware, or denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that compromise systems without specific ransom demands.
• State-Sponsored or Sophisticated Campaigns: Increasingly tied to geopolitical tensions, involving espionage or advanced persistent threats (APTs).

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
26 These attacks exploit vulnerabilities in outdated infrastructure, limited cybersecurity budgets, and human error. California leads nationally in at-risk cities, with metros like Fresno, Bakersfield, Riverside, Stockton, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco topping vulnerability indexes due to high population density and critical infrastructure. Ransomware incidents surged 126% globally in 2025, with U.S. local governments heavily impacted.

As last reported in fiscal year 2024, the City maintains the following IT subscriptions:

Figure 20 – City IT Subscriptions
Our primary concern is not cost; rather, we are concerned with integration issues between the large number of different products (Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)) being used. We confirmed that integration issues already exist in Finance. The City would likely gain significant operational efficiencies by using an enterprise solution that has full integration. The cost of an enterprise solution would not lower cost directly; however, the efficiency gains would reduce the total labor hours needed while delivering a higher-quality solution.

Cybersecurity is another important concern for the City. Municipal governments can significantly reduce risks by adopting a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity. These strategies are drawn from guidelines by organizations like CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) and industry reports tailored to local governments. The strategies include (See next page table):

Department IT Subscriptions Term* FY24 Annual Cost
City-wide Microsoft 365 12 months - Auto Renew 23,715
City-wide Microsoft Project 12 months - Auto Renew 2,892 City-wide Adobe 12 Months 9,585
City Clerk ECS Imaging - Laserfische 12 months - Auto Renew 13,850 City Clerk I-compass 12 months - Auto Renew 6,880
City Clerk Granicus 12 months - Auto Renew 1,504
Finance Springbrook 12 months - Auto Renew 55,362
Finance Stampli 12 months - Auto Renew 14,400
Finance Breeze Smartware 12 months - Auto Renew 1,980
Finance GovInvest 12 months - Auto Renew 12,381
Finance OpenGov 12 months - Auto Renew 2,800
Human Resources NeoGov 3-Year Term 23,596
Human Resources Target Solutions 12 months - Auto Renew 9,116 Library Userful 12 months - Auto Renew 3,383
Library SPLASH 12 months - Auto Renew 50,138
Library OCLC 12 months - Auto Renew 2,829
Planning TrakIT 12 months 24,625
Public Works ArcGIS 12 months - Auto Renew 1,043
Police RIMS 12 months - Auto Renew 17,248
Police LEFTA 12 months - Auto Renew 1,639
Police Critical Reach 12 months - Auto Renew 250
Fire Zoll 12 Months 2,453
Fire Image Trend 12 months - Auto Renew 10,381
Fire Active 911 12 months - Auto Renew 300
Recreation ActiveNet 12 months - Auto Renew 1,288
Community Development eTRAKit
Total Annual Cost: 293,637

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
27 Cybersecurity Mitigation Strategies City Use
Implement Robust Backup and Recovery Practices: Create regular, immutable (unchangeable) off-site or cloud-based backups that are tested frequently. This allows quick restoration without paying ransoms and can reduce recovery costs by up to 50% in ransomware incidents. Aim for the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of data on two different media types, with one off-site.

Apex is supporting this. The City has cloud backup. We offered them an appliance as a backup and temporary server.

Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for all accounts, especially remote access like VPNs, which are common entry points for attackers. This simple step can block up to 99% of account compromise attempts.
“I believe they are just using Microsoft authenticator. They are MFA enabled.” -Apex
Conduct Employee Training and Awareness Programs: Train staff on recognizing phishing, social engineering, and safe internet practices. Regular simulations and updates are key, as human error causes over 70% of breaches.
“Yes, we include security awareness training. They are enrolled and receiving it. 32 phishing tests completed. Most people have not finished the training. 7-12 have actually completed the course. Annual training is up to 20 minutes. The rest is just a couple minutes.” -Apex
Adopt Zero Trust Architecture: Assume no user or device is inherently trustworthy. Use network segmentation to limit lateral movement by attackers, and implement continuous verification. “They have it implemented. We do dark web monitoring. We use threat locker.” - Apex
Maintain Patch Management and Software Updates: Regularly update all systems, software, and firmware to close vulnerabilities.

Automate where possible to address known exploits quickly. “Yes, Apex is doing patch management and software updates via ‘Automate’.” -Apex
Develop and Exercise Incident Response Plans (IRP): Create a detailed IRP with communication protocols, roles, and regular drills.

Include coordination with federal agencies like CISA or the FBI for rapid response.
“IRP is part of our process. It has not been built yet. We do have best practices templates. This is a “to do” item.” - Apex Secure Endpoints and Use Advanced Tools: Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, antivirus software, and firewalls.

Monitor for anomalies using AI-driven threat intelligence. “Yes, that is handled.” -Apex
Obtain Cyber Liability Insurance: This provides financial protection and often includes access to expert response teams, though it requires meeting certain security standards to qualify. “Yes, the City has this insurance.” -Mandy Kellogg
Collaborate and Share Resources: Leverage state or federal resources, such as those from MRSC (Municipal Research and Services Center) or NIST, for training, audits, and shared threat intelligence.
“No, this is not in use.” -Apex
Migrating from on-premise servers to cloud-based infrastructure is widely recommended as a key mitigation strategy for enhancing cybersecurity in municipal IT systems. Cloud providers (e.g., AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud) offer managed security features that often surpass what small governments can maintain in-house. However, it's not a complete solution—proper configuration and ongoing management are essential to avoid new risks like misconfigurations.

Benefits of Cloud Providers
Benefit Description Relevance to Municipal Governments
Enhanced Security
Features
Cloud platforms provide built-in tools like encryption, automated threat detection, firewalls, and compliance
certifications (e.g., FedRAMP for government use).

Reduces exposure to physical threats (e.g., on-site
hardware failures) and leverages provider expertise
to patch vulnerabilities faster.

Improved Backup
and Disaster
Recovery
Automatic, off-site backups with high availability and
redundancy.

Critical for ransomware recovery; enables quick
restoration without data loss, aligning with the 3-2-
1 backup rule.

Scalability and
Automatic Updates
Resources scale on demand, with providers handling OS
and application updates.

Eliminates delays in patching that plague on-prem
systems, reducing exploit windows.

Cost Savings and
Efficiency
Shift from capital expenses (hardware) to operational
ones, with potential 20-30% reductions in IT costs over time.

Frees up budgets for other security investments;
easier for resource-strapped cities.

Better Compliance
and Monitoring
Built-in logging, auditing, and AI-driven threat intelligence. Helps meet standards like NIST or HIPAA, with centralized visibility into threats.

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
28 Apex Technology Management, LLC
Apex Technology Management, LLC (Apex) serves as the City’s “IT Department.” Apex provides comprehensive managed services including but not limited to network and system administration, security monitoring, on-site and remote help desk, procurement, backup and recovery operations, database administration, hardware lifecycle management, and project management. Apex supports the City’s operations at seven facilities, which include: City Hall/Police Department, Corporation Yard, Fire Department, Library, Parks & Recreation Building, Water Treatment Plant, and Wastewater Treatment Plant. Apex support started in July 2025. Support includes 2 full days of an onsite technician and the rest is remote work support. Since its start date, Apex self describes: “we have been plugging a lot of security holes…we are working on infrastructure.”
The use of an outsider service provider to serve as an “IT Department” for small municipalities is common due to cost constraints and overall small scale of IT needs. However, caution is needed to ensure that pricing and service scope is reasonable. Without an IT professional on-staff for the City, there is an information asymmetry that can lead to the City being misled. We have seen no indications of this with Apex, but it is a general and significant concern with this type of management structure.

Server Locations and RIMS
The City currently has on-premise servers that are approaching end of life. Further, the City is renting a data center from a previous provider at a cost of $2,700 per month. The City is planning to move entirely to a cloud solution (e.g. Azure); however, the issue is RIMS by Sun Ridge Systems. RIMS is used by the Police Department (i.e. RIMS Mapping, PropRoom, Reports, Mobile RIMS), and it does not support cloud solutions. Apex could deploy RIMS to a cloud server, but Sun Ridge Systems has stated that it will not provide support for cloud-based solutions. Sun Ridge Systems only supports on-premise servers. This creates an obvious issue for the City’s plan to move to a 100% cloud-based environment.

RIMS Overview: RIMS is specialized software tailored for law enforcement agencies, handling records management, evidence tracking, chain-of-custody logs, and integration with other public safety tools like CAD (Computer-Aided Dispatch). It's built for police departments to organize and access high volumes of sensitive data efficiently. Sun Ridge's documentation explicitly describes installation on agency servers (e.g., a quick one-day server setup, followed by client installs on PCs and mobiles). Their technical specs recommend dedicated on-site hardware, such as a separate database and application server for larger agencies. Support is 24/7 for emergencies but tied to on-prem environments—no mentions of AWS, Azure, or any cloud migration paths.

We recommend that the City continue with its plan to be 100% cloud-based. There are alternatives to Sun Ridge that are 100% cloud-based. The City should explore replacing Sun Ridge with an alternative that matches the City’s strategy. We provide some initial considerations in Table 1 as a starting point. When evaluating, consider factors like CJIS compliance, integration with existing tools (e.g., Sun Ridge's supported integrations like Accurint or ARIES), and migration support.

Many offer demos or trials. For St. Helena's scale, start with eFORCE or NicheRMS, as they're praised for ease of use in small departments.

Table 1: Sun Ridge Alternatives
CJIS Compliance: All listed solutions meet FBI CJIS standards, critical for law enforcement data security.

Solution Provider Deployment Key Features Why a Good Alternative to RIMS NicheRMS Niche
Technology
Fully cloudengineered,
mobile-first
Investigation/crime
management, incident
reporting, custody
management, intelligence
tracking, property/evidence,
NIBRS/UCR compliance, AI
analytics, unlimited users
Matches RIMS' case, warrant, citation, and
inmate tracking; adds real-time syncing and
mobile access for field officers
eFORCE RMS eFORCE
Software
Cloud and webbased,
browser/deviceagnostic
Records management, CAD
integration, jail management,
e-citations, civil process,
mobile apps, customizable
reporting, evidence logging
Mirrors RIMS' citations, civil services, and
inmate management; user-friendly for small
departments like St. Helena

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
29 Table 1: Sun Ridge Alternatives
CJIS Compliance: All listed solutions meet FBI CJIS standards, critical for law enforcement data security.

Solution Provider Deployment Key Features Why a Good Alternative to RIMS CentralSquare
Records
CentralSquare
Technologies
Cloud-based,
part of Public
Safety Suite
Unified incident reporting,
digital evidence, CAD
integration, automated
workflows, finance/community
integration, NIBRS reporting
Covers RIMS' data organization needs with
enhanced interoperability and AI-driven data
retrieval
Mark43 RMS Mark43 Fully cloudnativeCase/incident management, evidence tracking,
warrant/citation handling,
analytics dashboards, mobile
access, CAD/JMS integration
Replicates RIMS' records and vehicle/person
tracking; modern design with zero-downtime
updates
ASPEN-RMS DataWorks
Plus
Web-based
(clouddeployable)
Customizable UI, CAD/JMS
integration, state/federal
interfaces, crime analysis, civil
processing, enhanced
reporting
Matches RIMS' civil services and case
management; cloud access enables remote
operations
Phoenix Law
RMS
ProPhoenix 100% browserbased (cloud)Duplicate detection, error checking,
records/inventory/personnel
management, report
generation, crime analysis,
mug shots
Aligns with RIMS' comprehensive records
management; cloud reduces data duplication
and scales easily
BEAGLE WATI Hybrid (cloud
and on-premise
options)
Crime data analysis,
investigation management,
reporting, visualization tools
Complements RIMS' investigation and case
features; cloud option supports transition from
on-prem
AI Platforms
The City has a large opportunity to improve efficiencies and effectiveness with AI tools and AI agents. The City Manager reported that the City has been exploring these tools, but they have not yet made any purchases or strategic plans for their usage. AI tools (e.g., software for data analysis, automation, and chatbots) and AI agents (autonomous systems that perform tasks independently, like "agentic AI") could significantly enhance city management by boosting efficiency, reducing costs, and improving resident engagement. Based on 2025 trends, AI adoption in local governments has surged, with 56% of cities piloting or using it to upgrade operations and services. Below, we provide a couple of examples of how St. Helena could use AI, drawing from recent studies and case studies relevant to small municipalities.

1. Enhancing Administrative Efficiency and Workflow Automation AI tools can automate routine tasks, freeing staff for higher-value work. For St. Helena, this could mean streamlining permit processing, document management, or public records handling—areas highlighted in its efficiency studies (from uploaded documents like "City of Helena Efficiency and Business Transformation Study.pdf"). • Impact: Agentic AI (e.g., autonomous agents) could handle 24/7 citizen inquiries via chatbots, reducing backlogs and response times by up to 50% in similar small cities. Generative AI might draft reports or suggest clearer structures for budget documents, accelerating processes like those in the "Draft Budget 26-27 cut.pdf.” • Case Study: In a small Kentucky city (similar size to St. Helena), officials implemented low-cost large language models (LLMs) for under $200 to automate resident queries and internal workflows, proving AI is accessible even on tight budgets. Small towns are also using AI to automate routine tasks, saving millions while transforming public services. (https://www.govtech.com/biz/data/llm-on-a-budget-how-small-cities-are-leveraging-ai)

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
30 Figure 21 – Conversational Agents Benchmarks

2. Improving Budgeting and Financial Management
AI excels at data-driven forecasting, which could help St. Helena optimize its fiscal planning amid constraints seen in budget documents.
• Impact: AI tools analyze large datasets for better decision-making, predicting budget shortfalls or optimizing resource allocation. AI agents could detect fraud in claims processing or procurement, potentially cutting costs by 20-30% through efficiency gains.
• Case Study: AI has optimized workflows in state and local governments, similar to how St. Helena could use it for multi-year budgeting. (https://www.munitemps.com/2025/09/03/how-small-cities-are-winning-with-localgovernment-innovation-like-a-i/) AI for Public Works
AI can transform public works by automating routine tasks, optimizing resources, and enabling predictive decision-making.

For St. Helena, this could mean more efficient utilities management and reduced costs in areas like water treatment or road maintenance. Potential impacts include:
 Predictive Maintenance and Infrastructure Optimization: AI analyzes sensor data to forecast failures in roads, pipes, or equipment, preventing costly breakdowns. Impact: Reduces downtime by 20-30% and extends asset life, saving on repairs—critical for St. Helena's wastewater and water systems. (https://www.apwa.org/resource/ai-case-studiesin-sewer-inspection-and-pavement-assessment/)  Efficient Resource Allocation and Service Requests: AI-powered chatbots and systems handle citizen reports (e.g., potholes, leaks) 24/7, routing them automatically. Impact: Speeds response times by 40-50%, cuts administrative workload, and improves resident satisfaction in small towns with limited staff. (https://www.govtech.com/artificialintelligence/california-cities-turn-to-ai-to-help-manage-public-works)  Environmental and Sustainability Enhancements: AI models water usage or stormwater patterns to minimize waste and pollution. Impact: Lowers energy costs by 15-25% and supports compliance with CA regulations, aligning with St. Helena's floodplain and tree protection efforts. (https://clerkminutes.com/blog/challenges-opportunities-ofPage 143 of 369

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31 implementing-ai-in-local-government-operations) and (https://cpex.org/news/from-algorithms-to-action-ais-rolein-shaping-tomorrows-communities/) Overall, AI could cut operational costs by 10-20% while boosting efficiency, per APWA studies, ideal for St. Helena's budget-constrained environment. (https://www.apwa.org/resource/the-future-of-public-works-best-practices-for-aiutilization/) and (https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/4-ways-local-governments-harnessing-ai-transformoperations/739931/)

5.2.10. Awareness
When we discuss “awareness,” we do not mean strategic communications or external communications. We mean awareness in the sense that mid-level and executive level management know what is happening across the City, Departments, and Divisions. A common tool for achieving and maintaining a high level of awareness is a dashboard, specifically, an executive and/or enterprise dashboard. Other sources of awareness come from program management reports, weekly and monthly activities reports (i.e. KPIs), accounting and financial reports, performance audits, surveys, and quantitative and qualitative information generated from SaaS subscriptions. Most of these items can be included in the dashboards as well.

The City has made some progress with implementing SaaS solutions in multiple Departments. Also, the Grapevine tool has helped with residents reporting requests and tracking those requests. Further, there are surveys and weekly/monthly reporting. However, there are still severe weaknesses. Most Departments have no KPIs or a very minimal amount that arguably are not actual KPIs. There is minimal tracking of projects and programs. Further, the City is far from using the full potential of tracking, reporting, and dashboarding tools that are available with the SaaS solutions. Finally, there are no financial ratios that we could find, and the accounting and budgeting reports are overly complex with flows between accounts that are extremely difficult to track.

Critical Concerns: While there is some information available to support awareness, we have found a severe lack of making connections between data generated by different Departments. For example, Public Works reports 45 miles of “water system”; however, there is no corresponding “sinking fund” to replace the pipes. Further, we could find no evidence of any information available that identifies pipe replacement life, inspections conducted, or locations of pipe with corresponding age. Likewise, there appears to be no procurement efforts (e.g. Requests for Information (RFI)) to try to identify market rates to replace the pipe to support future planning.

Second, although we note that the City is spending $2,829 per year on Microsoft Project, there appears to be a lack of awareness about what is happening with projects across the City. For context, Microsoft Project costs $360/user/year. This means that the City should have approximately 8 licenses in use, but we found no evidence of the software being used effectively. For example, the City could use Microsoft Power BI to connect to its Microsoft Project to generate portfolio level dashboards, but we found no evidence of this (See Figure 22 example dashboard).

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32 Figure 22 – Example Portfolio Dashboard

5.2.11.Customers
Blackberg spoke to St. Helena residents by phone; reviewed Godbe Research (Godbe) survey results; and spoke with City employees about conversations that they have had with residents. First, we briefly revisit the Godbe findings that were presented to the City Council on March 25, 2025.

Godbe conducted the survey between January 6 and 19, 2025. They captured input from 285 individuals and reported a margin of error of +/- 5.62%. In their presentation, they also reference the survey that they conducted for the City in 2022.

The 2022 survey covered the same questions, which gives us some time series data to explore. Across years, water quality remains the top issue. Affordable housing and road repairs/potholes/infrastructure remain in the top 3 issues. Concern about the City budget has grown considerably from 2022 and is now rated 4th in 2025. Other top concerns in 2025 include tourism/revenue, cost of living, water costs, and jobs/wages.

Figure 23 – Godbe Survey Results for Top Issues Facing the City

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Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
33 The Godbe survey also identified “Importance
of City Services, Programs and Facilities.” The
results are shown in Figure 24. Water quality is
the highest rated followed by fire protection and
street and road maintenance. The lowest rated
items are street sweeping; addressing diversity,
equity, and inclusion; and traffic on
neighborhood streets.

Godbe also surveyed “Satisfaction with City
Services, Programs, and Facilities” (See Figure
24). The highest rated areas are fire protection,
library, police, and parks and recreation
programs. The lowest rated areas are water
quality, street and road maintenance, managing
building and development, and maintaining
sidewalks.

Blackberg’s interviews with residents and City
employees told a similar story. However, we did
hear individuals stress some other areas related
to the survey results. Individuals cited problems
with drinking water, roads, sidewalks, and
affordable housing. They also identified that the
City is not successfully engaging with the
tourist industry and capturing revenues from
the millions of tourists that move through the
City each year.

In our conversations, individuals expanded
upon these concerns and expressed that they
have no trust in the City government nor in its
executive managers. Notable exceptions were
the Fire Department, Police Department, and
Library. They mentioned significant concerns with City executive managers and provided examples of direct communications (verbal) with executive managers in which they described responses from the executive manager as being “unprofessional, rude, and insulting.” Individuals expanded upon their lack of trust and dissatisfaction with City executive managers by providing other specific examples. These examples include: “1) It took six years to replace a road sign that I notified the City about multiple times per year; 2) The City is in crisis with budget, water, roads and infrastructure and a lot of other things, but I have never seen a plan to fix any of it; 3) I’ve had multiple times when residents asked me to contact the City because the City was not responding to them. Even when I contacted the appropriate Department, I didn’t hear back and had to keep calling different individuals; and 4) I spoke to City workers that didn’t seem to be doing anything. I asked them what they were doing that day, and they said that they didn’t have any assignments…”. These are just some of the responses that we received during conversations with City residents and City employees.

As we examine these responses, it is very difficult to separate subjective perspectives from objective realities. We do not doubt that there is a great deal of resident dissatisfaction that centers on water, roads, sidewalks, and development. However, it is impossible to quantitatively identify how severe those concerns are because the City has no quantitative data available (e.g. number of days of brown water; square footage of sidewalk needing repair or replacement; lane-miles of road needing repair or replacement; etc.). Because there is no quantification of the problem, there can be no satisfactory communication of the problem to residents. There is no strategic plan, so the ability to communicate solutions and timelines for addressing Figure 24 – Godbe Survey on Importance & Satisfaction

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34 the problems (even if we did know how significant they are) is impossible. Therefore, residents are left seeing the problems, have no information from the City about their magnitude, begin to speculate, and then have no strategic plan to affirm the City is doing something about the problems that “makes sense.” We emphasize the phrase “makes sense” because we heard this phrase many times within the context of the City’s lack of any comprehensive plan: “what they are doing doesn’t make sense; I wish we had something that just made sense; the City needs a plan that makes sense of how they are going to fix all these problems; I don’t think what they are doing makes sense because it is so piecemeal…etc.” Clearly, the residents’ lack of trust in the City government is rooted in these issues.

5.2.12.Communications
We bifurcate communications into “external communications” and “internal communications.” External communications include any communications outside of the City government staff. Internal communications are all communications between government staff.

External Communications. There are two broad categories of external communications relevant for St. Helena: 1) external communication targeting residents and nearby stakeholders, and 2) external communications targeting tourists and other visitors (e.g. investors). For this study, we focus on external communications with St. Helena residents and nearby stakeholders.

The City maintains an extensive website that includes moderately sophisticated tools: Grapevine; resident portal with live streams, public record requests, subscriptions, archived video, schedule of meetings, etc.; utility billing; career pages; registrations for parks and recreation; and various reports.

The City also communicates through newsletters and social media. The City publishes newsletters biweekly, and the newsletters contain an appropriate amount of information, including: general community news, latest updates, events and notifications, and city council meeting items. The City also publishes social media with clear customization to the platform to align messaging with user type engagement. For example, LinkedIn publications are clearly targeting residents; whereas, X publications have a government account for residents and a separate account targeting tourists. We did note that the City’s website is advertising multiple jobs for recruiting, yet its LinkedIn account shows “There are no jobs right now.”
Our main concern with external communications centers on the lack of communication content that addresses the residents’ biggest issues: water quality, streets and roads, sidewalks, infrastructure, affordable housing, and City budget. The problems are relatively undefined and not communicated in terms of magnitude and what the City is doing to fix them.

Internal Communications. Internal communications appear strongest at the Department or Division level. Given the small size of Departments, it is relatively easy to manage internal communications through simple weekly/monthly status meetings and other informal discussions. However, there is a clear lack of “big picture” type communications from the City Manager’s Office and interdepartmental communications.

Critical Concern. The most concerning aspect of internal communications is the lack of “change management” oriented communications. In change management, key communications include clear announcements about the change's purpose, timeline, and impact-like emails or all-hands meetings with leadership to set expectations. Regular updates via email, newsletters, or dashboards help maintain awareness of status. Leadership should place emphasis on transparency, listening to feedback, and repeating the rationale for change to develop buy-in. Leadership demonstrating consistency and empathy are also important elements. Blackberg has heard from multiple individuals that City executive managers are demonstrating the opposite of these practices.

Communications Model. Our main concern is the City’s lack of a communications model for both internal and external communications. Clearly, the City spends much time and effort developing strong “content assets” (e.g. newsletters, social media posts, website announcements, etc.). However, there is a lack of sophistication to the overall management of communications. The absence of a communications model is one indication, but importantly, it is the lack of many elements

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35 that you would find in such a model that is most problematic. These missing elements include purposeful thinking, planning, and actions for: strategy and insights, customer experience & personalization, measurement of impact or engagement, and using optimal data and technology. Given the size of St. Helena, a communications model does not need to be extremely sophisticated; however, there may be benefits to leaning toward higher levels of sophistication in the areas of targeting tourism. If the City elected to increase tourism communications, it should be coupled with a larger strategic effort by the City to engage tourists and develop clear paths to increasing revenues from tourist visits.

5.2.13.Processes
The review of the City of St. Helena’s business processes, supporting documentation, and departmental management practices indicates that the organization is still in the early stages of developing a formalized Business Process Management System (BPMS). While the City’s workforce demonstrates a strong commitment to public service and a clear understanding of their functional responsibilities, most core and support processes remain largely informal, person-dependent, and reactive to operational needs rather than structured or measured through standard management systems.

5.2.13.1. Business Process Management System (BPMS) Maturity The assessment used a maturity framework based on Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) principles and included six key dimensions: Process Ownership, Documentation and Standardization, Process Controls, Measurement and Performance Management, Cross-Department Integration, and Continuous Improvement and Innovation.

Across these dimensions, most departments were observed to be functioning at Level 1 (Initial / Ad Hoc) or Level 2 (Repeatable / Defined) maturity. In practical terms, this means that many processes depend on the institutional knowledge of long-tenured staff rather than documented systems, and that procedures are often recreated as needs arise rather than guided by written standard operating procedures or shared process maps.

Some divisions, particularly Finance and Community Development, show elements of greater maturity - including defined workflows, use of digital forms or permitting systems, and limited data tracking - but even these remain isolated rather than integrated across the enterprise. The lack of consistent documentation and standardized controls limit transparency, crosstraining, and the ability to measure performance or allocate resources objectively.

Documentation review also found that while departmental staff can clearly describe their responsibilities, there is limited evidence of structured process design at the Level 3–5 tiers of maturity (detailed process mapping, Swimlanes, and SOPs).

Existing materials are often task lists or procedural notes rather than process-level representations that define inputs, outputs, and interdependencies. As a result, opportunities to identify redundancies, clarify hand-offs, or assess efficiency are difficult to visualize.

5.2.13.2. Continuous Improvement (CI) Capability
At present, the city does not have a formalized Continuous Improvement (CI) structure or program. Improvement efforts are generally reactive — focused on resolving immediate issues rather than systematically analyzing root causes or measuring process performance over time. There is no dedicated framework such as Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies currently in use, nor are staff trained or supported in using structured process improvement tools.

While several supervisors and managers informally encourage problem-solving and incremental improvement, these efforts occur independently within departments and are not connected through a coordinated management system. Likewise, there is no evidence of a Daily Management System (DMS) using readiness boards such as MESS (Methods, Equipment, Supply, Staffing) or of consistent tiered huddles where performance, safety, and resource issues are reviewed and escalated.

This absence of formal CI infrastructure limits the City’s ability to identify systemic trends, manage performance visually, or reinforce learning across departments. It also constrains the development of a performance culture that relies on data and shared accountability rather than individual initiatives.

5.2.13.3. Organizational Context and Direction

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36 The City’s small size and resource constraints are important context for interpreting these observations. The organization has many of the attributes of a Level 1–2 maturity municipality: strong individual dedication, informal collaboration, and a practical understanding of service needs, but lacking the formal systems, data infrastructure, and governance mechanisms that characterize higher levels of process maturity.

The absence of structured process ownership, measurement, and continuous improvement systems should not be viewed as a deficiency but rather as a developmental stage. Many smaller jurisdictions begin in a similar state before adopting scaled, lightweight forms of operational excellence suited to their staffing and workload.

The direction suggested by this assessment — though not yet formally adopted — is toward a pragmatic Operational Excellence model: building foundational process documentation and ownership, introducing routine measurement and MESS-board-based daily management practices, and gradually cultivating a culture of data-driven problem-solving and shared accountability.

5.2.13.4. Overall Insight
In summary, the City of St. Helena’s business process environment reflects early-stage maturity with limited standardization and no formal continuous improvement framework. However, it possesses the essential ingredients for growth: engaged leadership, experienced personnel, and a clear desire to improve service delivery. Establishing a basic Business Process Management and Continuous Improvement structure will enable the City to evolve from reactive management toward proactive, transparent, and performance-based operations over time.

5.2.13.5. Business Process Management and Continuous Improvement A. Introduction
Business Process Management (BPM) is a systematic approach to improving how a city delivers services to its residents, businesses, and internal customers. By connecting the city's service portfolio to daily operations, BPM helps leaders identify where time, cost, and risk accumulate. This approach translates technical process analysis into meaningful outcomes, such as faster permit processing, reliable street repairs, clean water, efficient fee collection, and compliance with statutory timelines.

BPM involves light-touch scoping, evidence-based measurement, and targeted improvements, with governance playing a vital role. The expected benefits include reduced rework, lower costs, improved customer satisfaction, and a clear, auditable trail for policy and budget decisions.

For municipalities like the City of St. Helena, a Business Process Management System (BPMS) provides the structure, tools, and practices needed to enhance service delivery. A BPMS offers visibility into processes across departments, clarifies accountability, and supports continuous improvement. This ensures effective resource use, efficient staff operations, and timely, transparent, and responsive services for residents. Adopting a BPMS aligns processes with strategic goals, improves interdepartmental coordination, and helps the city adapt to regulatory changes, financial constraints, and evolving community expectations.

Purpose of the BPMS
• Establish a centralized approach to documenting, analyzing, and improving city processes. • Provide a repository of process information accessible across departments. • Enable data-driven decision making through measurement of process performance. • Support staff training and onboarding by standardizing work methods. • Improve service delivery outcomes for residents and stakeholders.

Benefits for the City of St. Helena
• Transparency: Residents and businesses better understand service timelines and requirements. • Efficiency: Reduced rework and delays by clarifying roles and eliminating redundancies. • Adaptability: Easier integration of innovative technologies, regulations, or staffing changes. • Employee Support: Staff gain confidence through consistent methods and clear escalation paths.

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37 • Strategic Alignment: Processes are tied directly to city goals and community priorities.

Suggested Next Steps
• Finalize the process inventory across selected city departments to level 3. • Prioritize high-impact processes for mapping.
• Establish or Assign governance structures (steering committee, process owners, champions). • Develop a repository solution (SharePoint).
• Implement BPM and a Daily Management System within a designated division or department on a pilot basis.

B. Business Process Maturity Assessment
This checklist is designed to help assess the maturity of City of St. Helena processes using the CMMI-based framework.

Rate each process from Level 1 (Initial/Ad hoc) to Level 5 (Optimizing), based on observable criteria.

Process Ownership
1 – No clear owner; responsibility assumed but not explicit. 2 – Owner identified for major processes, but not all.
3 – All processes have assigned owners; responsibilities documented. 4 – Owners monitor performance data and initiate corrective actions. 5 – Owners lead proactive innovation and continuous improvement cycles.

Documentation & Standardization
1 – Informal or tribal knowledge; no formal documentation. 2 – Some processes documented, but incomplete.
3 – Standard documentation exists citywide. Documentation validation to “As-Is.” 4 – Documentation integrated with metrics and updated regularly. 5 – Automated workflows/digital tools enforce standardized steps.

Process Controls
1 – Controls applied inconsistently or reactively.
2 – Basic control points defined (signoffs, review steps). 3 – Standard control policies applied across departments. 4 – Control effectiveness measured (error rates, compliance tracking). 5 – Controls optimized/automated, continuous risk reduction.

Measurement & Performance Management
1 – No metrics; success based on individual effort.
2 – Basic measures tracked (timeliness, completion counts). 3 – Common KPIs defined and tracked.
4 – Statistical techniques applied to analyze trends.
5 – Predictive analytics and benchmarking used.

Cross Department Integration
1 – Processes siloed, unclear handoffs.
2 – Some processes mapped between departments.
3 – Cross-functional processes formally mapped.
4 – Data shared; bottlenecks monitored.
5 – Seamless integration; coordinated system.

Continuous Improvement & Innovation
1 – No formal improvement activities; reactive problem-solving only. 2 – Occasional improvement projects, but not systematic. 3 – Defined CI program; lessons learned shared.
4 – Data-driven improvements tested and scaled.

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38 5 – CI embedded in culture, proactive innovation.

Business process maturity was assessed in the Public Works, Administrative Services, and Community Development divisions. After consultations with Division Leadership, examination of existing process documentation, and analysis from the current state assessment, the following ratings were assigned (See Figure 25).

Departments &
Divisions
Process
Ownership
Documentation
&
Standardization
Process
Controls
Measurement and
Performance
Management
Cross
Department
integration
Continuous
Improvement &
Innovation
PW – Service
Delivery 2 2 1 1 1 1
PW – Development
Services 2 2 1 1 1 1
PW – Capital
Projects Delivery 2 2 1 1 1 1
Community
Development 2 2 2 2 2 2
Admin Services -
Finance 2 2 2 1 2 2
Figure 25 – Business Process Maturity
Business Process Maturity Assessment Insights
The following insights summarize key themes emerging from the City’s initial maturity assessment across five divisions— Public Works (Service Delivery, Development Services, Capital Projects), Community Development, and Administrative Services – Finance. Each observation reflects the City’s current level of capability within six foundational dimensions of business process maturity, based on the CMMI framework.

1. Process Ownership
Process ownership across departments is largely informal and role-based rather than explicitly defined. While staff can describe who performs specific tasks, few processes have a clearly identified “owner” responsible for ensuring effectiveness, compliance, and improvement. This lack of explicit accountability is most visible in cross-functional workflows such as permitting and capital project approvals, where responsibilities blur across departments.

Implications:

Without defined ownership, improvement efforts depend heavily on institutional memory and individual initiative. This limits continuity, scalability, and accountability when roles change, or turnover occurs.

Recommendations:

Formalize process ownership within each department’s process inventory. Assign accountable individuals for each key process and document them in governance records. Integrate ownership into position descriptions, performance objectives, and departmental reporting.

2. Documentation and Standardization
Process documentation remains inconsistent, incomplete, and primarily informal. While some procedures exist, especially within Community Development and Finance, most Public Works activities rely on verbal communication, spreadsheets, and legacy templates. Documentation seldom reflects the actual “as-is” workflow practiced by frontline staff.

Implications:

Inconsistent documentation increases rework, hampers staff training, and undermines standardization efforts. It also constrains the City’s ability to evaluate performance objectively or adopt automation technologies.

Recommendations:

Prioritize documentation of high-volume, resident-facing processes using simple templates such as SIPOC or mini-maps.

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39 Validate each documented process with subject-matter experts to ensure it represents the true “as-is” state. Develop a centralized, searchable repository accessible across departments.

3. Process Controls
Existing controls are primarily manual and reactive, focused on supervisory review after problems occur. Few processes include formal checkpoints, approval steps, or quality criteria. Exceptions exist in Finance and Community Development, where external audit or regulatory compliance requires structured oversight.

Implications:

The absence of preventive controls exposes the City to operational and compliance risks—ranging from service delays and cost overruns to inconsistent application of policies.

Recommendations:

Introduce defined control points such as approvals, verifications, and quality reviews within each major workflow. Establish standardized review templates or checklists for recurring activities. Over time, transition these controls into automated validations within future workflow systems.

4. Measurement and Performance Management
Performance measurement is at an early stage, focusing mainly on activity counts (permits issued, projects completed) rather than outcomes. Metrics are inconsistent across divisions and are not yet tied to service levels, timeliness, or resident satisfaction.

Implications:

Without reliable metrics, the city cannot evaluate efficiency or communicate improvements to stakeholders. Decisionmaking remains qualitative and dependent on anecdotal evidence.

Recommendations:

Define a concise set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for each department, such as turnaround time, accuracy, and backlog. Establish baseline measures to track progress over time. Integrate metrics into regular management meetings and dashboards as the BPMS evolves.

5. Cross Department Integration
Processes remain departmentally siloed, with limited formal coordination among Public Works, Community Development, and Finance. Interactions rely heavily on personal communication rather than standardized handoffs or shared data systems.

Implications:

Siloed operations create bottlenecks, duplicate data entry, and inconsistent resident experiences. They also slow project approvals and reduce overall service transparency.

Recommendations:

Map end-to-end value streams that cut across departments, such as Development-to-Occupancy or Capital Project Lifecycle.

Identify and document interdepartmental dependencies, shared information needs, and approval pathways. Pilot integrated workflows that align on shared objectives and performance indicators.

6. Continuous Improvement and Innovation
Continuous improvement is largely reactive and episodic, driven by immediate operational issues rather than by a structured management framework. Staff demonstrate willingness to innovate but lack standardized methods, coaching, or governance mechanisms.

Implications:

Without a formal structure for continuous improvement, lessons learned are not captured or shared, and progress depends on individual champions rather than institutional commitment.

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Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
40 Recommendations:

Establish a lightweight Continuous Improvement (CI) framework, beginning with departmental CI champions. Introduce basic Lean and problem-solving tools and incorporate them into existing staff meetings. Create a citywide improvement log or forum to share outcomes, recognize contributions, and build a culture of learning.

Overall Observation
The assessment indicates that most City processes are operating at Level 1–2 (Initial to Managed) maturity. This means individual performance and institutional knowledge drive service delivery more than standardized systems or governance.

The City of St. Helena is well positioned to advance maturity by formalizing ownership, documenting processes, introducing foundational controls, and linking performance measurement to strategic goals.

C. Business Process Framework (Levels 1-5)
The City of St. Helena’s Business Process Framework establishes a structured hierarchy for documenting, analyzing, and improving processes across all departments. The framework provides a common language for describing how the city creates, enables, and sustains value for its residents and stakeholders. It ensures that strategic goals at the citywide level can be translated into daily operational practices that are measurable, repeatable, and continuously improved.

The framework is organized into five levels of process definition. Each level represents a distinct perspective—from enterprise value creation at the highest level to individual task execution at the most granular. This tiered structure supports clarity, alignment, and scalability as the city matures its Business Process Management System.

The City’s Business Process Framework describes how operational maturity evolves from strategy to execution. Each level builds upon the previous one, creating a clear structure for process ownership, measurement, and improvement.

Level Theme Summary Description
Level 1 – Value Chain /
Enterprise View
Strategic Alignment Defines citywide value-creation and support functions that deliver services to residents and stakeholders.

Level 2 – Core Processes
(SIPOCs)
Process Definition Identifies end-to-end processes, clarifying suppliers, inputs, outputs, and customers.

Level 3 – Sub-Processes /
Detailed SIPOCs
Process Detail Decomposes each Level 2 process into measurable subprocesses and decision points.

Level 4 – Swimlane Process
Maps
Decisions & Controls Use cross-functional diagrams to show roles, responsibilities, and hand-offs across departments.

Level 5 – Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs)
Standardization & Continuous
Improvement
Documents repeatable workflows, embeds best practices, and drives accountability and compliance.

Figure 26 – Levels of Process Maturity
Level 1 – Service Portfolio and Value Domains
At the highest level, the City’s Service Portfolio defines how value is created and delivered to residents through its major functional domains. These value domains include Public Works, Community Development, Public Safety, and Administrative and Support Services.

Each domain represents a collection of services that contribute directly to community outcomes such as safe streets, reliable water service, effective permitting, and fiscal stewardship. At this level, the framework focuses on value creation (residentfacing services) and value enabling (support and administrative functions).

Documenting Level 1 establishes the City’s enterprise view - how the organization is structured to meet public expectations and fulfill its mission.

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41 Figure 27 – Level 1 Service Portfolio (Value Chain Model) Level 2 – End-to-End Business Processes
Level 2 defines the City’s major end-to-end business processes, which typically span multiple departments and require coordination across value domains. These processes represent the horizontal flow of work that connects the City’s functional silos and delivers measurable results for residents.

These processes are documented using SIPOC models (Supplier, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customer) to clarify who contributes, what resources are required, how work is performed, and what outcomes are produced. SIPOCs serve as the foundation for mapping dependencies, identifying bottlenecks, and defining ownership.

Transition from Level 2 SIPOCs to Levels 3–5 Process Documentation As the City of St. Helena advances its Business Process Management System, the SIPOCs established at Level 2 provide the foundation for more detailed process documentation and operational standardization. The next step in this progression is Level 3, where each SIPOC expands into detailed sub-process maps that clarify handoffs, decision points, and roles. Level 3 SIPOCs define the “how” behind each core function identified in Level 2 and form the bridge between conceptual understanding and operational execution.

At Level 4, these detailed sub-processes are expressed as Swimlane Process Maps, illustrating the cross-functional flow of work across departments. Each swimlane shows responsibilities by role, timing, and dependencies—making inefficiencies, redundancies, and improvement opportunities visible. These diagrams serve as both diagnostic and training tools, reinforcing transparency and accountability in daily operations.

Finally, Level 5 represents the highest degree of process maturity: fully documented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

SOPs provide repeatable, step-by-step guidance, linking each process back to its performance measures and compliance requirements. Together, Levels 3 through 5 complete the city’s end-to-end documentation hierarchy—transforming SIPOC frameworks into actionable workflows, visual management tools, and standardized practices that drive efficiency, consistency, and continuous improvement.

Level 3 – Subprocesses
City of St. Helena – Level 1 Service Portfolio (Value Chain Model) Vision, Mission, and Strategic Goals
Public Works
Water Management
Streets & Facilities
Parks & Landscaping
Community Development
Planning & Zoning
Permitting & Inspections
Code Enforcement
Public Safety
Police Services
Fire & Emergency Response
Finance & Payroll Human Resources Information Technology City Clerk & Records City Administration Residents and Stakeholders
Strategic Direction
Value Creation
Value Enabling

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Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
42 At Level 3, end-to-end processes are decomposed into departmental subprocesses; the core activities performed within a specific division or unit. Each subprocess has defined inputs and outputs that connect to other subprocesses in the value stream.

For example, within Public Works, subprocesses may include Water Management, Streets and Facilities Maintenance, and Parks and Landscaping. In Finance, subprocesses might cover Accounts Payable, Payroll, and Budget Monitoring.

Level 3 documentation provides enough granularity to identify performance measures, assign process ownership, and establish consistency in service delivery. Each subprocess can be represented through detailed SIPOCs or mini maps that capture key decision points and timing.

Level 4 – Activity and Decision Level
Level 4 represents the activity and decision layer, where detailed process maps illustrate how work moves through functional areas. BPM swim lane diagrams show handoffs between departments, highlight decision points, and surface inefficiencies.

No evidence was found of developed or used swim lane process maps, which are essential for identifying waste and enabling improvements.

These maps make dependencies visible and serve as the blueprint for future automation or system integration. As the City’s BPM capability matures, Level 4 processes will also inform training, compliance reviews, and service redesign efforts.

Level 5 – Task and Standard Operating Procedure Level
The most detailed layer, Level 5, captures the specific work instructions and job aids needed to perform individual tasks within a process. Although the city has established a procedure for developing standard operating procedures (SOPs), these SOPs have not yet been fully implemented, nor are they consistently reviewed and approved on a regular basis.

SOPs standardize execution, promote safety and quality, and ensure continuity when staff change roles. Each SOP specifies the task purpose, inputs, step-by-step actions, responsible position, and expected outputs.

Establishing this level of detail allows the City to build a comprehensive knowledge base, reduce variation, and strengthen training and onboarding programs.

Summary
The City’s five-level framework creates a structured approach for understanding and improving municipal operations.

Levels 1–2 define the City’s value architecture and end-to-end workflows. Levels 3–4 establish operational consistency and transparency. Level 5 anchors process discipline in daily work.

Together, these levels provide the foundation for a sustainable Business Process Management System - one that connects strategic goals to operational performance, enhances service quality, and supports a culture of continuous improvement throughout the City of St. Helena.

D. Process Inventory Overview
The Process Inventory serves as the City’s master catalog of business processes, providing a clear, hierarchical view of how work is organized across departments and value streams. It establishes a consistent numbering and naming convention to connect the City’s high-level service areas to their supporting subprocesses and standard operating procedures. This tool will form the backbone of the Business Process Management System (BPMS), enabling systematic tracking, prioritization, and improvement of processes over time. SharePoint serves as an effective platform for establishing and managing a comprehensive repository of organizational processes.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
43 Figure 28 – Example Process Inventory Overview
E. Continuous Improvement Assessment
A strong Continuous Improvement (CI) System integrates both top-down strategic improvement and bottom-up cultural improvement, ensuring that the City of St. Helena advances toward its long-term goals while simultaneously building a workforce that actively solves problems and improves performance every day.

At the strategic level, improvement projects and initiatives should directly align with the City’s strategic priorities and Council-adopted goals. These efforts are typically organized and displayed using a driver diagram, which visually links the City’s vision to its goals, strategies, and key improvement projects. A well-constructed driver diagram clarifies how project activities are both necessary and sufficient to achieve the intended outcomes, reinforcing accountability and strategic alignment. This top-down perspective ensures that limited resources are directed toward the initiatives that most meaningfully advance community outcomes. Presented below is a straightforward illustration of a strategic deployment framework.

Strategic Deployment Framework (Example)
True North: Deliver reliable, high-quality municipal services that enhance community well-being and long-term sustainability.

Vision & Mission: A responsive, transparent, and accountable city government focused on operational excellence and community partnerships.

Strategic Priorities: 1. Infrastructure & Resilience, 2. Financial Sustainability, 3. Customer Service Excellence, 4.

Workforce Development, 5. Technology & Innovation
Primary Drivers
• Preventive maintenance and capital planning
• Budget discipline and forecasting
Process
Level Process ID Process Name Process Owner Division Cross Department Integration Document Link 1 1.0 Public Works Service Delivery Joe Leach Public Works Admin, B&S, Parks & Trees, UU, Water Insert link to SIPOC,
SwimLane Process Map,
SOP
2 1.1 Building and Streets Public Works
2 1.2 Parks and Trees Public Works
2 1.3 Underground Utilities Public Works
2 1.4 Water Treatment Public Works
2 1.5 Wastewater Treatment Public Works
1 2.0 Library Services Community Services
1 3.0 Parks and Recreation Community Services
1 4.0 Fire Community Services
1 5.0 Police Community Services
1 6.0 Financial Management Mandy Kellogg Administrative Services 2 6.1 Budget Administrative Services
2 6.2 Payroll Administrative Services
2 6.3 Utility Billing Administrative Services
2 6.4 Business Licenses Administrative Services
2 6.5 Accounts Payable Administrative Services
2 6.6 Accounts Receivable Administrative Services
2 6.7 Contracts / Purchase Orders Administrative Services 2 6.8 Accounting - audit, funding, bank reconciliation…. Administrative Services 2 6.9 Cash Receipts Administrative Services
1 7.0 Human Resources Mandy Kellogg Administrative Services 1 8.0 Information Technology Administrative Services
1 9.0 Community Development Maya DeRosa Community Development 2 9.1 Building Permits Community Development
2 9.2 Planning Permits Community Development
2 9.3 Special Projects / Zoning Ordinance Administration Community Development 1 10.0 Capital Projects Joe Leach Public Works Administration 2 10.1 Studies Public Works Administration
2 10.2 Capital Project from Study Public Works Administration 2 10.3 Capital Project from Operational Need Public Works Administration 1 11.0 Development Services Joe Leach Public Works Administration 2 11.1 Planning Approval Process Public Works Administration 2 11.2 Public Improvement Plan Review and Approval Public Works Administration 2 11.3 Encroachment Permit Review Public Works Administration

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
44 • Permit and customer-experience redesign
• Talent retention and succession planning
• IT modernization and system integration
Projects and Initiatives
• Pavement and water-system asset
management
• New financial system implementation
• Streamlined permit and inspection workflow
• HR process modernization
• Citizen engagement and digital-service
portal
Performance Measures (KPIs)
• Service-request response time
• Budget variance %
• Permit turnaround time
• Employee-engagement index
• % of services available online
At the operational level, the CI System must cultivate
a culture of continuous improvement - a mindset in
which every employee views themselves as both a contributor and a problem solver. Building this culture involves providing staff with training and tools in basic improvement methods and problem-solving techniques. Many organizations implement a Daily Management System (DMS) to sustain this approach. DMS structures -whether physical visual boards or digital equivalents -provide a standardized way for teams to review performance, identify barriers, and act on improvement ideas.

These boards typically display:
• Key performance metrics and progress indicators
• Improvement slips or quick-win ideas ('Just-Do-Its')
• Sections for staff recognition or learning highlights • A readiness board often uses the MESS framework—Methods, Equipment, Supplies, and Staffing—to ensure teams have what they need to perform today’s work effectively.

When used consistently, the DMS reinforces situational awareness, team communication, and proactive problem solving. It also creates a structured pathway for issues that cannot be resolved at the local level to be escalated through tiered huddles— short, focused meetings at successive organizational levels to coordinate action and remove barriers.

During the review of current practices within the City of St. Helena, there was no evidence of a formally adopted improvement methodology such as Lean or Six Sigma. Likewise, employees did not reference improvement training, structured problem-solving routines, or standardized tools in their interviews. This represents a significant opportunity for growth. Developing this capability would help staff not only perform their daily work more efficiently but also engage in the disciplined identification and elimination of waste, variation, and rework.

A Daily Management System was partially observed within Public Works, where a superintendent huddle serves as a coordination and communication mechanism. This provides a foundation upon which a broader, citywide continuous improvement system could be built—one that links daily operational management with long-term strategic improvement.

Business Process Management (BPM) provides the structural backbone of such a system. Many City processes are currently in a state of pre-control, meaning they lack standardized definitions and consistent measurement. The first improvement step, therefore, is to establish a stable and repeatable standard process. Once a process is in control, predictable, and consistently executed, it can be evaluated against performance requirements to determine whether it can meet desired goals.

If not, targeted improvement projects can be initiated to close those performance gaps.

Figure 29 – DMS Example Board

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
45 Establishing this dual approach - strategic improvement from the top and cultural improvement from the bottom up - creates a sustainable system in which every employee contributes to better outcomes, every process is measurable and improvable, and the City continuously learns and evolves to meet the needs of its residents and stakeholders.

F. Performance Measures and Continuous Improvement
During the review, limited evidence was found that performance measures are being used consistently for decision-making, or that results are being trended over time. In a mature performance management environment, measures serve as a feedback mechanism—providing quantitative insight into service delivery, resource utilization, and community outcomes. Without this visibility, leaders must rely on anecdotal input rather than data to identify inefficiencies, assess progress, or justify investments. Effective performance measurement systems link strategic objectives to operational activities, ensuring that every process contributes to the organization’s mission and vision.

A comprehensive performance management framework typically integrates two complementary tools: Balanced Scorecards and Process Dashboards. Balanced scorecards track key outcome indicators across perspectives such as customer satisfaction, operational effectiveness, workforce capability, and financial stewardship - providing a balanced view of organizational health. Dashboards, by contrast, focus on real-time process measures, enabling supervisors to monitor service backlogs, work order completion rates, or compliance metrics. Together, these tools create a closed-loop system that reinforces accountability, enables data-driven decisions, and embeds continuous improvement into daily operations. As St.

Helena advances its business process maturity, developing and using such scorecards and dashboards will be essential to building a culture where improvement is informed by evidence and sustained by learning.

Title: Community Development Department | Performance Dashboard (Illustrative) Focus Area Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Target Current Status Permitting & Plan
Review
Average days to issue residential building
permit
≤ 10
days
14 days � Needs
Improvement
Code Enforcement % of complaints inspected within 5 days 90 % 82 % � At Risk Planning % of planning applications reviewed within
statutory deadline
100 % 100 % � On Track
Customer Experience % of applicants satisfied with process clarity (survey)
85 % 72 % � Needs
Improvement
Staff Capacity Average number of active cases per planner ≤ 40 56 � Off Target Title: Public Works Department | Performance Dashboard (Illustrative) Focus Area Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Target Current Status Street Maintenance % of potholes repaired within 72 hours of report
95 % 88 % � At Risk
Water Management % of water samples meeting EPA standards 100 % 100 % � On Track Wastewater
Treatment
Average plant uptime (hours available / total) ≥ 99 % 97 % � Needs Improvement
Parks & Landscape % of scheduled maintenance completed on time
90 % 85 % � Needs
Improvement
Fleet & Equipment % of fleet preventive maintenance on schedule 95 % 91 % � On Track Figure 30 – Illustrative Dashboards

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
46 G. Level 2 SIPOC Examples
Public Works – Service Delivery
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures Residents and
businesses
submitting service
requests
Work orders,
maintenance
schedules, equipment,
materials, staffing
resources

1. Buildings & Streets
Maintenance: Inspect and
repair roads, sidewalks, signage,
and street lighting
Safe and wellmaintained public
infrastructure
Residents,
businesses, visitors
% of service requests
completed within target
timeframe; number of safety
incidents per year
Utilities vendors,
materials
suppliers
Tools, replacement
parts, utility maps

2. Parks & Trees: Maintain
parks, urban trees, landscaping,
and public green spaces
Clean, accessible,
and visually
appealing public
areas
Residents,
community
organizations,
visitors
Park condition index; % of tree
maintenance completed on
schedule; citizen satisfaction
survey results
Engineering team,
public works staff
Work plans,
maintenance logs

3. Underground Utilities:

Maintain storm drains, sewer
lines, and water distribution
infrastructure
Reliable and
compliant
underground utility
systems
Residents,
businesses,
regulatory agencies
% of line breaks per mile per
year; regulatory compliance
rate; mean time to repair
Water treatment
plant operations
Water quality data,
chemicals, monitoring
equipment

4. Water Treatment Plant:

Operate treatment facilities to
ensure clean and safe drinking
water
Potable water
meeting state and
federal standards
Residents,
regulatory agencies
% of water quality samples in
compliance; gallons treated per
FTE; cost per million gallons
Wastewater plant
operations
Influent data, process
controls, operator logs

5. Wastewater Treatment
Plant: Operate wastewater
collection and treatment
processes to protect public
health and environment
Treated wastewater
meeting regulatory
discharge standards
Residents,
environmental
agencies, regional
water board
% compliance with effluent
standards; cost per gallon
treated; % preventive
maintenance completed
Public Works – Development Services
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures Contractors,
architects,
residents
Permit applications,
plans, inspection
requests

1. Receive and review
permit applications
Completed
application review
Contractors,
developers,
residents
% of applications reviewed within
target days; % of complete
submissions received
Planning and
Building divisions
Zoning and code data,
inspection schedules

2. Conduct plan checks
and inspections
Approved plans and
completed
inspections
Residents,
builders
% of plan checks completed on
time; # of re-inspections per 100
permits

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
47 City staff, finance Fee schedules, policy
documents

3. Issue permits and
collect fees
Authorized permits
and receipts
Contractors,
finance
department
Average permit turnaround time;
% of fees collected electronically
Engineering, GIS,
public works
Infrastructure and site
data

4. Coordinate utility
and infrastructure
reviews
Utility coordination
approvals
Developers,
utilities
% of permits delayed by utility
conflicts; # of coordination
meetings held
Quality assurance
team
Inspection reports,
compliance findings

5. Close out permits
and archive records
Closed permit files Residents,
developers
% of final inspections passing first
time; # of code violations
identified per quarter
Public Works – Capital Projects Delivery
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures City Council,
Finance
Approved capital
budget, project list

1. Prioritize and
plan capital
projects
Annual Capital
Improvement Plan (CIP)
Council, residents % of projects aligned with strategic plan; % of total funding obligated
Engineers,
consultants
Design specifications,
permits

2. Design and
engineer projects
Final design packages Contractors,
internal
departments
% of designs completed within
schedule; # of change orders due to
design errors
Procurement, legal Bid documents,
contracts

3. Procure and
award contracts
Executed construction
contracts
Vendors,
contractors
% of projects awarded within 90
days of approval; # of bid protests
Project managers,
contractors
Construction
schedules, materials

4. Construct and
manage projects
Completed
infrastructure projects
Residents,
businesses
% of projects on schedule and
budget; cost variance per project
QA inspectors,
finance
Punch lists, invoices 5. Close out and
evaluate projects
Final acceptance and
post-project evaluation
Council, residents,
finance
% of projects completed within
original scope; average closeout
time
Community Development
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures Residents,
developers,
business owners
Development
proposals,
applications

1. Receive and review
planning applications
Logged
applications
Developers,
residents
% of applications accepted as complete
on first submission
Planning staff,
regional agencies
Codes, ordinances,
maps

2. Conduct zoning and
environmental review
Compliance
determinations
Developers,
City Council
% of projects completing CEQA
review within target; % of projects
requiring resubmittal
Advisory boards,
Council
Meeting agendas,
reports

3. Present projects to
planning bodies
Public hearing
decisions
Residents,
Council
% of recommendations accepted;
public meeting participation rate

BLACKBERG
GROUP Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
48 Permit center,
engineering
Approved
conditions

4. Issue entitlements and
track compliance
Final approvals
and records
Developers,
residents
% of projects meeting permit
conditions; # of code violations
resolved
GIS, public
information staff
Maps, status reports 5. Update planning data
and communicate
outcomes
Updated zoning
and GIS maps
City staff,
public
Frequency of data updates; # of web
hits to planning portal
Administrative Services – Finance
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures Departments,
vendors
Invoices, budgets,
payroll data

1. Process accounts
payable and receivable
Payments and
receipts
Vendors,
departments
Days payable outstanding; % of
invoices processed within 30 days
City departments Budget requests,
revenue forecasts

2. Develop and manage
city budget
Adopted annual
budget
City Council,
departments
% variance from budget; # of budget
amendments per year
Payroll, HR Timecards, salary
schedules

3. Process payroll and
benefits
Payroll runs, reports Employees, HR Payroll accuracy rate; % of payroll processed on schedule
Grantors, project
managers
Grant agreements,
reports

4. Manage grants and
restricted funds
Grant reimbursement
requests
State and federal
agencies
% of eligible reimbursements
received; grant compliance rate
City leadership,
Council
Financial data, KPIs 5. Produce financial
reports and audits
Monthly and annual
reports
Council, residents Timeliness of reports; audit findings per year
Administrative Services – Human Resources
Suppliers Inputs Process Steps Outputs Customers Outcome Measures Applicants,
employees
Applications,
resumes, policies

1. Recruit and hire
qualified staff
Job postings and new
hires
Departments,
candidates
Time to fill vacancies; % of offers
accepted
Department
managers
Performance data,
goals

2. Manage performance
and evaluations
Completed
performance reviews
Supervisors,
employees
% of employees with annual review
completed; employee satisfaction
index
Training
providers
Curriculum,
materials

3. Deliver training and
development programs
Trained staff and
attendance records
Employees,
management
Training hours per employee; % of
staff meeting certification
requirements
Payroll, benefits
vendors
Enrollment forms,
HRIS data

4. Administer benefits
and compensation
Payroll and benefits
updates
Employees,
Finance
Benefits enrollment accuracy rate; %
of payroll errors corrected within pay
period
All staff Engagement
surveys, feedback

5. Maintain employee
relations and compliance
Reports,
investigations,
resolutions
Employees, City
leadership
# of grievances resolved within target;
% compliance with labor regulations

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
49 5.3. Large Scale Considerations
As the City considers its efficiency and transformation, it’s important to consider large scale changes. These changes could have significant impact on the City. We summarize some considerations below.

5.3.1. Revenue Improvement with Tourism
St. Helena has an amazing opportunity to improve tax revenues derived from the Napa Valley tourist industry. We provide 2023 statistics on Napa Valley tourism taken from Travel Research and Statistics (https://www.visitnapavalley.com/aboutus/research/):
 Napa Valley welcomed a total of 3.7 million visitors.  The tourism industry generated $107.5 million in tax revenue for local resident services, an increase of 26 percent from 2018.
 Visitors to Napa Valley spent $2.5 billion supporting local businesses.  Almost 70 percent is generated from overnight hotel guests.  The average visitor spent an average of $281 in Napa County per guest, per day.  Direct visitor spending within the county increased 13 percent since 2018.  The tourism industry remains the second largest employer in Napa County (after the wine industry), supporting an estimated 16,000 jobs in the community.
 The average age of the Napa Valley visitor is 40, six years younger than the 2018 average visitor age of 46.  Visitor spending per day in Napa Valley is $7 million on average.

5.3.2. Increased Partnerships with Surrounding Towns and County St. Helena has opportunities to further explore cost-sharing with Calistoga. Calistoga is a similar sized city within approximately 6 miles of St. Helena. St. Helena is already engaged with Calistoga partnerships with police dispatch. The City should continue to explore cost-sharing partnerships with Calistoga, particularly in areas of police, fire, and water.

Further, the City should explore partnerships with Napa County in areas of water treatment and waste water.

5.3.3. Public Private Partnerships
A public-private partnership (PPP) refers to a contractual arrangement wherein a municipal government (a town of St.

Helena's scale) collaborates with private sector entities to finance, develop, operate, or maintain infrastructure assets or services. Typically, the public body retains oversight, regulatory authority, and ultimate accountability, while the partner injects capital, specialized expertise, or accelerated timelines. Returns are risk-shared: taxpayers dodge full upfront burdens, firms earn through fees or concessions over decades. The City could use PPP arrangements for a broad range of needs. We provide some examples of PPP use by other towns/cities in the United States.

Alexandria, Virginia
Source: https://www.alexandriava.gov/P3
The City of Alexandria has long been a part of public-private partnerships and alternative delivery such as the Energy from Waste facility on Eisenhower Avenue, the construction of public parking garages with private development, the Torpedo Factory Arts Center, the City Courthouse, the Potomac Yard Fire Station, the Potomac Yard Metro Station, the first designbuild of a municipal bus facility in Virginia, affordable and workforce housing, as well as used innovative financing tools such as synthetic tax incremental financing for Landmark Mall site redevelopment, the Virginia Tourism Development Financing Program for the redevelopment of 699 Prince Street Hotel, support agreements for retention of the Art League HQ and the activation of the The Art League Old Town North Arts District, franchise solicitation for EV Charging Infrastructure at City facilities, and tax abatement for the 5001 Eisenhower Avenue Office Building Conversion Project. The City also partners with many non-profit organizations in the delivery of services to the public. These innovative and progressive initiatives have involved joining the financial and knowledge-based strengths of the private sector with the public sector's in undertaking of complex affordable housing, cultural, transportation and other projects.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis
50 Rialto, California
Source:https://bridgemastersinc.com/u-s-infrastructure-benefits-public-privatepartnerships/#:~:text=Rialto%20Utility%20Authority%2C%20Rialto%2C%20California,safe%20water%20to%20the%20 community.

A public-private partnership was formed to upgrade the city's water system, which was facing decay and contamination. A 30-year PPP was established with a water processing company and an investment firm to make the necessary improvements and provide safe water to the community.

Sandy Springs, Georgia
Source: https://www.sandyspringsga.gov/public-private-partnership and https://www.mackinac.org/20029#:~:text=Local%20P3s:%20Sandy%20Springs%2C%20Ga.&text=As%20you%20can% 20imagine%2C%20Sandy,Office)%20or%20some%20private%20entity.

Incorporated in 2005 and designed its operations around a "contract city" model, outsourcing most municipal services like public safety and infrastructure to private firms. This model is often cited as a comprehensive example of a PPP. It also demonstrates issues with PPP when they are overly relied upon.

6.0 Next Steps
In Step 1, Blackberg began the current state analysis with a focus on collecting input from City staff in the form of structured interviews and surveys. In Step 2, Blackberg continued the current state analysis, but the methods changed to document reviews; data requests; quantitative analyses of data; interviews with Executive leadership, Finance Committee members, City Council members, and residents (small number); review of legacy analyses and surveys; one meeting with the outside IT service consultant (Apex); examination of publicly published materials on the website and social media; and examination of national benchmark data for Libraries. This enabled us to develop a comprehensive and accurate picture of the City’s current state.

Next, we move into Step 3 where we begin developing recommendations for transformation. This includes an examination of organizational structure and staffing; process improvements and efficiency potential; cost savings potential; and technology utilization and modernization.

Organizational Structure
& Staffing Component
JANUARY 5, 2026
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component Contents

1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

2.0 Ralph Andersen and Associates Compensation Analysis ..................................................... 4

3.0 Salary Benchmark Analysis................................................................................................... 5

3.1. Population Size Impact........................................................................................................ 5

3.2. Comparison to St. Helena.................................................................................................... 6

3.2.1. Percentage Differences................................................................................................. 8

3.3. Discussion on Data from Transparent California ................................................................. 10

3.3.1. Transparent California ................................................................................................ 10

3.3.2. Understanding the Data from Transparent California................................................... 10

3.3.3. Data Preparation and Analysis .................................................................................... 10

3.4. Discussion of Results ..................................................................................................... 11

4.0 Workshops.......................................................................................................................... 12

4.1. Facilitation ........................................................................................................................ 12

4.2. Workshop 1 Overview and Results..................................................................................... 12

4.2.1. Administrative Services .............................................................................................. 12

4.2.2. City Clerk ................................................................................................................... 16

4.2.3. Community Development .......................................................................................... 19

4.2.4. Community Services................................................................................................... 22

4.2.5. Public Works.............................................................................................................. 27

4.3. Workshop 2 Overview and Results..................................................................................... 33

4.3.1. Workflow and Outcomes............................................................................................ 34

4.3.2. Data from the Boards ................................................................................................. 35

5.0 St. Helena Staffing, Organization, and Controls ................................................................ 42

5.1. Concerns, Discussions, and Recommendations .................................................................. 44

5.1.1. Financial Analyst ........................................................................................................ 44

5.1.2. Community Services Department - Library.................................................................. 45

5.1.3. Community Services Department - Broadly................................................................. 46

5.1.4. Administrative Services Department ........................................................................... 46

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component

5.1.5. Community Development Department ....................................................................... 48

5.1.6. Fire Department and Police Department..................................................................... 49

5.1.7. City Clerk Department................................................................................................ 49

5.1.8. Public Works Department........................................................................................... 50

6.0 Conclusion and Next Steps................................................................................................. 51

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 4 1.0 Introduction
For Task 3A, the St. Helena (City) assigned Blackberg to review departmental structures, staffing levels, and resource allocations. Specifically, this includes the following:
 Review City of St. Helena citywide organizational chart;  Review span and control;
 Number of staff that directly report to a manager/supervisor; and  Centralization or decentralization of certain functions In 2024, the City hired Ralph Andersen and Associates to complete a “Compensation Analysis” for City personnel positions.

Blackberg reviewed the Compensation Analysis and gathered additional data from the City (e.g. organizational chart, budget information, workload, etc.). Blackberg also conducted a series of workshops for the City. The purpose of the workshops was to examine the City’s current staffing structure and to explore possible improvements. We split the workshops into “Workshop 1” and “Workshop 2”. In Workshop 1, we focused on the staffing structure of individual Departments. Per City input and our contract, we did not include the Police or Fire Department in Workshop 1. We hosted and facilitated 5 Workshop 1 events (i.e. one for each Department), and only the members of the specific Department attended their respective Workshop 1. In Workshop 2, we hosted and facilitated the staffing structure across Departments (citywide). For Workshop 2, the City Executive Managers and City Manager were present. The findings from the Workshops inform this deliverable; however, we do highlight areas of workshop findings that derive from City employee input and recommendations versus Blackberg independent analysis and recommendations.

During our first data request, we did not receive a copy of the Ralph Andersen and Associates’ Compensation Analysis nor did we know it existed. We are also aware from multiple interviews with City staff, and the City staff survey that we conducted for Deliverable 1, that there is disagreement and concerns about total compensation. Therefore, Blackberg conducted a limited analysis of salary benchmarks that we discuss in detail in Section 3.

2.0 Ralph Andersen and Associates Compensation Analysis Blackberg received the Ralph Andersen
and Associates’ Compensation Analysis
without any explanation of
methodology, discussion of analysis
findings, or definition of terms. The data
that we have available from the
Compensation Analysis are data tables.

We provide an example in Figure 1.

The City should be cautious in how it
uses and interprets the data because it is
a very small sample size. The sample
size ranges from 3 – 14. Blackberg views
the primary usefulness of this data as
being insights into how much the City
would likely need to offer to “hire away”
an existing employee of one of these
cities. However, based on the data, one
should not assume that it provides
accurate information about salary
averages and medians within the region
from which hires can be made.

Therefore, we do not believe the Ralph
Andersen and Associates’ Compensation Analysis can answer the question of “are the salaries paid by the City fair for both itself and its employees.” Rather, it provides guidance on what the City might need to pay to recruit from a specific city. We Figure 1 – Data Table: This is an example of a data table from Ralph Andersen and Associates.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 5 do emphasize that the Compensation Analysis is useful information, but we caution on how the City uses it and what the City derives from it in terms of information value.

In Section 3, Blackberg provides a macro view of compensation data that complements the Ralph Andersen and Associates’ Compensation Analysis. Our analysis is limited to 10 positions, but we include much larger sample sizes (See Figure 7).

The larger sample sizes enable us to more accurately answer the question “are the salaries paid by the City fair for both itself and its employees.” We attempt to answer that question in Section 3.

3.0 Salary Benchmark Analysis
To develop a better understanding of the City’s salary structure and total compensation for executive managers, Blackberg investigated salary data supplied by “Transparent California1 .” The primary issue in the Transparent California data set is current data availability. There is a considerable amount of time between cities gathering and submitting their data and publication. In Figure 2 (next page), the Director of Accounting data is from 2024; the City Clerk data is from 2022; and all other data is from 2023. In searching the database, we used titles closely matching the City’s titles with a few exceptions.

First, we did not search for an “Administrative Services Director”; instead, we searched for “Director of Accounting.” We believed this was a better match to the core responsibilities of the position. Second, we did not search for a “Director of Community Services” because this was a somewhat ambiguous title. Instead, we searched for “Senior Librarian” and “Recreation Director.” These are the two primary service areas under the Director of Community Services.

Figure 1 provides the Average Base Pay and Average Total Compensation. The Average Base Pay is guaranteed salary for the position. Average Total Compensation is Average Base Pay plus any forms of additional compensation (e.g. bonuses).

Average Total Compensation does not include any benefits. In reviewing the data set, we found considerable variation in the amounts provided through a bonus structure versus base pay. For example, with the City Manager position, 22 individuals reported 0 “other pay” (i.e. bonus). However, in the same data set, one City Manager received $412,220 in other pay. Therefore, the Average Total Compensation is better to use for comparing St. Helena’s compensation to other cities.

3.1. Population Size Impact
It is known that total compensation typically (but not always) correlates strongly positive to the city population size of a sample data set. To examine this belief, we added population data to the salary data set and calculated the correlation coefficient between total compensation and population size for City Manager. As expected, the correlation coefficient is strongly positive at 0.46. To better understand the impact of population size, we calculated the Average Total Compensation of the City Manager and the Director of Public Works within 5 different city population size ranges (See Figure 3, next page). In Figure 2, one can see that the impact of population size on Average Total Compensation is quite large. Be mindful, as you consider this, that the primary driver of salary is the job title and associated job requirements. Therefore, being a secondary driver, population size is a strongly positive correlation. 1 Transparent California, https://transparentcalifornia.com/, October 28, 2025.

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 6 Figure 2 - Average Pay for Executive Managers: The average pay for executive managers derives from Blackberg’s calculations of data from Transparent California, and it is split between base pay and total compensation.

Figure 3 - City Population Impact on Compensation: There is a clear, positive correlation between increased city population size and increased total compensation (this data is adjusted to 2024).

3.2. Comparison to St. Helena
To examine St. Helena’s total compensation for certain management positions (primarily executive management), Blackberg developed a line chart in Excel (See Figure 4). There are three lines: 1) Sample Average Total Compensation (Red); 2) Small Town Sample Average Total Compensation (Green); and 3) St. Helena Total Compensation (Blue).

The Sample Average Total Compensation (Red Line) are the samples taken from the Transparent California data set (See Figure 3). It includes data for cities ranging in size from a population of 222 (Vernon) to 3,857,897 (Los Angeles). The average population size for this set of data is about 65,000-85,000 (mid-sized city). Therefore, one could think of these total

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 7 compensation figures (red line) as representative of a city with a 65,000-85,000 population – including all the complexities that come with such a city.

The Small Town Sample Average Total Compensation (Green Line) are taken from the Transparent California data set for cities with a population under 10,000. There are three important considerations: 1) city centric data was lacking for the Director of Accounting position, so it has a null value; 2) there were no Senior Librarians in cities with a population under 10,000, so its rate comes from under 50,000; and 3) there were only three samples of Fire Chief total compensation for cities with under 10,000 in population.

The St. Helena Total Compensation (Blue Line) comes from the City’s report to the State of California for 20242 . It tends
to track the mid-sized city (red line) total compensation, and except for Senior Librarian, St. Helena’s total compensation package tends to be well above cities with a population of under 10,000.

Figure 4 - Total Compensation Comparison: This compares St. Helena to a sample average from the Transparent California database. The Small Town sample is limited to towns with a population under 10,000. * Director of Accounting data was not city centric; therefore, a null value exists for “Small Town Sample.” ** Senior Librarian did not exist in towns under 10,000, so we used towns under 50,000 for Senior Librarian exclusively. *** Fire Chief sample size is only three (3) for under 10,000. 2 Government Compensation in California, https://publicpay.ca.gov/Reports/Cities/City.aspx?entityid=286&year=2024, November 3, 2025.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 8 3.2.1. Percentage Differences
In comparing St. Helena to mid-sized cities, 40% of its positions, in our analysis, are above total compensation averages and 60% are below total compensation averages. However, except for Senior Librarian, none are considerably lower than the average; although, three are considerably higher than the average (See Figure 5). Figure 5 shows variability (as a percentage) for St. Helena’s total compensation versus the baseline (Sample Average Total Compensation). In Figure 4, the baseline is 0%, and the colored bars are St. Helena’s total compensation variations from the baseline (positive and negative).

In Figure 6, we provide the same type of analysis as Figure 5; however, in Figure 6, we compare St. Helena to other small towns (populations under 10,000). Given that increasing population size has a well-known positive correlation with increasing total compensation, Figure 6 is more relevant for St. Helena’s use. Figure 6 demonstrates that St. Helena’s total compensation for the shown job titles is well above small town averages, except for the Senior Librarian. In Blackberg’s opinion, St. Helena shows extreme levels of variance about the average for this type of data.

Figure 5 – St. Helena Percent Deviation from the Sample Average * Director of Accounting data was not city centric; therefore, a null value exists for “Small Town Sample,” ** Senior Librarian did not exist in towns under 10,000, so we used towns under 50,000 for Senior Librarian exclusively. *** Fire Chief sample size is only three (3) for under 10,000.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 9 Figure 6 – St. Helena Percent Deviation from the Small Town Sample Average * Director of Accounting data was not city centric; therefore, a null value exists for “Small Town Sample.” ** Senior Librarian did not exist in towns under 10,000, so we used towns under 50,000 for Senior Librarian exclusively. *** Fire Chief sample size is only three (3) for under 10,000. ****The search parameter for City Clerk was “City Clerk”, not “Program Manager”. This is a dual-hatted position, so we provide this clarity.

When compared to other small towns (Figure 6), total compensation in St. Helena demonstrates extreme levels of variance from the average for this type of data (compensation data). We have heard responses from several individuals that this is expected because “St. Helena has a very high cost of living.” To examine this, we retrieved the Regional Price Parity (RPP) data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The RPP data shows for 2023 that California has a 12.6 % higher RPP than the national average3
. However, all data in our analysis comes from California; therefore, we must examine the cost-of-living differences at the California county level. To do this, we used the “Living Wage” data published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)4
. We use the “Required annual income before taxes” data to compare Napa County to California as a whole. The data shows that Napa County has a higher Required Annual Income of 7.35% versus the California state average. Therefore, on average, St. Helena should expect to pay a higher wage than the average wage for California; however, the premium should be approximately 7% on average. This does not explain away the high premiums shown in Figure 6.

Blackberg believes that there are two core issues creating this issue with premiums. First, this sub-market is likely experiencing a significant degree of labor market failure. Based on what we found in the region, cities appear to have an artificially small recruitment pool partially created by placing too much emphasis on candidates with public sector experience. This could partially explain why many towns in the region are paying total compensation far above the California averages, and it is difficult to recruit. Second, St. Helena does not have a Talent Management System (TMS).

This leads to reactive recruiting that “always feels like a last-minute scramble.” We strongly recommend the establishment of a TMS. It would enable the City to create a recruitment strategy and better handle market failure situations that are likely present. Further, it would be very simple for the City to internally track MIT, Transparent California, and Government Compensation In California data within a TMS. This would also eliminate the need for consulting support in this area and save the City money that could be repurposed toward the Human Resources role. 3 Bureau of Economic Analysis, https://www.bea.gov/news/2024/real-personal-consumption-expenditures-state-and-realpersonal-income-state-and, January 5, 2026. 4 Living Wage Calculator, https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/06055, January 6, 2025.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 10 3.3. Discussion on Data from Transparent California

3.3.1. Transparent California
As of October 28, 2025, Transparent California is a comprehensive public database and government watchdog initiative dedicated to promoting fiscal transparency in the state of California. As the largest repository of its kind, it aggregates and provides free, searchable access to over 38 million records detailing public employee compensation, including salaries, overtime, bonuses, and pensions across various sectors such as state agencies, cities, counties, school districts, and special districts. Launched as a project of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, the platform empowers taxpayers, journalists, and researchers to scrutinize government spending, identify inefficiencies, and foster accountability in public sector payroll and retirement systems. Data is updated annually, with the latest 2024 records currently in collection, enabling users to explore historical trends and individual profiles for informed civic engagement.

3.3.2. Understanding the Data from Transparent California Characteristics of the Transparent California data set include the following:

Data Sourcing and Self-Reporting by Agencies
• The data is not independently audited by Transparent California. • It relies on voluntary submissions from public agencies via Public Records Act (PRA) requests. • Agencies submit data in varying formats (Excel, PDF, CSV), which can lead to formatting inconsistencies or transcription errors during aggregation.

Incomplete or Missing Records
• Not all public entities comply fully or on time. Some delay submissions or provide partial data. • As of 2024, some agencies are still missing from the latest dataset. • Special districts and smaller entities are often underrepresented.

Sample Size and Characteristics
The “Job Title” search within the Transparent California database provided a reasonable sampling of relevant salary information. The sample size varied by the specific job title that we searched, and we provide that information in Figure 7.

Further, the retrieved data set included a wide range of city population sizes tied to the specific data records. For City Manager, the smallest city has a population of 312 (Sand City); whereas, the largest city has a population of 545,412 (Fresno).

This raises some obvious concerns about the usefulness of the data for a small city, like St. Helena (population ~5,400).

Therefore, we conducted additional analyses in section 2.1 and shown in Figure 2.

3.3.3. Data Preparation and Analysis
Step 1 – Blackberg searched Transparent California using search terms matching the City of St. Helena’s titles for executive managers (e.g. City Manager, Director of Public Works, Senior Librarian). We did adjust the titles for some searches (i.e.

Director of Accounting, Recreation Director).

Step 2 – Blackberg downloaded an Excel spreadsheet of results and formatted the data as a table. Next, we removed the overtime pay column since we were not examining it.

Step 3 – Blackberg filtered for Part Time (PT) positions and deleted them from the data set. We also examined the Job Title column and removed any that were clearly not a match for the position. For example, with City Manager, there were many Job Titles of: Assistant to the City Manager, Deputy City Manager, City Manager’s Analyst, etc. We removed these titles from the data set.

Figure 6 – Sample Size for Data Set
Figure 7 – Sample Size: This is the sample size by job
title that Blackberg used.

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GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 11 Step 4 – Using Microsoft Excel, Blackberg calculated a median and average salary for the positions in the data set. We also calculated averages for “other pay,” “Benefits,” and “Total Pay and Benefits.”

3.4. Discussion of Results
The median salary and average salary were closely coupled for all positions except Recreation Director. This is likely because there is a broader definition of roles and responsibilities for Recreation Director within various organizations. For all the positions, there is a significant range of data from the min to the max. This seems to correlate strongly with the size of the organization/City. For example, the City Manager for Blue Lake has a total compensation of $85,597; whereas, the City Manager for Sacramento has a total compensation of $593,240. However, there are also clearly large exceptions to this because Commerce (with a population of 12,063) has a total compensation of $639,326.00 for City Manager. To further investigate it, we calculated the correlation coefficient between City Manager total compensation and city population size.

The correlation coefficient is .46, which is moderately positive, and as expected, as stated earlier.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 12 4.0 Workshops
Blackberg conducted a series of workshops for the City. The purpose of the workshops was to examine the City’s current staffing structure and to explore possible improvements. We split the workshops into “Workshop 1” and “Workshop 2”. In Workshop 1, we focused on the staffing structure of individual Departments. Per City input and our contract, we did not include the Police or Fire Department in Workshop 1. We hosted and facilitated 5 Workshop 1 events (i.e. one for each Department), and only the members of the specific Department attended their respective Workshop 1. In Workshop 2, we hosted and facilitated the staffing structure across Departments (citywide). For Workshop 2, the City Executive Managers and City Manager were present.

Disclaimer: This section (Section 4) contains data, recommendations, and comments from City employees. These are not independent Blackberg recommendations. However, Blackberg does provide summaries and analyses of what City employees provided during the Workshops.

4.1. Facilitation
Blackberg designed and developed the workshops to engage City employees in exploring roles, responsibilities, capabilities, hierarchy, gaps, lines of reporting, strategic partnerships, etc.

Blackberg provided an “Introduction and Instruction” to all participants of each workshop in PowerPoint format (See Figure 8). The PowerPoint slides included background and purpose information, detailed instructions, and an introduction to frameworks for capturing thoughts. These frameworks included a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Board, Workload Grid, Pain-Points Board, and Customer Needs and Expectations Board.

Blackberg used Miro (Miro.com) to facilitate the workshops.

Miro is a virtual whiteboard with many different tools (including artificial intelligence (AI)) that supports group discussions and workshops. Blackberg made the Miro boards accessible to City employees before, during, and after the workshops. Blackberg conducted the workshops in Miro while using Microsoft Teams to provide video and voice conferencing for all participants.

4.2. Workshop 1 Overview and Results
Blackberg hosted individual Workshop 1 events for the following City Departments: Administrative Services, City Clerk, Community Development, Community Services, and Public Works. Per City direction, Blackberg did not host the Police or Fire Departments for a Workshop 1 event. Workshop 1 included two types of board: SWOT Board and Organizational Chart.

For the Organizational Chart, there were two scenarios:
 Scenario 1 (Blue Background) – Staffing Count is Fixed, but you can make any other changes.  Scenario 2 (Green Background) – Staffing Count can Increase.

4.2.1. Administrative Services
Administrative Services highlighted that they are currently supporting an HR Manager, IT Manager, and Special Projects role, and these roles are not on the current organizational chart. They support these roles on a part-time basis. The three roles are highlighted in yellow in Figure 9. This is an example of a “multi-hatted” role tactic that is common in small organizations; however, in this case, it is high risk because the roles of HR Manager, IT Manager, and Special Project deviate Figure 8 – Introduction and Instructions.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 13 substantially, in terms of knowledge and capabilities, from accounting and finance. Of note, Apex Technology Management, LLC (Apex) currently handles all IT related support the City.

Figure 9 – Organizational Chart (Scenario 1), Administrative Services.

In scenario 2 (See Figure 10), the Administrative Services team recommended hiring a 0.5 time HR Manager and a 0.25 time IT Manager while maintaining Special Projects as a “multi-hatted role” tactic. For both the HR Manager and IT Manager positions, the team recommended seeking possibilities of these individuals being a “shared service” across other Departments or possibly with another neighboring city. The team also proposed seeking outside temporary support for known seasonal surges in work.

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GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 14 Figure 10 – Organizational Chart (Scenario 2), Administrative Services.

The Following “SWOT Table” provides a complete listing of all SWOT items captured during Workshop 1.

SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Strengths Customer Service Skills Strong customer service orientation within the department Strengths Willing to help each other Team members support one another and collaborate effectively Strengths Innovation amongst existing staff Staff demonstrates creativity and innovative thinking Strengths Flexible and adaptable to
changing work conditions Team can adjust to evolving requirements and circumstances Strengths Knowledgeable staff Staff possesses strong expertise and knowledge base Strengths Collaboratively updating SOPs
Team works together to maintain and improve standard operating procedures
Strengths Tenure with the City Long-term staff with institutional knowledge and experience Weaknesses Short staffing that existed
contributed to back log of work Historical understaffing has created work backlogs Weaknesses Staffing Turnover Loss of staff creates continuity challenges Weaknesses Locating where files are saved -
too many folders (some very old) Disorganized file structure makes document retrieval difficult

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 15 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Weaknesses Outdated SOP documentation Makes it difficult to complete tasks that do not occur frequently Weaknesses Lack of knowledge limits system
utilization
Access to various systems but insufficient training to use them fully (Example: Apps within Teams for task management)
Weaknesses Disparate systems creating lack
of cohesion
Systems like XBP/Springbrook don't communicate well, especially across departments
Opportunities Education Training and professional development opportunities for staff Opportunities Improved use of Software
systems Better utilization of existing software capabilities Opportunities
Streamlining processes to
reduce redundancy and speed up
tasks Process improvement initiatives to increase efficiency Opportunities Cross training Developing staff skills across multiple functions Opportunities Evaluate time spent on current
responsibilities Time analysis to optimize workload distribution Opportunities Incorporate AI to make
processes more efficient Leveraging AI technology for process automation and efficiency Opportunities Build a dashboard showing tasks
and timing Creating visibility into work activities and time allocation Threats
Risk of customer complaints due
to process confusion from low or
little cross department
information visibility
Lack of transparency across departments may lead to customer dissatisfaction
Threats
Not having a dedicated person
for Contract Management/Risk
Management Gap in critical administrative functions
Threats
Inability to absorb Special
Projects as FEMA Liaison,
Affordable Housing, Grant
Reporting Limited capacity to take on additional specialized work Threats Software not used to fullest
capabilities Underutilization of available tools and systems Threats Increased backlog workload
detracts from cross training Work volume prevents skill development initiatives Threats Risk of compliance issues
related to HR leave of absences Potential regulatory or policy violations in leave management Threats
Lack of cross training leads to
inability to cover for colleagues
out of office Coverage gaps when staff are unavailable
Threats
New software/programs creating
improvements in other
departments but causing
additional work for Finance
Departmental system changes create downstream work for Finance team

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 16 4.2.2. City Clerk
The City Clerk currently has two full-time
employees, and both employees attended the
Workshop 1. In scenario 1, the team identified 3
positions (highlighted in yellow in Figure 11)
which they jointly cover on a part-time basis.

This is another example of the “multi-hatted
role” tactic. In this case, the additional roles pair
reasonably with the core skills and capabilities
of the two employees who officially cover the
City Clerk and Administrative Analyst roles.

The amount of time that they spend covering the
additional roles (yellow highlighted) is
considerable: 20%, 35%, and 40% time
commitments were estimated by the staff. They
emphasized that the Executive Assistant
position shows considerable variance in time
commitment needs day to day and week to
week.

Figure 11 – Organizational Chart (Scenario 1), City Clerk.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 17 For scenario 2, the team recommended 1 new hire that is highlighted in red in Figure 12. They propose a new role of “Records Analyst/Administrative Records Assistant.” They supported this recommendation by noting that there are
significant challenges with records management and
handling the volume of requests made by the public. They documented this in the SWOT table on the next page.

Figure 12 – Organizational Chart (Scenario 1), City Clerk.

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 18 The Following “SWOT Table” provides a complete listing of all SWOT items captured during Workshop 1.

SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Strengths Ready to learn/small
department
Small department focused on getting things right with a commitment to quality work
Strengths Staff works well together Strong team collaboration and cohesion within the City Clerk department Strengths Responsive to
departments and public
Effectively serves both internal departments and the community/public needs
Strengths Organized workflows
Structured processes for agenda creation/approvals, PRAs, and public comments management
Strengths Repetitive tasks aid
learning
Regular council meetings and recurring tasks help facilitate learning and continuous improvement
Weaknesses Regulatory needs/filing
deadlines Challenges meeting various regulatory requirements and filing deadlines Weaknesses Records not centralized
Not having all records in one place, creating inefficiencies in record retrieval and management
Weaknesses Time management Difficulty managing time effectively across various responsibilities Weaknesses Lack of experienced staff
No one in department with true City Clerk experience other than on-the-job learning
Weaknesses Outdated software
Difficult to manage software, especially for staff reports, leading to missed deadlines by departments
Opportunities Create regulatory
calendar
Continuing to learn regulatory needs and create annual calendar for filing requirements
Opportunities New agenda
management software Exploring options for improved agenda management systems Opportunities New PRA management
software Investigating solutions for better Public Records Request management Opportunities New board/council
management software Looking at updated software for managing board and council activities Opportunities Digital records transition Getting records into Laserfiche and moving away from paper files Opportunities File automation
Implementing automation for moving files from individual departments into central repository/Laserfiche
Opportunities RGS partnership Working with RGS to get caught up on regulatory filing requirements Opportunities Staff development
Training and development opportunities through conferences, RGS, and CMCA mentorship
Threats Records management
challenges
Difficulty keeping up with retention policy and records management requirements
Threats Backlog of record keeping Behind on some record keeping and regulatory filing that requires attention Threats Public Records Request
volume Hard to keep up with the volume of Public Records Requests Threats Budget constraints
Lack of funds to move department forward with needed software and resources
Threats Time limitations
Staff wearing multiple hats, limiting time available for City Clerk responsibilities
Threats Election knowledge gaps Not having a good grasp on what needs to be done regarding elections

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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 19 4.2.3. Community Development
Community Development identified 2 additional
roles that the team covers through a “multi-hatted
role” tactic. The 2 additional roles are highlighted in yellow in both scenario 1 (blue background) and
scenario 2 (green background). The 2 roles are
“Planning Commission Clerk/Secretary” and “Code
Enforcement.” These 2 roles are currently covered
by multiple individuals on the existing team. (See
Figure 13)
In scenario 2 (green background), the team also
proposes the addition of 3 new hires. They
recommend new hires for the roles of “Housing
Manager”, “Economic Development Specialist”,
and “Code Enforcement Officer.” They propose the
Housing Manager as full-time and both the
Economic Development Specialist and Code
Enforcement Officer as part-time positions.

Figure 13 – Organizational Chart (Scenarios 1 & 2), Community Development.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 20 The Following “SWOT Table” provides a complete listing of all SWOT items captured during Workshop 1.

SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Strengths High level of customer service provided
The team consistently delivers excellent customer service to clients and stakeholders
Strengths Weekly team meetings
Regular meetings ensure alignment and communication
across the team
Strengths Responsiveness to public and other
departments
Quick and effective responses to inquiries from the public and interdepartmental requests
Strengths Most team members cross trained
Staff versatility allows for coverage and knowledge sharing across different functions
Strengths Deliverables completed on-time
Projects and tasks are consistently completed within
established deadlines
Strengths Permit software increased efficiency
Implementation of specialized software has streamlined
permitting processes
Strengths New permitting software implemented in
Sept 2025
Recent technology upgrade provides modern tools for permit management
Strengths Team has a strong will to provide quality
service
Staff is motivated and committed to delivering high-quality outcomes
Strengths Many opportunities to attend trainings via
webinars/conferences/etc
Continuous professional development is available and
encouraged
Strengths Internal/dept. support Strong support systems exist within the department Strengths Internal communication Effective communication channels within the team Weaknesses Need to put more routine processes into
SOPs Lack of standardized operating procedures for routine tasks Weaknesses No dedicated role for housing manager
Missing specialized position for housing management
responsibilities
Weaknesses No dedicated staff to work on economic
development
Lack of focused resources for economic development
initiatives
Weaknesses Responsiveness of other departments in
development review
Delays in interdepartmental coordination for development reviews
Weaknesses
Lack of communication protocols
(interdepartmental) related to dealing with
building permit customers Inconsistent customer communication across departments Weaknesses Lack of cohesive use of available
software/tools to full capacity Underutilization of existing technology resources Weaknesses
New permitting software not fully
implemented with online inspection
scheduling. Should have this 100% in 2026 Incomplete implementation of key software functionality Weaknesses Reliance on outside contract planners for
larger and complex projects
Dependency on external resources for significant planning work
Weaknesses No dedicated code enforcement officer role Missing specialized position for code compliance oversight Weaknesses Growing illegal short term rentals
Increasing non-compliance issues with short-term rental regulations
Weaknesses Meeting expectations of community that
can be demanding Challenges in satisfying high community expectations Weaknesses Lack of trust from appointed or elected
officials Relationship challenges with key decision-makers

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 21 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Weaknesses
Lack of trust from a small faction of
members of the public/practitioners that
we do business with Credibility issues with certain stakeholders Weaknesses Water Neutrality policy has not been
updated and creates uncertainty in process Outdated policy causing procedural ambiguity Weaknesses Lack of staff support from elected officials Insufficient backing from political leadership Opportunities Records retention
Potential to improve document management and archiving
systems
Opportunities
A Housing Manager would provide expertise
in area of helping City meet special Council
requests in proactively addressing need for
workforce housing and incentives Specialized role could advance housing initiatives Opportunities Make all city staff feel valued and
supported
Enhance employee morale and engagement across
departments
Opportunities Creating standardized email templates to
reply to "top 10" inquiries
Efficiency improvement through communication
standardization
Opportunities
Streamline ADU permits by removing water
neutrality requirement and separate utility
connections Process simplification for accessory dwelling units Opportunities Finding opportunities to utilize AI to
increase productivity in workflow Technology adoption to enhance operational efficiency Opportunities
Training/career growth webinar
opportunities for general staff other than
mid-management and directors Expanded professional development for all staff levels Opportunities
New hire of Assistant Planner will help with
work capacity and special projects that
have been sitting on the back burner Additional resources to address backlogged initiatives Opportunities Code enforcement officer could help with
growing illegal Short Term Rentals Dedicated role to address compliance issues Opportunities City would benefit from a f/t HR Director Enhanced human resources management and support Opportunities Hire p/t Geographic Information System or share with another City Improved mapping and spatial analysis capabilities Threats Meeting expectations of community that
can be demanding Pressure from high community standards and expectations Threats
Constantly changing legal landscape (HCD
and State constantly implementing new
requirements) Regulatory volatility requiring continuous adaptation Threats Lack of trust from appointed or elected
officials Potential for decision-making obstacles due to trust issues Threats
Lack of trust from a small faction of
members of the public/practitioners that
we do business with Stakeholder relationship challenges affecting operations Threats Growing illegal short term rentals
Increasing non-compliance issues impacting housing
availability
Threats Water Neutrality policy has not been
updated and creates uncertainty in process Policy gaps creating procedural and compliance challenges Threats Lack of staff support from elected officials Political challenges affecting departmental effectiveness Threats
Increased State legislation adding
additional burden for cities to comply with
new reporting and other requirements Growing regulatory compliance demands

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 22 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Threats
Small jurisdictions generally don't have the
staff to gather required data/reporting
requirements Resource constraints affecting regulatory compliance

4.2.4. Community Services
In Scenario 1 (See Figure 14), Community Services identified roles not on the current City organizational chart. For the Library, this included 8 part-time staff that total approximately 75 additional hours of support per week. The part-time status for these 8 individuals varies between 4-15 hours per week. We clarified that these individuals are not volunteers. They are employees of the City. Recreation also identified a missing group of 3 Seasonal Recreation employees who work part-time.

Their time varies between 10-20 hours per week throughout the year.

The Recreation Manager is “dual-hatted” in supporting the position of Recreation Manager and Director of Community Services. The Recreation Supervisor provides “dual-hatted” coverage of their role and Recreation Manager when the Recreation Manager is handling the Director of Community Services position.

In Scenario 2 (See Figure 15), the Library proposes hiring 2 new positions: 1) Library Associate for Programs and Marketing, and 2) Librarian for Outreach and Teens. Recreation proposes hiring 3 new positions: 1) Recreation Coordinator, 2) Volunteer & Special Events Coordinator (60% time), and 3) Contract Services Specialist (50% time). They envision the Contract Services Specialist as coordinating contracts but not developing or awarding RFPs.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 23 Figure 14 – Organizational Chart (Scenarios 1), Community Services.

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 24 Figure 15 – Organizational Chart (Scenarios 2), Community Services.

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 25 The Following “SWOT Table” provides a complete listing of all SWOT items captured during Workshop 1.

SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Strengths Staff collaboration and willingness to work
together (& library)
Recreation and Library staff work together effectively as a team
Strengths Rec- Willingness to help and assist other staff with programs
Staff members readily assist each other with
programming needs
Strengths Rec- Part-time staff (& library) Availability of part-time staff across both departments Strengths Rec- Established and positive Community
member relationships
Strong connections with community members that
support operations
Strengths Rec- Cohesive Full Time Staff Teamwork Full-time staff work effectively as a cohesive unit Strengths Rec- Enhanced Community Engagement
Successfully engaging with the community through
various initiatives
Strengths Rec- Community partnerships Established partnerships with community organizations Strengths Library - collaborative & flexible staff( &rec) Staff demonstrates flexibility and collaboration across departments
Strengths Library - Sees benefit to outreach and getting out into the community
Staff understands the importance of community
outreach
Strengths Library - Willing to use work-arounds when
needed Adaptability in finding solutions despite limitations Strengths Library - Part time staff who can step up and provide additional support when needed
Part-time staff willing to take on additional
responsibilities
Strengths Library - Accustomed to working on a
shoestring Staff experienced in maximizing limited resources Strengths Library - Committed staff
Dedicated employees committed to serving the
community
Strengths Library - Great customer service with patrons Consistently providing excellent service to library users Strengths Library - Effective creative problem solving
Finding innovative solutions to challenges with limited resources
Strengths Rec- Maximizing programming with current
staffing and budget levels Making the most of available resources for programming Weaknesses Currently only 2 FT staff members- PR
Weaknesses Rec- Recreation Manager currently interim
director and recreation manager duties still Single person handling multiple leadership roles Weaknesses Rec- Rec supervisor currently splitting duties to take on additional tasks from Rec manager Staff stretching beyond normal responsibilities Weaknesses Rec- Lack of Institutional knowledge on staff Limited historical knowledge about operations and
procedures
Weaknesses Rec- Administrative Burdens
Excessive administrative tasks taking time from core
responsibilities
Weaknesses Rec- Restricted Innovation
Limited ability to implement new ideas due to
constraints
Weaknesses Rec- Recreation Specialist PT position but
expected to do FT work Part-time position with full-time expectations Weaknesses Rec- Office coverage when staff is out at
meetings or in the field
Difficulty maintaining office operations when staff is
unavailable

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 26 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Weaknesses Rec- Office coverage on any event days/nightsall hands on deck Events require all staff, leaving other areas understaffed Weaknesses Rec- Special event planning, workload
disruption Events create significant disruption to regular workflows Weaknesses Library - 4 Full time staff
Limited number of full-time employees to handle library operations
Weaknesses
Library - A teen/youth librarian and
programs/outreach librarian would be
beneficial to the library
Missing specialized positions that would enhance
services
Weaknesses
Library - Part-time staff who are
unwilling/unable to step up and provide
additional support when needed
Some part-time staff unable to take on additional
responsibilities
Weaknesses
Library - Reduced staffing makes it difficult to
provide outreach and get out into the
community Staffing limitations restrict community outreach efforts Weaknesses Library - Inefficient/siloed communication
Communication barriers between departments or staff
members
Weaknesses Library - Accustomed to working on a scarcity model Operating with constant resource limitations
Weaknesses Library - Used to not having
needs/expectations met Staff accustomed to working with unmet requirements Opportunities Rec- Can reach out to community members
for institutional knowledge Leveraging community expertise to fill knowledge gaps Opportunities Rec- Expanded Program Offerings Potential to develop and implement new programs Opportunities Rec- Professional Development for Career
Growth
Opportunities for staff to enhance skills and advance
careers
Opportunities Rec- Increased special events with revenue generators Potential to increase funding through special events Opportunities Rec- Expanded/different program offerings Diversifying program portfolio to meet community needs Opportunities Rec- Additional teen offerings with additional staffing Potential to expand teen services with more staff Opportunities
Rec- Additional facility space leading to
additional programming. Dependent on
additional staff
Possibility of expanding physical space for more
programs
Opportunities Rec- Increased arts and culture presence Growing focus on arts and cultural programming Opportunities Rec- High function volunteer program with staff dedication Developing robust volunteer programs with staff support Opportunities Rec- New non-profit to help increase funding opportunities
Partnership with non-profit organization to secure
additional funding
Opportunities Rec- dedicated community members and staff finding grants in multiple areas Potential grant funding from various sources Opportunities CS- cross training part time staff in both divisions
Opportunity to train staff across departments for greater flexibility
Opportunities Library - Cross-training within division and across departments Enhancing staff skills through interdepartmental training Opportunities Library outreach during city events Using city events as platforms for library outreach Opportunities Library - increase Library presence in
community (schools/retirement homes, etc)
Expanding library services to various community
locations

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 27 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Opportunities
Increase library hours to provide extra
programming or space for members of the
community Potential to extend hours of operation for greater access Opportunities Library - Community connections to increase outreach opportunities Leveraging existing connections for expanded outreach Opportunities Library - New programming/services
supported by Friends & Foundation Support from affiliated organizations for new initiatives Opportunities Library - Full time and part time
trainings/professional development Opportunities for staff development at all levels Opportunities Library - Create training within division and across departments
Developing internal training programs to enhance
operations
Threats Rec- Overburdened Staff Staff experiencing excessive workload leading to burnout Threats
Rec- High turnover potential due to inadequate
staffing and inability to explore and innovate
within the department
Risk of losing staff due to workload and limited growth opportunities
Threats Rec- Community Dissatisfaction
Community members unhappy with service levels or
offerings
Threats Rec- Unrealistic Community Expectations
Community expecting more than can be delivered with
current resources
Threats Rec- Missed growth opportunities
Inability to capitalize on potential growth due to
constraints
Threats Rec- Inadequate staffing leaving program gaps
that community partners can fill Risk of external organizations filling service gaps Threats Rec- Failing Tech systems Technology infrastructure at risk of failure Threats Rec- Old outdated facilities Physical facilities needing updates or replacement Threats Library - Anticipated staff changes Expected turnover or changes in staffing Threats Library - uncertainty of library location (future) Lack of clarity about future physical location Threats Library - Lack of cohesion Fragmented operations or team dynamics Threats Library - Lack of capacity to sustain
relationships and outreach programs
Insufficient resources to maintain community
connections
Threats Library - Need to further reduce
programming/services due to lack of funding Potential cuts to services due to budget constraints Threats Library - Inefficiencies due work-arounds Inefficient processes created by temporary solutions Threats
Library - Community disappointment when
services aren't functional (wifi, internet,
printers...) Negative community reaction to service disruptions

4.2.5. Public Works
In Scenario 1 (See Figure 16), Public Works found that there was 1 missing position of Plant Operator I/II under the Wastewater division. There were also significant error in the current organizational chart in terms of lines of reporting under the Public Works Director. Please see the existing organizational chart Figure 20 and Figure 16 to compare.

In Scenario 2 (green background in Figure 15), the Public Works team proposed adding 8 new hire positions and 7 new people. These include: 1)Assistant Engineer, 2)Project Manager, 3)Mechanic (0.75 time), 4)Maintenance Operator (fulltime but split 50/50 between Wastewater and Water), 5)Plant Operator I/II, 6)Maintenance Worker I/II, and 7)Lead Maintenance Worker.

Figure 16 – Organizational Chart (Scenarios 1 & 2), Public Works.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 29 The Following “SWOT Table” provides a complete listing of all SWOT items captured during Workshop 1.

SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Strengths Committed Team
Team is committed to fulfilling their duties and
responsibilities
Strengths Critical Infrastructure Services
Provides essential infrastructure services including
roads, water, sewer, and waste management
Strengths Institutional Knowledge
Continually building and maintaining institutional
knowledge within the department
Strengths Versatile Skill Set
Staff possesses diverse skills that can be applied across various public works functions
Strengths CIP Project Delivery
Successful delivery of historic number and valuation of Capital Improvement Projects
Strengths Dedicated Staff Highly dedicated staff committed to public service Strengths Calm Leadership
Ability to look at situations in a calm and clear manner regardless of circumstances
Strengths Staff Retention
Most staff are long-term employees providing continuity of service
Strengths Pleasant Work Environment Beautiful setting that enhances workplace satisfaction Strengths Job Satisfaction Staff generally like their jobs and workplace environment Strengths Strong Teamwork
Strong teamwork ethic with staff willing to assist
colleagues
Strengths Diverse Workload
Diverse workload providing variety and preventing
monotony
Strengths Positive Work Environment
Great work environment that fosters productivity and
satisfaction
Strengths Strong Leadership
Supportive and strong directorship providing clear
guidance
Strengths New Treatment Plant
New wastewater treatment plant improving operational
capabilities
Strengths Independent Workers Staff works well independently with minimal supervision Strengths Project Backlog Reduction Successfully addressing backlog of projects Strengths Learning Motivation
Staff is motivated to learn new skills and improve
capabilities
Strengths Administrative Support
Strong administrative assistant providing essential
support functions
Strengths Interdepartmental Collaboration
Team has opportunities to collaborate with other
departments
Strengths Collaborative Dynamic Collaborative team dynamic currently in place Strengths Helpful Staff Culture
Teamwork culture where staff is generally helpful and
willing to assist colleagues
Strengths Reliable Infrastructure Funding
Significant and reliable funding for water infrastructure rehabilitation
Weaknesses Training Gaps Team needs additional training on specific subjects

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 30 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Weaknesses Limited Continuing Education
Lack of seminars to continue education and
professional development
Weaknesses Process Bottlenecks Some bottlenecks remain in operational processes Weaknesses Unrealistic Public Expectations
Unreasonable community expectations regarding
service delivery
Weaknesses Change Resistance Resistance to change within the organization Weaknesses Crisis Management
Operating from crisis response rather than long-term
strategy
Weaknesses Preventable Errors "Avoidable" "mistakes" occurring in operations Weaknesses Undefined Task Responsibilities
Undefined roles for miscellaneous tasks leading to
confusion
Weaknesses Inconsistent Accountability Lack of consistent accountability across the department Weaknesses Morale Issues
Low staff morale from other departments leaks into and
affects morale in Public Works
Weaknesses Board Communication Gap
Lack of communication with city board that has options
on the wastewater plant
Weaknesses Infrastructure Knowledge Gaps
Lack of institutional knowledge/records of infrastructure resulting in time wasted in research
Weaknesses Disaster Training Deficiency Lack of interdepartmental disaster training Weaknesses Inconsistent Interdepartmental Guidance Ever-changing guidance for interdepartmental tasks Weaknesses Poor Documentation
Lack of documented information combined with poor
organizational filing structure
Weaknesses Training Tracking Deficiency
Lack of systematic tracking of staff training,
development, and certifications
Weaknesses Email Overload
Email volume and inability to process communications
efficiently
Weaknesses Communication Issues
Communication matrix problems affecting information
flow
Weaknesses Institutional Memory Loss
Lack of staff with years under their belt who know the
city and its history
Weaknesses Staffing Shortages
Service workload in all/most divisions too great
compared to available staff
Weaknesses Limited Cross-Training Lack of staff limits opportunities to cross train Weaknesses Incomplete Daily Tasks Unable to finish some daily tasks due to staff shortages Weaknesses Outdated Processes Process and procedure not keeping up with demand Weaknesses Lack of Standard Procedures Lack of SOPs and other formal procedures Weaknesses Strategic Distraction
Management/policy makers easily distracted from
Strategic Goals
Opportunities Interdepartmental Collaboration
Team has opportunities to collaborate with other
departments
Opportunities Cross-Training Development Crew cross-training to enhance versatility and coverage Opportunities Administrative Capability Growth
Increasing administrative capabilities to improve
efficiency

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 31 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Opportunities Technology Adoption
Staff open to new tech/systems that can improve
operations
Opportunities In-house Training Program
Training new staff in house to ensure consistent
knowledge transfer
Opportunities Professional Development
Certification advancements and trainings to enhance
staff capabilities
Opportunities Departmental Cross-Training
Cross training in other departments to increase
organizational flexibility
Opportunities Trail System Development
Develop world-renowned trail system as a community
asset
Opportunities Permit Process Enhancement
Enhance customer experience with Encroachment
Permit process
Opportunities Team Dynamic Improvement
Collaborative team dynamic that can be further
strengthened
Opportunities Council Support Council generally supportive of staff recommendations Opportunities Strategic Certification
Facilitate strategic certifications at accredited colleges or universities
Opportunities Field Staff Capabilities Increased administrative capabilities for Field Staff Opportunities Task Efficiency Timely task completion through improved processes Opportunities Water Infrastructure Rehabilitation
Within 5 years, will have completed significant rehab of water systems infrastructure
Opportunities Contract Process Improvement Decrease contract initiation/execution window Opportunities Pavement Condition Improvement Achieve Pavement Condition Index of 80 within 2 years Opportunities Payment Processing Efficiency
Increase efficiency of accounts payable, i.e. decrease
payment window
Opportunities Interdepartmental Process Improvement
Increase efficiency of development services
process/collaboration between ComDev & PW
Opportunities Cost Recovery Enhancement
Increase cost recovery for various department services
(e.g. stormwater utility fee)
Opportunities Public Education
New wastewater plant provides opportunity to educate
public about importance of water treatment
Opportunities Staff Expansion
Given magnitude and sustainability of Water CIP, could
support additional staff member for project delivery
Threats Cross-Training Limitations Lack of staff limits opportunities to cross train Threats Knowledge Loss Loss of institutional knowledge when staff leaves Threats Budget Constraints
Budget limitations affecting operations and
improvements
Threats Staff Burnout Staff burnout due to workload and stress Threats Natural Disasters
Natural disasters (floods, wild fires) threatening
infrastructure
Threats Aging Infrastructure
Neglected and aging infrastructure requiring increased
maintenance
Threats Public Perception Issues
Public perception challenges affecting department
credibility

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 32 SWOT Table
Category Item Description
Threats Procedural Gaps
Lack of SOPs and other formal procedures creating
operational risks
Threats Communication Challenges Challenges with facility-to-facility communications Threats Public Trust Deficit
Community lack of trust in government affecting support for revenue increases
Threats Training Time Constraints Limited time for quality training of peers Threats Customer Service Challenges
Customer service expectations difficult to meet with
current resources
Threats Maintenance Funding Gap
Lack of dedicated funding for preventative maintenance
for aging government buildings
Threats Position Freezes Frozen positions limiting staffing flexibility Threats Career Advancement Limitations
Lack of growth/advancement opportunities affecting
retention
Threats Strategic Focus Challenges
Management/policy makers easily distracted from
Strategic Goals
Threats Wastewater Funding Gap
Lack of sustainable funding for wastewater systems
rehabilitation
Threats Collection System Issues
Poor infrastructure (collection system) causes inflow
and infiltration for wastewater treatment plant
Threats Regulatory Compliance Burden
Growing liabilities from new equipment, laws, and
regulation compliance
Threats Water Chemistry Challenges
Constantly changing raw water chemistry affecting
treatment processes
Threats Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities PW IT systems (i.e. SCADA) vulnerable to hacking Threats Inadequate Facilities
Yard not big enough to stage equipment, no video
surveillance
Threats Electrical Grid Reliability Lack of reliable electrical grid affecting operations Threats Infrastructure Deterioration
Old infrastructure leading to more failures and costly
repairs
Threats Budget Insufficiency
The current budget is not sufficient to cover all
necessary maintenance needs
Threats Accelerating Infrastructure Failure
Aging Infrastructure causing repairs to become more
frequent and expensive as failures accelerate
Threats Preventative Maintenance Staffing
Lack of staffing to efficiently plan and enforce
preventative maintenance across all departments

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 33 4.3. Workshop 2 Overview and Results
Blackberg hosted 1 Workshop 2 event on December 17, 2025.

Workshop 2 included the City’s Executive Managers and City Manager. The purpose of Workshop 2 was similar to Workshop 1; however, the scope expanded to a full citywide view of roles, responsibilities, capabilities, hierarchy, gaps, lines of reporting, strategic partnerships, etc. Further, Blackberg instructed all participants to review the output of Workshop 1 prior to Workshop 2. Workshop 2 included a SWOT Board, but unlike Workshop 1, it also included a Workload Grid, Pain-Points Board, and Customer Needs and Expectations Board. In the figures below, we provide an overview of each new board for Workshop 2.

Workload Grid (Figure 17). Each Department documented its workload intensity with color-coded “sticky notes” with pink = high, yellow = medium, and green = low. The Workload Grid further delineated input by “internal”, “seasonal”, and “contractor.”
Pain-Points Board (Figure 18). Each Department documented its most significant challenges on the Pain-Points Board. The board uses a “target” visual aid with the center circle representing the most severe pain-points and the outer circle representing the minor pain points.

Customer Needs and Expectations Board (Figure 18). Each Department documented what it views as customer needs and expectations. The board delineated input by Department and by customer type. The three customer types on the board are “Residents”, “Businesses”, and “Visitors.”
Figure 18 – Pain-Points Board (left side) and Customer Needs and Expectations Board (right side).

Figure 17 – Workload Grid.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 34 4.3.1. Workflow and Outcomes
Please see Figure 19 for an overview of Workshop 2’s activities. Once the executive team completed input for the Workload Grid, Pain-Points Board, and Customer Needs and Expectations Board, they advanced to a SWOT Board to explore:
1) What staffing is needed for the workload
2) What staffing is needed to address pain-points, and
3) What staffing is needed to address customer needs and expectations.

Blackberg facilitated the executive team’s exploration and documentation of the City’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats within the context of the aforementioned boards and other considerations from Workshop 1. Upon completion of the SWOT Board, Blackberg facilitated two scenarios for development of proposed organizational charts (seen on the far right of Figure 19 with a green and blue background). In scenario 1 (green background), the executive team explored changes within the constraint of being able to hire 5 new positions. In scenario 2 (blue background), the executive team explored changes without any constraints.

To further explore prioritization of new hires, Blackberg asked the executive team to place votes on which proposed new hires are seen as most important. This was done by allowing each Department to have 5 voting chips in Miro. They could place the chips down on any position they thought was most important for hiring. The results of the vote resulted with 9 votes for adding Police Officers; 6 votes for adding an HR Manager; 5 votes for adding a Code Enforcement/ Building Inspector; 3 votes for a Grant Writer/Manager; 3 votes for a Project Manager; 3 votes for a Mechanic – Fleet & Equipment; 2 votes for a Records Manager; 2 votes for Recreation Coordinator; and 2 votes for a second Recreation Coordinator.

Figure 19 – Overview of Workshop 2’s Activities.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 35 4.3.2. Data from the Boards
This section contains the comments left by City participants on each board in Workshop 2.

Workload Grid.

The following tables contain all input from the Workload Grid.

Administrative Services – Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
High Budget Development Business Licenses
High Customer Service
High Year End Close
High Utility Billing
High Grant Management
Medium Payroll
Medium General Accounting (Bank
Rec, Budget Adjustments,
Reconciliations, Journals...

Quarterly Reporting
Medium Support IT Consultant Workers Comp/Leave Management Medium Accounts Payable and POs
Low AR
Low Onboarding/Offboarding
Low Recruiting
City Clerk – Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
High Board / Commission / Council Training
and Compliance
High Seasonal/Annual filing for staff,
boards, and “electeds”.

Medium PRA Volume of Requests Elections Elections
Medium Last minute staff reports and
changes
Filling vacated board/ commission
seats
Medium Agenda management
Medium Insurance claims
Medium Getting all department
documents centralized for
easy access by staff and
public
Medium Ticket appeals
Low New Agenda
Management/Staff Report
and PRA software coming
soon (through Civic Plus)
Community Development– Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
High Customer service/ inquiries Construction increases during summer months

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 36 Community Development– Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
High Code enforcement requests Increase in office visits / customer inquiries
Medium High volume of PRA’s Assistance with large /
complex projects
Low Checklist/ flyer updates Code updates Fee studies/ code updates Community Services – Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
Low In- House programs, Special
Events and Leagues
Seasonal Based In- House programs,
Special Events and Leagues
CIP Project execution
Low Office Coverage during busy
seasons and day to day
School District Collaborations Interactive Elements for Special Events
Low Annual Renewals for Contract
Instructors
Program Instructors for
Specialty Classes
Public Works – Workload Grid
Workload Intensity Internal Seasonal Contractor
High Pavement projects Consumer Confidence Report CIP/ Staff Aug PM svcs High City Manager/ City Council
requests
Backflow certs Vegetation management in
parks, etc.

High Numerous regulatory agency
compliance
Vegetation management in parks, etc.

High Development services Storm managements
Medium Sign reflectivity audit
Medium Speed survey
Medium Watermain flushing/ valve exercising
Low FOG inspections Development services
Pain-Points Board.

The following table contains all input from the Pain-Points Board.

Intensity Pain-Point Description
High Excessive PRA’s
High Brown Water
High Extra workload from Year End/Budget pulls staff in multiple directions High Water / sewer user rates
High PD Shift Supervision due to lack of personnel
High Changing State mandates on police requirements
Moderate Tracking compliance with mandated trainings for staff and elected officials, especially as new laws/requirements begin
Moderate trip hazards in s/w
Moderate Compliance with filing documents for elected officials and staff as needed Moderate Elections
Moderate 2026 Elections
Moderate Technology not cohesive - Causes more work
Moderate Outdated tech systems at satellite locations and offices Moderate Off Site Facilities secondary to City Hall needs

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 37 Intensity Pain-Point Description
Moderate Community Expectations of Services pull staff into many different directions and roles to produce expectations
Moderate Continued level of service provided with limited staffing and not enough time to train current staff for additional duties
Moderate Admin could benifit from a grant person
Moderate PD Specialty assignments are unable to be filled.

Moderate CDD/PW dev services turnaround time
Moderate speeding
Moderate Other Departments covering duties not in their department to meet community and internal standards Moderate PD does not have a dedicated investigator for Felony Crimes Moderate PD Traffic Complaints
Moderate Lack of institutional knowledge - clerks office Moderate Records Management - need for one prime location and getting everything there Moderate centralized document storage for all departments for easier access by community/staff for PRAs Moderate High water rates creates excessive phone calls Customer Needs and Expectations Board.

The following table contains all input from the Customer Needs and Expectations Board.

Customer Needs and Expectations Board
Department Residents Businesses Visitors
Administrative
Services
Timely responses to
emails/voicemails
Timely Accounts Payable
Processing
Administrative
Services
Easier access to financial data Employees - Accurate payroll processing
City Clerk Easier access to public
documents (Without
submitting a PRA)
Film permits
City Clerk Post agenda by Thursday
before Tuesday Council
Meeting (not always possible
because of last minute staff
reports/changes)
City Clerk Appeal Process (works well
for most)
City Clerk Timely responses to
inquires/PRAS
Community
Development
PRA's for property
history/plan
Contractors/architects seeking
information on city requirements
for development
Community
Development
High expectations to address
code enforcement/perceived
violations
Use permits/ CUP's
Community
Development
High expectation for same-day
answer to questions/inquiry
Streamlined permit issuance
Community
Services
Park upkeep Consistency Volunteer opportunities for their staff at any given time
Physical and Digital Map of
all Park locations
Community
Services
More Special Events
throughout the year
Always able to have business
collaborate for events
Recreation center to utilize
while visiting

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 38 Customer Needs and Expectations Board
Department Residents Businesses Visitors
Community
Services
Cohesion of Community
Services Programs and Events
Knowledge of all upvalley
area events and activities
outside of jurisdiction
Community
Services
More diverse options of
programs offered
Community
Services
Better prioritization of
upcoming projects impacting
residents and programs
Community
Services
Knowledge and
communication of work being
done in parks impacting
programs or events
Public Works Street conditions - no potholes,
sidewalks everywhere & bike
routes everywhere
Non-brown water clean parks
Public Works Non-brown water Rebates for brown water dntwn s/w free from trip hazards
Public Works timely responses to all
inquiries
24hr permit process
Public Works Leak detection/ notification
services
Public Works Rebates for brown water
Public Works 24hr permit process
Police Community demands traffic
enforcement
Business want interactivity with
Police
Police Residents want more
presentations on Ca law and
criminal activity and
prevention within the city
SWOT Board.

The following table provides a complete listing of all SWOT elements documented by the executive team during Workshop

2. SWOT Table
Category Description
Strength Highly trained/certified staff and PD officers well-trained compared to other Bay Area agencies Strength PD has excellent community rapport
Strength High cross-department collaboration with limited internal resistance Strength Great customer service and responsive to information requests Strength City willing to fund training
Strength Highly motivated staff willing to adapt to city needs Strength Community Services has community trust and collaboration Strength $$ available for Water Improvements
Weakness Staffing at capacity limits—PT staff doing FT work, multiple roles stretching people thin Weakness Limited institutional knowledge (many new staff, knowledge gaps in departments) Weakness Not having records in one location
Weakness Time management challenges when everything's a priority

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 39 SWOT Table
Category Description
Weakness PD can't cover shifts without OT or fill ancillary duties (motor, traffic, investigators) Weakness Backlog of work due to staffing shortages
Weakness Lack of staff for larger/complex projects
Opportunity New agenda management software integrating with website Opportunity Working to get documents online/searchable for PRAs Opportunity Cross training for better coverage
Opportunity Improve use of current technology/systems
Opportunity Contract/cost recovery for PW Dev Services
Opportunity Privatize or county-ize library
Opportunity Professional development with department growth Opportunity Combine with NSO for perishable skills training (save $$ on state-mandated training) Opportunity Actively working with other clerks for best practices Opportunity Help departments with special events
Opportunity Re-establish Recreation Division with current staffing Threat Staff turnover/burnout from noncompetitive wages and workload Threat Competitive labor market—surrounding agencies hiring your officers Threat Shoestring budget causing substandard services
Threat Short staffing eliminates supervision = liability risk Threat Contract services lower morale, don't save funds long-term Threat Constant outsourcing threats
Threat Public distrust in processes
Threat Excessive PRAs
Threat Lack of revenues
Threat Equipment budgeted but not approved (lack of council info) Threat Limited HR staff = compliance risk for leaves
Threat Compliance with training/paperwork filings
Threat Potential cuts to non-essential services
Citywide Organizational Charts
On the following two pages, we include the citywide Organizational Charts.

Residents of St. Helena
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Mayor and City Council Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Attorney
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Services Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Boards and Commissions Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Clerk
City Clerk, PIO, Special Projects Location Add location Team Add team
Community Development Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Director of Community Services Manager in the Interim currently. 2 Larger Projects divided between Recreation Manager and Deputy Director of CS Location Add location
Team Add team
Fire Chief Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Chief Police Executive
Full Time Police Executive Officer Location Add location Team Add team
Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Deputy Community Services Director City Librarian
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Manager Could freeze position to create two coordinator positions Full-Time 40-60 hours weekly Location Add location Team Add team
Senior Librarian
Youth Services Librarian (FT) Location Add location
Team Add team
Librarian I/II Technical Services Librarian (FT) Location Add location Team Add team
Library Associate I/II Circulation Lead (FT) Location Add location Team Add team
Finance Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Management Analyst - Filled as Accounting Tech right now Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
HR Technician
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Analyst Acts as Assistant City Clerk position, Assist City Manager, primary contact for PRA's, records management Location Add location Team Add team
Senior Planner Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Assistant Planner Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Planning Permit Technician
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building Official Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building Permit Technician I Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Library Associate Outreach and Programming Lead
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Supervisor Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Seasonal Recreation
Summer, Seasonal Camps, Special Events, Sports Leagues Location Add location Team Add team
Financial Analyst Add a description
Location Add location
Team
Assistant Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Assistant Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Environmental Services Technician II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Project Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Assistant Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Engineering Technician II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Public Works Assistant Operations Manager Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Chief Wastewater Plant Operator Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Chief Water Plant Operator Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Underground Utilities Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Maintenance Worker Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building & Streets Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Parks & Trees Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Maintenance Worker Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Lieutenant Full Time - Mid Manger - Patrol and Trng Mngr Location Add location Team Add team
Police Services (2) Full Time Records Coordinator and Full Time Property Evidence Technician Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Sergeants (2... Full Time - Provides Patrol and Investigative supervision
Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Officers (8) Full Time - By adding 2 Patrol Officers we can reduce OT and provide the community with a Tn
Location Add location
Team Add team
Library Associate
Spanish and Teen Services Lead
Location Add location
Team Add team
HR Manager - Potentially Share with
another City
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Coordinator Volunteer and Inhouse program focus area Location Add location
Team Add team
Assistant Engineer Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Mechanic - Fleet & Equipment Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Coordinator External contracts/ Programs and Special Events focus area
Location Add location
Team Add team
Project Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Shared IT Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Records Manager - Potentially Share with another department Focus on PRA's, getting documents organized and funneled from each department to
laserfische, coordinate filing compliance and
Location Add location
Team Add team
Seasonal  support for year  end close
Ass't Engr/PM can
assist w/  development/deli very of HUGE CIP
in lieu  consultants
Only currently 3  FT staff exist in  department. Two  currently filled  and performing  additional duties.

Mechanic to  maintain Fleet &  LARGE equipment
inventory  (pumps/motors/etc. )
Potentially freeze the  Recreation Manager and  Recreation Specialist- PT  hire two Recreation  Coordinators to cover  work that Manager/  Director can hand down.

Code Enforcement/Building Inspector Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Gov Bldgs Maint Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
There's enough gov  bldgs SF to warrant  at least 3/4 time  dedication to prev  maint & CIP delivery Grant Writer/Manager Cross Departmental Location Add location Team Add team
Projected increase
in constuction
projects in next couple of years and
current need for code enforcement officer
Add (2) Police Officers to provide a dedicated traffic officer and a dedicated investigator which will also allow for full Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Fire Inspector Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
6 Fulltime Firefighters Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
14 Part time Firefighters Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team

Providing 2 more Officers will allow for full time
supervision, reducing
liability and add a dedicated traffic officer and a full time Investigator. Will also
result in less overtime
costs and improve moral
Residents of St. Helena
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Mayor and City Council Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Attorney
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Services Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Boards and Commissions Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
City Clerk
City Clerk, PIO, Special Projects Location Add location Team Add team
Community Development Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Director of Community Services Manager in the Interim currently. 2 Larger Projects divided between Recreation Manager and Deputy Director of CS Location Add location
Team Add team
Fire Chief Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Chief Police Executive
Full Time Police Executive Officer Location Add location Team Add team
Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Deputy Community Services Director City Librarian
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Manager Could freeze position to create two coordinator positions Full-Time 40-60 hours weekly Location Add location Team Add team
Senior Librarian
Youth Services Librarian (FT) Location Add location
Team Add team
Librarian I/II Technical Services Librarian (FT) Location Add location Team Add team
Library Associate I/II Circulation Lead (FT) Location Add location Team Add team
Finance Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Management Analyst - Filled as Accounting Tech right now Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Accounting Technicians I/II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Analyst Acts as Assistant City Clerk position, Assist City Manager, primary contact for PRA's, records management Location Add location Team Add team
Senior Planner Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Assistant Planner Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Planning Permit Technician
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building Official Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building Permit Technician I Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Library Associate Outreach and Programming Lead
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Supervisor Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Seasonal Recreation
Summer, Seasonal Camps, Special Events, Sports Leagues Location Add location Team Add team
Assistant Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Financial Analyst Add a description
Location Add location
Team
Assistant Public Works Director Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Environmental Services Technician II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Project Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Administrative Assistant Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Engineering Technician II Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Public Works Assistant Operations Manager Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Chief Wastewater Plant Operator Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Chief Water Plant Operator Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Plant Operator (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Underground Utilities Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Maintenance Worker Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Building & Streets Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Parks & Trees Superintendent Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Maintenance Worker Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team Maintenance Workers (I/II) Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Lieutenant Full Time - Mid Manger - Patrol and Trng Mngr Location Add location Team Add team
Police Services (2) Full Time Records Coordinator and Full Time Property Evidence Technician Location Add location
Team Add team
2- Police Sergeants (2... Full Time - Provides Patrol and Investigative supervision
Location Add location
Team Add team
Police Officers (8) Full Time - By adding 2 Patrol Officers we can reduce OT and provide the community with a Tn
Location Add location
Team Add team
Library Associate
Spanish and Teen Services Lead
Location Add location
Team Add team
HR Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
HR Technician
Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreation Coordinator Volunteer and Inhouse program focus area Location Add location
Team Add team
Assistant Engineer Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Mechanic - Fleet & Equipment Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Recreati on Coordinator External contracts/ Programs and Special Events focus area
Location Add location
Team Add team
Project Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Shared IT Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Records Manager - Potentially Share with another department Focus on PRA's, getting documents organized and funneled from each department to
laserfische, coordinate filing compliance and
Location Add location
Team Add team
Code Enforcement/Building Inspector Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Lead Gov Bldgs Maint Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Grant Writer/Manager Cross Departmental Location Add location Team Add team
Add (2) Police Officers to provide a dedicated traffic officer and a dedicated investigator which will also allow for full Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Fire Inspector Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
6 Fulltime Firefighters Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
14 Part time Firefighters Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Community Services Specialist Provide cross trained joint support for customer service, front desk, registration, phone calls, etc. Location Add location Team Add team
Admin Assistant Customer Service
Location Add location
Team Add team WTP/WWTP Maintenance Worker Add a description Location Add location
Team Add team
Arts and Culture Division Manager Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Arts and Culture Coordinator Add a description
Location Add location
Team Add team
Add MW  split btwn  WTP/WWTP
Arts and Culture  division created with  Community Services  Department  formation. Currently  sits in Recreation  Division Provide front office  customer service -  Reduce interruptions  for accounting staff Allow for additional  programs, special  events, community  engagement to occur  and bring more Art to  St. Helena per  community requests By adding new officers it will reduce OT and
liability, increase moral and help meet community expectations.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 42 5.0 St. Helena Staffing, Organization, and Controls
In this section, Blackberg examines St. Helena’s (City) organizational chart, span and control, the number of staff, and centralization or decentralization of certain functions. This section includes Blackberg’s opinions, recommendations, and findings. This section does not contain the recommendations and opinion of City employees. Please see Figure 20 on the next page for an overview of the City’s most current Organizational Chart. We will reference this Organizational Chart throughout the next subsection. Please note that this Organizational Chart contains inaccurate information; however, at the time of this writing, it is the City’s most current available. <The remainder of this page is left intentionally blank>

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 43 Figure 20 – St. Helena Citywide Organization Chart: This is the most current, available organization chart for the City as of November 5, 2025.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 44 5.1. Concerns, Discussions, and Recommendations

5.1.1. Financial Analyst
There is a Financial Analyst position under Public Works Director. Our primary concern is that this individual reports to the Director of Public Works. Any financial or accounting oriented professionals within the City should report to the Administrative Services Director (or Finance Manager who reports to the Administrative Services Director). The current structure creates potential conflicts of interest and does not use best practices for maintaining checks and balances within the City.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), the leading national authority on municipal finance (and a key resource for California's affiliate, the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers or CSMFO), strongly recommends centralized financial management to ensure independence and accountability. Key points:
 Internal Controls and Segregation of Duties: GFOA's Internal Control for Local Government emphasizes that financial reporting functions (like analysis) should be independent from operational departments to avoid bias. Having a financial analyst report to the Public Works Director—whose budget they're likely reviewing—could violate this by blurring lines between oversight and the entity being assessed, potentially leading to "impaired objectivity."  Organizational Structure for Finance: In Recommended Best Practices for Financial Management, GFOA advises that all accounting, budgeting, and financial analysis roles report to a central finance officer (e.g., Director of Accounting and Finance) for uniform oversight.

Further, the California Government Code and State Oversight Requirements provide some relevant input:
 Uniform Accounting and Reporting (Gov. Code § 26800 et seq.): explains that counties must follow State Controller Office (SCO) prescribed uniform procedures for financial transactions and reporting. The SCO's Accounting Standards and Procedures for counties requires "centralized control" over accounting functions to ensure consistency and prevent departmental silos. A financial analyst under Public Works might not meet this if they're handling cross-departmental analysis without finance director review.
 Conflict of Interest Prohibitions (Gov. Code § 1090 and FPPC Rules): Under the Political Reform Act (Gov. Code § 81000 et seq.), officials can't have financial interests that conflict with duties. While this applies more to decisions, an analyst reporting to the department they audit could create an appearance of impropriety, especially if it affects budget approvals. The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) views this as a risk for "incompatible offices/roles." While we do not believe St. Helena is violating any code or policy, we do believe St. Helena should follow best practices and consider the general spirit of the GFOA guidance and California Code.

Recommendation: We recommend that St. Helena move the Public Worksfinancial analysist position under Administrative Servies. The financial analysist should report to either the Administrative Services Director or to the Finance Manager who is under the Administrative Services Director. We also emphasize that we do not provide this recommendation in isolation of other findings. Previously, we found multiple concerning issues that create an environment within the City that is ripe for impropriety (some examples):
 There is a severe lack of management systems within the City. This includes asset management systems and general operational management systems.
 There is a severe lack of situational awareness in the City. All Departments and executives lack quantitative and qualitative data concerning ongoing operations and project status. This includes almost a total lack of benchmark data. We noted that these concerns are particularly acute in Public Works.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 45  The current accounting and financial personnel are substantially lacking in general resources. This includes a lack of full implementation of the automation features in its SaaS solution. These same personnel have expressed an inability to “catch up with the workload.”
 The City is facing significant budget shortfalls, but there is general confusion about the magnitude and accuracy of the shortfalls. Baker Tilly provided a report that they communicated as “independent”; however, a quick review immediately called into question the independence because Baker Tilly later states that City staff were a primary source of input (particularly with staff salary increase recommendations and staff number recommendations). This is a clear conflict of interest. Further, the second main driver of the Baker Tilly analysis was data from the Public Works Department. However, based on our own examination of Public Works and input from multiple individuals (city staff, city managers, and committee members), Public Works is severely lacking in any data, which immediately calls into question the accuracy or quality of that input.  Based on an interview with an executive manager, we know that Public Works historically did not reasonably use its own staff to complete work; rather, Public Works relied on contractors to “perform all the work.” We understand that management direction has since changed on this subject; however, we also understand that City employees lack the skills to perform much of the work that would be typically expected for performance.

5.1.2. Community Services Department - Library
In Blackberg’s “Deliverable 2: Information and Insight Analysis (Section 5.1.3),” we examined performance ratios for the Library relative to the national Public Libraries Survey5 (PLS) data for 2023. Based on the performance ratios, the Library is performing extremely well. Further, the Library’s general management and management systems are much more mature than all other Departments within the City.

Blackberg’s concern for the Library is that
expenses are high relative to other Libraries in
cities of similar size to St. Helena. To examine
this, we compare St. Helena’s Library to PLS
averages for cities that report a population size of
4,801 – 5,598. PLS sources its data from across the
country; so, a large amount of the salary data
comes from small towns located in areas with a much lower cost of living than St. Helena. This undoubtedly affects the averages. Further, when examining Total Staff Salaries Annually, be aware that the staff count differences dramatically affect the averages. Our biggest consideration with the Library is total number of staff and the two staff with an MLS degree.

In many cities of similar size, this represents a higher-than-average number of staff. Our concerns are not centered on salary amounts.

Recommendation: The Library is performing well based on performance rations. Blackberg does not believe that there are any significant efficiencies to be gained by adjusting staff, automation, or process improvements. The City is receiving services from the Library that are significantly higher than average in terms of both quality and quantity. However, the City is also paying higher than average for that quality and quantity. If it chooses to reduce staffing, it will reduce the quality and quantity of services available, but it will save money. However, if it maintains staffing, it will continue to pay a higher than average cost, but it is receiving excellent quality and quantity of services as a result.

Blackberg’s primary recommendation is that the City does not let the Library continue to exist in a state of limbo in which Library staff are constantly worried that “cuts might come at any moment.” This is very unhealthy for Library morale. Our secondary recommendation is to explore other sources of revenue. There are interventions that could increase revenue for the Library. First, the Library could add a Starbucks-style café inside the Library, like those in some Barnes and Noble bookstores. Second, the Library could construct small, personal office space for short-term and long-term rentals. 5 Public Libraries Survey, https://www.imls.gov/research-evaluation/surveys/public-libraries-survey-pls, October 05, 2025.

Public Libraries Survey Data
Data Titles St. Helena Average
Number of Staff with MLS degree 2 0.73
Total Staff 6.02 4.24
Total Staff Salaries Annually $532,300 $171,044
Total Operating Expenses Annually $1,088,792 $316,959

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 46 5.1.3. Community Services Department - Broadly
The Community Services Department is a combination of the Library and Recreation (See Figure21). Blackberg understands that there are some overlaps between community events planned that involve both the Library and Recreation; however, we do not see the need to have a fully dedicated Director of Community Services. The primary purpose of this position is to coordinate activities between the Library and Recreation. However, the size and scope of joint activities between the Library and Recreation does not justify the position.

Recommendation: Blackberg recommends that the City eliminates the Director of Community Services position. Recreation and Library will exist as two separate Departments that report directly to the City Manager. The City Librarian and the Recreation Manager can coordinate with each other when needed. In the rare circumstances in which a situation needs to be elevated, the City Manager can address the concern.

When we compared the City Organization chart to the “Position Control” Excel sheet that shows funded positions, we noted that there are only two funded positions for Recreation: Recreation Manager and Recreation Supervisor. There is also a Recreation Coordinator, but it is noted as “Not Funded.” However, with the loss of the Director of Community Services Position, that was placed under Recreation in Position Control, the City could afford a second Recreation Supervisor. Therefore, in our future state recommendation (See Figure 22), we show two Recreation Supervisors.

Figure 22 – Proposed Future State, Community
Services.

5.1.4. Administrative Services Department
During our structured interviews, we heard from 10+ city employees that accounting and finance are having severe performance challenges. We also met with individuals within Administrative Services who admitted to many of these challenges, including various backlogs and not enough time to fully use the IT System. There are currently 6 individuals within Administrative Services supporting finance and accounting; plus, there is 1 individual serving as HR Technician. It is also noteworthy to understand that Apex manages the City’s IT, and Apex reports to Administrative Services. Further, “special projects” are also sent to Administrative Services. These may include grants, FEMA, affordable housing topics, and general studies. Additionally, there is a Financial Analyst supporting Public Works that should be aligned under Administrative Services. If you include this Public Works Financial Analyst, the City has 7 FTEs supporting accounting and finance.

Figure 21 –
Current State,
Community
Services.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 47 In our experience, a 7 FTE count in finance and accounting for a city of St. Helena’s size is high. To confirm this, we conducted research and identified a 2022 study from
Wasco, CA that was presented at the 2022 California
Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) Annual
Conference6
. This presentation provided benchmark data
on 7 cities in California (See Figure 23). Based on the benchmarks, St. Helena’s staffing is comparable to a city with a population of 20,000+ individuals.

However, the City currently lacks a mature accounting
system and accounting processes. This significantly
hampers any staff reduction goals. Further, there are
integration issues amongst the different IT systems being used by the City for accounting. This further complicates the workload and makes any staff reductions in the short term impossible. In short, the high staffing is likely necessary at this time because of below average use of IT systems, automation, and process maturity.

Recommendation: We provide the recommended actions in the table below. The City should be aware that an Administrative Services Director (Executive Accounting/Finance role) is one of two common paths to City Manager (the other path being Director of Public Works). Therefore, with both the Administrative Services Director and Finance Manager roles, the City should be asking if the individual has the foundational capabilities/qualifications to become the City Manager in 5-10 years.

This is the concept of “strategic staffing.” When we initially proposed this as an example strategy that should be in the Talent Management Plan, it was immediately met with resistance by City management via email: “Administrative Services Director to City Manager ... this is true, but sometimes with that position or Public Works, the person who is in that position doesn't want to be a City Manager, they like where they are/don't want to be a City Manager for a variety of reasons. So, I don't think it's fair to say/infer the person needs to want to be on that track.” Although we see such a reaction as unfortunate, we do believe it to be indicative of the culture being created by some of the executive management team within the City.

Critical Note: In our recommendations below, we do not recommend nor advocate for terminating anyone who does not have the recommended qualifications. Rather, our recommendations are long-term goals that should be codified in the Talent Management Plan and advanced in future years with natural attrition of positions.

Steps Minimum Capabilities
Step 1
Evaluate Accounting and Financial Personnel Capabilities – The City must ensure that its financial and accounting personnel have the minimal capabilities needed for success, and ideally, it should establish a set of standard and preferred capabilities. To support this process, Blackberg recommends the following minimal capabilities for the roles:
1) Administrative Services Director: Minimal capabilities include 10+ years of relevant experience in accounting; bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting from an accredited college; Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license in the State of California; and expert knowledge of accounting software. 2) Finance Manager: Minimum capabilities include 8+ years of relevant experience in accounting; bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting from an accredited college; CPA or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) license in the State of California, and proficient knowledge of accounting software. 3) Accounting Technician II: Minimum capabilities include 4+ years of relevant experience in bookkeeping; associate’s degree in accounting, finance, or business; and experience with accounting software.
6 Statler, William C., “Benchmarking”, https://archive.csmfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Benchmarking-A-Better-Toolthan-You-Think-Statler.pdf, February 17, 2022, p. 106.

Figure 23 – Finance & Accounting Staffing Benchmarks.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 48 4) Accounting Technician I: Minimum capabilities include 0-1 years of relevant experience in bookkeeping; and associate’s degree in accounting, finance, or business.

Step 2
Evaluate Financial and Accounting Software – The City is currently using Springbrook, Stampli, Breeze Smartware, GovInvest, and OpenGov. Administrative Services is already communicating integration challenges and an inability to use all the automation provided by the current SaaS set. This also has ramifications for other Departments and their choice of SaaS solutions. Blackberg recommends:
1) Investigate use of best in suite tools (e.g. OpenGov or Springbrook) with the goal of maximum integration. Springbrook and OpenGov have a partnership for a combined solution with Springbrook for core operations and OpenGov for enhanced transparency and analytics. 2) Be purposeful in planning for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. OpenGov is known to be ahead of Springbrook with AI innovation and implementation. OpenGov may also be a replacement for eTrakIT with AI automation of permitting and planning. 3) Implement a more integrated and automated solution for Administrative Services. If new hires are needed from Step 1, preferred capabilities should include experience in the chosen SaaS solution.

Step 3 Establish Maturity Level 3 Processes – The City is severely lacking in process maturity. This issue includes Administrative Services. Administrative Services should focus on developing a Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3 maturity of processes.

Step 4 Clear Backlogs – The Administrative Services Department is known as having backlogs. It should focus on clearing these backlogs prior to any team size reductions.

Step 5 Rightsize Personnel – The Administrative Services Department has a higher level of staffing than should be necessary if it has the right personnel capabilities, IT systems, and processes in place. Once steps 1-4 are complete, the City should seek total staffing for accounting and finance at 5-6 employees, instead of the current 7 (inclusive of the financial analyst in Public Works). Staffing could be shifted to positions of Information Technology and/or Human Resources.

Step 6 Recommendations Complete – See recommended timeline for completion below (Figure 24).

In Figure 24, we provide what we consider a maximum timeline to complete the aforementioned recommended steps for Administrative Services. Ideally, the City completes steps 1& 2 in 3-4 months; step 3 in 3 months; step 4 in 2 months; and step 5 in 1 month. It’s likely the City could complete Step 4 in parallel to the other steps. To summarize, the City should complete the steps in a maximum of 17 months or a minimum of 9 months.

Figure 24 – Timeline for Recommendation Steps: The City should plan to complete all recommended steps in 9-17 months from the project implementation date. This figure shows the maximum timeline.

Critical Note: The City should consider SaaS solutions for Administrative Services in careful coordination with Public Works and Community Development Departments.

5.1.5. Community Development Department
Overall, we do not see a need for any changes to the Community Development Department. However, SaaS solutions should be considered in close coordination with Administrative Services.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 49 Recommendation: The primary opportunity for Community Development is AI solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness. We expect AI solutions on the market between now (November 2025) and next year that may enable the replacement of the Permit Technician I position. A complete replacement may not be possible; however, a reduction to a half-time position could be possible with proper AI implementation and SaaS automation and integration.

5.1.6. Fire Department and Police Department
The scope of Blackberg’s study did not include the Fire Department or the Police Department; however, we did investigate both Departments to a small degree for a comprehensive understanding of the City’s current state. The Police Chief and Fire Chief positions are also known to be the second and third most expensive positions to fill (behind City Manager).

Recommendation: The primary opportunity for St. Helena is to explore possible cooperative agreements with Calistoga in sharing a Fire Chief and/or Police Chief. If successful, this could save both towns approximately $250,000 per year if the cities share both positions.

5.1.7. City Clerk Department
The City Clerk position is currently not accurately described by the Organizational Chart. Two individuals currently support the City Clerk role, but those two individuals are also serving as the City’s program manager, communications manager, and administrative assistant to the City Manager. Our first concern is this may create miscommunication with the public.

We met residents who questioned why two people are serving in the City Clerk’s office when historically it was only one person (anonymous sources, paraphrased). Of note, historically (~past 10 years) two individuals have staffed the City Clerk Department. Our second and primary concern is the lack of automation with retrieving City records, and the significant backlog in digitizing physical records that are currently stored at multiple locations.

Recommendation: The City should clarify the organizational chart. The City should implement a SaaS resource to enable automated City record access so that the City Clerk does not need to manually receive and process record requests. In parallel, the City should digitize all physical records. A High School or College student(s) could support the digitization effort as a summer job. This would cost the City about $8,000-$10,000, with a completion target of August 2026. The automation and digitization will eliminate the current pressures on this role.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 50 5.1.8. Public Works Department
The current state of Public Works organizational chart
shows a split between the Public Works Director and
Deputy City Manager (See Figure 25). The Deputy City
Manager has left her position, and we understand the City does not plan to backfill it.

Our initial impression of Public Works staffing is that staffing is “top heavy.” We include the Public Works
Director, Assistant Public Works Director, Project
Manager, Deputy City Manager, Public Works Assistant
Operations Manager, financial analyst, administrative
assistant, environmental services technician II, and
engineering technician II in that impression.

The departure of the Deputy City Manager alleviates some of this concern. However, we find it difficult to understand the need for the Environmental Services Technician II and Project Manager roles.

Recommendation: We propose a new, slightly leaner
structure for the Department of Public Works in Figure 26 (next page). We remove the positions of Environmental
Services Technician II and Project Manager. We add a
position of Director of Water & Sanitation, and we create two delineated branches of Public Works for Capital
Improvements and Ongoing Operations.

The Capital Improvements branch would handle contracts
and contractor support for capital improvements and
would also coordinate City personnel for capital
improvements when necessary (in coordination with the
Assistant Public Works Director for Ongoing Operations).

The Capital Improvements branch would include
extensive project management.

Next, we recommend the City explore consolidation of
public works contracts. The City should consolidate
contracts to cover many different “projects” concurrently (See City of St. Helena Proposed Operating Budget FY2025-26 to FY2029-30). This will dramatically reduce project management burden on the City and shift it to the contractors. This enables the removal of the Project Manager position.

Please note, Blackberg will provide more in-depth recommendations for Public Works in Deliverable 4. This will include 2-3 potential paths (options) of restructuring Public Works that can include decreasing or increasing its size in terms of staffing. We provide the leaner structure in this deliverable as only one option.

Figure 25 – Public Works Current State Organizational
Structure.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component 51 Figure 26 – Public Works Future State Organizational Structure: Blackberg proposes a future state reorganization of Public Works that provides more management support for water while delineating capital improvements and ongoing operations.

6.0 Conclusion and Next Steps
The City has an opportunity to dramatically improve its Talent Management System and thereby lower payroll costs. Further, staff reductions are possible; however, some reductions will require improvements in management systems (both IT and processes) prior to implementation. Although we see reductions as possible, Blackberg recommends reassigning those resources to some known vacant areas rather than simply reducing staffing expenditure budgets. We see clear needs for additional staffing in areas of human resources and information technology. Further, City personnel in the Workshops ultimately recommended the highest priority for new hiring be given to human resources and the Police Department.

There is also some room for improvement in the overall organizational structure of the City, but these improvements are relatively minor. In Deliverable 3C, Blackberg will address the potential cost savings or cost optimization, much of which is tied to this Deliverable 3A. When Blackberg moves into step 4 of the study (the final step), we will provide specific recommendations in all areas, including the management systems (e.g. Talent Management System).

Process Improvement
and Efficiency Potential
JANUARY14, 2026
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential Contents

1.0 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. 3

2.0 Introduction and Purpose .................................................................................................... 3

3.0 Process Framework for Improved Efficiency........................................................................ 4

3.1. Quality Management System (QMS) .................................................................................... 4

3.2. Data Management System (DMS)........................................................................................ 5

3.3. Performance Measurement and Dashboards........................................................................ 6

3.4. Strategic Deployment ......................................................................................................... 7

4.0 Enterprise Level Themes and Opportunities ........................................................................ 8

4.1. Insufficient Process Documentation and Standardization ..................................................... 8

4.2. Limited Performance Measurement and Visibility................................................................. 9

4.3. Major Gap: No Preventive Maintenance Program & Asset Management System................... 9

4.4. Lack of Project Management Framework ............................................................................. 9

4.5. Fragmented Interdepartmental Coordination..................................................................... 10

4.6. Limited Continuous Improvement Capability ..................................................................... 10

4.7. Workforce Capacity Constraints and Turnover Risk............................................................. 10

5.0 Leadership Input Summary ................................................................................................ 11

6.0 Department-Level Improvement Opportunities ................................................................ 11

6.1. Public Works..................................................................................................................... 12

6.2. Community Development ................................................................................................. 13

6.3. Administrative Services ..................................................................................................... 14

6.4. Community Services.......................................................................................................... 14

6.5. Cross-Cutting: Project Management and Enterprise Visibility.............................................. 15

7.0 AI-Enabled Opportunities for a Small City......................................................................... 15

7.1. AI Opportunities by Department ....................................................................................... 16

8.0 Conclusion and Next Steps................................................................................................. 17

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 3 1.0 Executive Summary
The City of St. Helena (City) currently operates with a predominantly reactive management culture shaped by inconsistent processes, informal communication pathways, limited performance measurement, and a high dependency on individual knowledge. This creates operational variability, constrains capacity, and exposes the City to risk when turnover or competing workload demands occur.

This deliverable (3B) identifies a practical set of improvement and efficiency opportunities rooted in the development of a basic Quality Management System (QMS). This includes strengthening Business Process Management (BPM), establishing a Daily Management System (DMS), implementing meaningful performance measures, and building foundational capabilities in project management, preventive maintenance, and knowledge transfer.

The Department of Public Works presents the greatest near-term operational and financial opportunity - particularly through implementing a Preventive Maintenance (PM) and asset management program. Administrative Services department requires standardization of core financial workflows and a clearer organizational structure. In addition, Community Development can promote greater consistency and improve customer experience by implementing expanded standard operating procedures, increasing portal utilization, and establishing more explicit expectations for turnaround times.

AI-enabled opportunities exist but must be aligned with real processes and actual staff needs. The most relevant use cases involve automation of administrative tasks, improved document/records navigation, predictive maintenance pattern detection, and support for customer-facing self-service solutions.

This report provides the foundation for Step 3D (technology modernization) and Step 4 (prioritized recommendations and roadmap). Together, these steps will help St. Helena shift from reactive operations to a more reliable, visible, and measurable operating system.

2.0 Introduction and Purpose
This deliverable, Step 3B – Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential, builds on the findings from the Current State Analysis (Step 1), the Information and Insight Analysis (Step 2), and the Organizational Structure and Staffing Component (Step 3A). It focuses on how the City of St. Helena can improve quality, reliability, and efficiency in the way services are delivered to residents and key stakeholders.

Its purpose is to identify the most significant improvement opportunities available to the City and to organize them within an overall QMS framework. The intent is to provide a fact-based understanding of where operational gaps exist, why they matter, and how they align with broader organizational goals.

This report will:

1. Describe the City’s current management system and where gaps exist.

2. Provide enterprise-level and departmental-level improvement opportunities.

3. Introduce practical, low-complexity AI use cases aligned to real processes.

4. Connect opportunities to BPM maturity and the City’s strategic objectives.

Insights from this report directly inform future deliverables: 3C (Cost Savings), 3D (Technology Modernization), and 4 (Recommendations and Prioritization).

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 4 3.0 Process Framework for Improved Efficiency

3.1. Quality Management System (QMS)
A high-functioning municipal organization typically operates within an explicit Quality Management System – a structured approach that ensures the City consistently meets customer expectations, statutory and regulatory obligations, and internal standards.

A practical QMS for a small city like St. Helena includes:
 Organization Requirements – Clear understanding of customer expectations and regulatory obligations.  Standardized and Documented Processes – Workflows, SOPs, and defined handoffs.  Assigned Process Ownership – Clear accountability for maintaining and improving processes.  Performance Measures – Outcome and process indicators reviewed regularly.  Daily Management – Visible, routine monitoring of operational status.  Structured Improvement Methods – Common problem-solving tools and simple project management.

A QMS defines requirements, tracks compliance, and offers a structured response when standards are not met, helping departments organize improvement efforts.

Figure 1 – Quality Management System: Key Components and Relationships Quality
Management
System

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 5 3.2. Data Management System (DMS)
The City does not currently operate with a structured Daily Management System. As a result, work is often driven by immediate demands rather than planned operations. A basic DMS appropriate for St. Helena includes:
 Daily or weekly huddles to establish priorities, staffing, equipment readiness, and risks.  Readiness boards (MESS) focused on Methods, Equipment, Supplies, and Staffing.  Visual indicators of normal versus abnormal workflow.  Tiered escalation to ensure issues are elevated and addressed.  Simple issue-tracking to support root-cause analysis.

A DMS improves consistency, creates operational discipline, and narrows the gap between “what should be happening” and “what is actually happening.”
Figure 2 – Key Components of a Daily Management System: A Daily Management System board brings clarity and accountability to team operations by visually displaying key performance indicators, daily targets, problem-solving actions, and performance trends. It helps teams quickly identify issues, assign ownership, and track progress on action items.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 6 Figure 3 – Tiered Huddle System: This tiered huddle system would improve communication across City of St. Helena departments by ensuring timely issue escalation, clear information flow, and alignment from frontline teams to executive leadership.

3.3. Performance Measurement and Dashboards
St. Helena does not routinely use performance indicators to manage operations or inform decisions. Measures exist in many areas but are not:
 Consolidated
 Trended over time
 Reviewed regularly
 Used to drive improvement
The City will benefit from developing:
 A City Manager’s Dashboard aligned to strategic priorities (See Figure 4)  Department-level operational scorecards
 A performance review cadence (monthly or quarterly)
 Visual displays used in daily and weekly huddles
Measurement is the foundation for identifying variation, determining whether improvements are working, and prioritizing resources.

A Tiered Huddle System creates
structured, rapid communication
channels at every organizational
level, enabling frontline teams,
managers, and executives to escalate
issues, share updates, and align
priorities efficiently. This approach
ensures that problems are surfaced
and resolved quickly, fostering a
culture of transparency.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 7 3.4. Strategic Deployment
Strategic deployment is the disciplined process of translating an organization’s strategic goals into aligned priorities, initiatives, measures, and accountabilities across departments and levels of the organization. Its purpose is to ensure that day-to-day work, improvement efforts, and resource decisions are directly connected to—and actively advancing—the City’s strategic objectives, rather than existing as disconnected or competing activities. It creates a clear connection between:
 True North (what the City is fundamentally trying to achieve),  Strategic Priorities,
 Annual goals and measures, and
 Improvement initiatives and projects.

This alignment ensures resources are concentrated on the most important activities and that projects reinforce, rather than compete with, each other. The strategic deployment structure will play a significant role in Step 4.

Figure 4 – Example of a City Manager’s Dashboard: This example of a City Manager’s Dashboard presents at-a-glance performance metrics across finances, service delivery, and operational targets to support executive decision-making and transparency.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 8 4.0 Enterprise Level Themes and Opportunities
The enterprise-level themes outlined below reflect patterns observed consistently across departments rather than isolated issues within individual functions. While each theme manifests differently depending on departmental responsibilities, together they point to a common root cause: the absence of foundational management systems needed to support reliable, scalable operations. Addressing these themes will reduce risk, improve service consistency, and create capacity for future improvement.

4.1. Insufficient Process Documentation and Standardization Across departments, the City relies heavily on informal knowledge, individual judgment, and undocumented workflows to deliver core services. While this approach allows staff to remain flexible, it creates inconsistency in service delivery, lengthens onboarding time, and introduces operational risk when key individuals are unavailable. The absence of standardized, documented processes is a foundational constraint that limits the City’s ability to scale capacity, manage workload predictably, or sustain improvements over time.

Core processes are undocumented or vary significantly by individual. Impacts include inconsistent service, extended onboarding time, and operational risk. Examples of areas needing documented processes:
 Work order processes
 Inspection and plan review steps
 Procurement and purchasing workflows
 Payroll and onboarding
 Budget development and monitoring
 Capital project workflow handoffs
 Staff scheduling and program planning
This represents a central gap in the City’s business process management maturity.

Figure 5 – Strategic Deployment Driver Diagram Template: This high-level model shows the intended flow from the City of St. Helena’s long-term vision (“True North”) to strategic priorities, goals, and the projects that support their achievement.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 9 4.2. Limited Performance Measurement and Visibility
The City currently operates with limited routine performance visibility at both the enterprise and departmental levels. While data exists in pockets, it is not consistently consolidated, trended, or reviewed as part of regular management practices. This limits leadership’s ability to anticipate issues, objectively assess performance, or determine whether changes are producing the intended results. As a result, decisions are often made reactively rather than based on shared, real-time operational insight.

Without regular monitoring of performance, identifying issues quickly or measuring progress becomes challenging. Data should be:
 Easily accessible
 Trended over time
 Summarized visually
 Reviewed routinely
 Used to identify root causes
There is no City-wide dashboard, no department-level scorecards, and no structured means to monitor performance against goals.

4.3. Major Gap: No Preventive Maintenance Program & Asset Management System One of the most significant operational gaps identified is the absence of a structured preventive maintenance and asset management approach. The City primarily addresses infrastructure and equipment issues after failures occur, which increases costs, disrupts service delivery, and heightens safety and regulatory risk. Without a basic understanding of asset condition, lifecycle, and maintenance needs, the City lacks the ability to plan work proactively or make informed long-term capital decisions.

The City primarily responds to failures as they occur, rather than scheduling work based on asset condition or risk. This creates:
 Higher long-term costs
 Greater safety and regulatory risk
 Shorter asset lifespans
 More emergency work and service disruptions
 Poor predictability in capital planning
A basic asset inventory, condition assessments, and PM schedule are essential first steps.

4.4. Lack of Project Management Framework
The City is managing numerous initiatives simultaneously, including capital projects, technology improvements, and operational changes, yet there is no consistent framework to define, prioritize, or monitor this work. Projects are often initiated without a common structure for scope, ownership, resourcing, or reporting, which contributes to competing priorities and limited visibility into staff capacity. This lack of a shared project management approach makes it difficult to align work with strategic objectives or assess cumulative workload impacts.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 10 The City lacks a coherent way to see all projects, assign resources, evaluate workload, or ensure alignment with strategy.

The absence of a project management structure leads to:
 Conflicting priorities
 Lack of visibility into staff workload
 Difficulty forecasting resource needs
 Delays due to unclear handoffs
A simple “light PMO” framework would add significant value.

4.5. Fragmented Interdepartmental Coordination
Many of the City’s critical workflows span multiple departments, requiring timely handoffs, shared information, and aligned expectations. However, these interdependencies are not consistently defined or managed, resulting in coordination gaps that slow progress and create frustration for both staff and customers. Without clearly articulated cross-department processes, the City experiences avoidable duplication, rework, and variability in outcomes.

Key workflows cut across departments, yet handoffs are inconsistent and expectations differ. Interviews highlighted persistent coordination gaps:
 Conditions of approval and development review require coordination between Community Development and Public Works, but handoffs are inconsistent.
 Capital planning requires alignment with Finance, but communication is uneven.  Technology support requires coordination between IT and all departments, but no ticketing or tracking mechanism exists.

This fragmentation results in duplication, delays, and inconsistent customer experience.

4.6. Limited Continuous Improvement Capability
Although staff regularly identify opportunities to improve how work is performed, the City lacks a formal, shared problemsolving process to consistently evaluate, prioritize, and address these opportunities. As a result, problem-solving is often informal and experience-based rather than grounded in documented root-cause analysis or common improvement tools, leading issues to be handled inconsistently or deferred due to workload. This limits the City’s ability to achieve sustained, organization-wide improvements and reinforces reliance on individual initiative rather than institutional capability.

4.7. Workforce Capacity Constraints and Turnover Risk
The City’s operational model relies heavily on a small number of experienced individuals who hold critical institutional knowledge that is not formally documented or embedded in standard processes. High workload demands and informal practices further concentrate this knowledge, creating vulnerability to turnover, extended leave, or shifting priorities, where even modest staffing changes can have outsized operational impacts.

As a result, departments report operating in “survival mode,” with limited capacity for documentation, process improvement, or cross-training. These conditions underscore the need for stronger management systems, including a foundational quality management system (QMS) and a structured business process management (BPM) approach, to reduce risk and build organizational resilience.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 11 5.0 Leadership Input Summary
Tasks 1 and 2 Observations: From structured interviews and meeting notes, leadership consistently highlighted:
 Difficulty maintaining visibility into workload
 Insufficient documentation
 Lack of cross-department coordination
 High dependency on individual staff knowledge
 Limited tools to support planning and prioritization
 Staunch support for greater structure and standardization The organizational perspective is strongly aligned with the key improvement themes that have been identified.

Task 3A, Workshop 2 Observations: The findings and improvement opportunities identified in this report were further informed and validated through a series of facilitated leadership and departmental workshops conducted as part of Step 3A.

While these workshops did not surface materially new improvement themes beyond those documented in this assessment, they served as important corroborating evidence. In particular, the workshop discussions reinforced the significance of previously identified priorities, including the need for greater process standardization, improved documentation and knowledge transfer, clearer workload visibility, and foundational capabilities such as preventive maintenance, asset management, and basic project management. The consistency between workshop input and the analysis presented in this report strengthens confidence in the prioritization of improvement opportunities and underscores their relevance across departments.

6.0 Department-Level Improvement Opportunities
Connection to Business Process Management Maturity
The City’s maturity assessment shows that most processes fall within Level 1 (ad-hoc, inconsistent) or Level 2 (documented at the project level but lacking organizational consistency).

The improvement opportunities outlined above support movement toward Level 3, where processes are:
 Documented
 Owned
 Measured
 Controlled
 Integrated
 Supported by routine management practices
Level 3 is realistic, practical, and appropriate for a city the size of St. Helena.

Definition of Priority Levels
Improvement opportunities identified in the below assessment are categorized as Priority I (P1), Priority II (P2), or Priority III (P3) using an impact–effort evaluation approach. Each opportunity was assessed based on its potential impact on service quality, operational reliability, risk reduction, and organizational effectiveness, as well as the relative level of effort required to implement the improvement given current capacity, complexity, and dependencies.

This approach allowed the project team to differentiate opportunities that represent foundational, high-value improvements from those that are incremental or longer-term in nature.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 12 Priority I (P1) opportunities represent high-impact, foundational improvements that address critical gaps in the City’s operating model. These opportunities typically reduce operational risk, improve service reliability, and enable multiple downstream benefits across departments. While some Priority I items may require focused effort, they are essential building blocks for strengthening the City’s overall quality management system and advancing process maturity.

Priority II (P2) opportunities represent moderate to high impact improvements that build upon foundational capabilities or address specific operational inefficiencies within departments. These initiatives generally require moderate effort and coordination but can be implemented once key structures or processes are in place. Priority II opportunities support improved consistency, visibility, and performance but are not as foundational as Priority I items.

Priority III (P3) opportunities represent incremental or longer-term improvements with more limited immediate impact or higher relative effort compared to their near-term benefit. These items may depend on prior implementation of Priority I or II initiatives, additional resources, or future technology enhancements. Priority III opportunities remain important but are best addressed after foundational improvements are established.

This prioritization framework was used to provide clarity on relative sequencing and focus, while recognizing that final prioritization decisions will be refined as part of subsequent implementation planning and recommendation development.

6.1. Public Works
Key Opportunities (Service Delivery and Operations)

1. (P1) Establish a Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Asset Management Program  Shift from "run to failure" toward scheduled inspections and preventive work for critical infrastructure.  Implement basic asset registers, condition assessments, and PM task lists to extend asset life, reduce emergency repairs, and improve safety and regulatory compliance.

2. (P2) Develop Level 3 Process Documentation for Recurring Operational Workflows  Document standard workflows for service requests, work orders, inspections, emergency response, and contractor coordination.
 Define handoffs between Public Works and both Finance and Community Development.

3. (P3) Field Technology Utilization
 Utilize mobile access to SOPs, maps, asset histories, and inspection forms.

4. (P3) Implement a Basic Daily Management System (DMS)  Introduce Methods–Equipment–Supplies–Staffing (MESS) readiness boards for daily clarity on workload, equipment status, and constraints.
 Use short huddles at the start of the day to review performance and today's plan.  Capture issues that cannot be resolved locally and escalate them through a simple tiered huddle structure.

Key Opportunities (Capital Project Delivery)

1. (P2) Clarify Capital vs. Operations Workflows
 Define standard processes for planning, budgeting and procurement, contract management, construction oversight, and project close-out.
 Standardize interaction with Administrative Services for budgeting, procurement, contract management, and invoice approval.

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GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 13 2. (P3) Introduce Project Visibility Tools for Capital Programs  Maintain a single list of active and planned capital projects, showing status, schedule, budget, and risks.

Key Opportunities (Utilization and Performance Measures)

1. (P2) Define a Core Set of Operational Measures for Public Works  Examples include percentage of preventive versus corrective work, response times for service requests, and backlog levels.
 Trend these measures visually and use them in Public Works huddles and monthly City leadership reviews.

6.2. Community Development
Considerable progress has been made in recent years, and opportunities now center on consistency, clarity, and customer experience.

Key Opportunities:

1. (P1) Strengthen Standard Work and SOPs for Key Processes  Document end-to-end workflows for permitting plan review, inspections, zoning amendments, and code enforcement.
 Incorporate "standard conditions of approval" templates by application type to ensure staff are not reinventing requirements each time.

2. (P2) Expand "Rapid" or Over-the-Counter Permit Pathways  Identify additional permit types that can be expedited with minimal review.

3. (P2) Cross-training and Knowledge Transfer to reduce dependence on individual specialist

4. (P2) Clear Turnaround-time Expectations
 For applicants, with communication templates to reinforce consistency.

5. (P3) Enhance Use of the Online Permitting Portal
 Continue shifting customers from phone calls and paper processes to the portal for intake, status updates, and inspection scheduling.
 Use portal data to monitor cycle times, bottlenecks, and customer pain points, then target improvement efforts to those areas.

6. (P3) Enhanced Coordination with Public Works
 Improved coordination during development review and public improvements.

7. (P3) Formalize stakeholder engagement for major code and zoning changes  Leverage the planned zoning update study sessions as a model for ongoing, structured forums with developers, architects, residents, and other stakeholders. Document the process for these sessions so they can be repeated and improved over time.

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GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 14 6.3. Administrative Services
Administrative Services is facing significant workload and capability challenges, particularly in accounting and finance.

There are also opportunities to integrate and streamline technology platforms and to clarify roles.

Key Opportunities:

1. (P1) Raise Process Maturity in Core Financial Workflows  Document and standardize processes for accounts payable/receivable, purchasing, payroll, budget development/monitoring, and financial reporting.
 Clarify approvals, thresholds, and segregation of duties to improve internal controls.  Eliminate unnecessary variation in how departments submit invoices, purchase requests, and journal entries.

2. (P2) Reduce Manual Work through Automation and Better System Use  Improve utilization of existing systems such as Springbrook and OpenGov to move staff away from spreadsheets and manual reconciliation.
 Identify “quick win” automations for invoice processing, expense coding, and budget monitoring.

3. (P3) Improve Transparency and Communication with Departments  Create simple, standardized financial dashboards for department heads.  Use monthly check-ins with department leaders to review financials, resolve questions, and plan.

4. (P2) Clarify organization and reduce structural risk  Align financial analyst roles under Administrative Services to improve independence and objectivity in financial analysis and reporting.

6.4. Community Services
The library is relatively mature in its management practices and performance, especially when compared to national benchmarks for similar-sized communities. Parks and Recreation functions are more limited in scope but are highly visible to residents.

Key Opportunities

1. (P2) Balance Efficiency with Service Quality at the Library  Document core processes such as circulation, programming, and outreach so they can be sustained with fewer staff if required.

2. (P3) Integrate Community Services into the broader QMS and DMS  Use simple readiness boards and huddles to manage daily operations (e.g., facility readiness, staffing, events, and maintenance needs).
 Develop basic measures such as program participation, facility utilization, and customer satisfaction.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 15 6.5. Cross-Cutting: Project Management and Enterprise Visibility A consistent project management framework is absent across departments, which prevents the establishment of a unified and integrated perspective on the complete project portfolio. The City currently manages various improvement initiatives, capital investments, and technology projects simultaneously; however, there is no consolidated view of:
 Project Charters and Governance
 The total portfolio of projects.
 Regular project review cycles
 Staff assignments and allocation of time.
 Alignment with strategic deployment
 Resource allocation oversight
Key Opportunities

1. (P1) Launch a Simple, City-Wide Project Management System  To improve oversight and consistency, the City should create a standardized project charter template. This will guide teams in starting, planning, and tracking projects, ensuring all key elements are covered from the start.  A single City-wide project list gives leadership visibility into all projects and should be reviewed regularly to support prioritization, resource allocation, and issue identification. These reviews also help align with strategic goals and encourage interdepartmental collaboration.

2. (P2) Align Projects with Strategic Deployment
 As the City refines its “True North” and strategic priorities, ensure that major projects are explicitly linked to those priorities and to improvement in defined performance measures.  Defer or discontinue projects that do not clearly support the City’s strategy or that cannot be resourced adequately.

7.0 AI-Enabled Opportunities for a Small City
AI offers high-value opportunities with minimal risk and aligns well with the City’s size and capacity constraints. The goal is to make work easier, faster, and more consistent - not to add complexity.

Guiding Principles
For a city of St. Helena’s size, AI opportunities should:
 Be tightly connected to real processes that are already being improved through BPM and DMS, not stand-alone experiments.
 Augment staff, not replace them, freeing time for higher-value work and better customer service.  Start with small pilots using available capabilities (e.g., AI features in existing financial, permitting, or documentmanagement systems).  Respect public-sector expectations for privacy, transparency, and fairness in any resident-facing use.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 16 7.1. AI Opportunities by Department
Administrative Services
Invoice and payment
processing assistance
 Use AI-enabled tools to extract data from invoices, propose account codes, and flag potential duplicates or anomalies for review by staff.  Reduce manual data entry and speed up the AP cycle while maintaining human approval for payments.

Budget monitoring and
variance analysis
 Automatically highlight unusual spending patterns or budget variances and generate simple narrative explanations that can be reviewed and refined by finance staff.
 Support department heads with AI-assisted “budget briefings” that summarize key trends for each department.
 Drafting staff reports and summaries.

Automated HR onboarding
packet preparation
 Automated generation of onboarding materials for new hires.

Document search across
financial policies and
procedures
 Allow staff to query policies, procedures, and prior memos in plain language (for example, “What is the current purchasing threshold for formal bids?”) rather than hunting through shared drives.

Public Works
Work order triage and
prioritization
 Use AI to classify and prioritize incoming service requests based on descriptions, photos, and location, routing them to the right crew and indicating urgency.
 Over time, learn common patterns that can inform staffing levels and PM schedules.

Preventive maintenance
planning
 Predictive analysis for PM scheduling
 Analyze historical work orders, failures, and environmental data to recommend PM intervals and highlight assets at higher risk of failure.  Support long-term capital planning by forecasting replacement needs based on usage and condition trends.

Field staff support  Provide mobile, natural-language access to SOPs, checklists, and asset histories, so field staff can quickly find the right procedure at the job site.

Community Development
Permit intake and
completeness checks
 Use AI to pre-screen applications for completeness, flagging missing documents or inconsistent information before staff review.
 Provide applicants with clearer instructions and checklists generated from standard conditions of approval and code requirements.

Resident and developer selfservice Implement AI-powered FAQs or chat on the City’s website and permitting portal to answer frequent questions about permit types, timelines, and required documentation, reducing phone calls and walk-ins.

Document and code
navigation
 Allow staff to query zoning code, design guidelines, and prior approvals using natural language, improving consistency, and reducing time spent searching.

BLACKBERG
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Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3B: Process Improvement and Efficiency Potential 17 Community Services
Customer Focus  Use AI to analyze participation patterns and demographics and to suggest program times and topics that better match community demand.  Summarize survey feedback and open comments to identify themes for improvement.
 Drafting outreach materials and promotional content.

Enterprise-Level Uses
Cross-cutting applications  Apply AI transcription and summarization tools to City meetings, focus groups, and staff interviews, producing structured notes, themes, and follow-up actions.  Reduce time spent drafting minutes and improve follow-through on commitments.
 Provide secure, role-based search across key City documents, policies, and reports, so staff can quickly gather background when working on a new issue or project.

These AI examples support and accelerate the functional structure the City should build.

8.0 Conclusion and Next Steps
The City can significantly improve reliability, efficiency, and customer experience by focusing on:
 A simple, practical Quality Management System
 A Daily Management System with readiness boards
 A preventive maintenance and asset management capability  A basic project management framework
 Documenting and standardizing core processes
 Performance dashboards and scorecards
 AI-enabled tools tied to real workflows
 Advancing BPM maturity to Level 3
These improvements form the foundation for modernizing technology and developing a long-term roadmap. Blackberg will provide further recommendations and details in Deliverables 3C, 3D, and 4.

Financial Efficiency
Review
JANUARY 29, 2026
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
Contents

1.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3

2.0 Financial Efficiency Potentials .............................................................................................. 3

2.1. Market Salary Adjustments ............................................................................................ 3

2.2. Financial Efficiency Challenges ....................................................................................... 4

2.3. Staffing Reductions ..................................................................................................... 10

2.4. Strategic Partnerships for Human Resources ................................................................ 11

2.5. Total Potential Cost Savings ......................................................................................... 12

2.6. Sensitivity Analysis ...................................................................................................... 12

3.0 Cost Avoidance................................................................................................................... 13

4.0 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 13 Appendix A – Emails. .................................................................................................................... 15

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
3 1.0 Introduction
This Financial Efficiency Review deliverable draws heavily from Blackberg’s findings in Deliverable 3A: Organizational Structure and Staffing Component. We recommend that one reads Deliverable 3A prior to reading this document. In our analysis of financial efficiency, Blackberg identified three major categories of cost savings or cost avoidance: Market Salary Adjustments, Staffing Reallocations/Reductions, and Strategic Partnerships. Most of the “Staffing Reallocations/ Reductions” savings are contingent on the City first making improvements in process maturity, IT automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) deployment. We estimate that the City will need to spend approximately $80,000-$120,000 more annually to cover the costs of the IT automation and AI deployment. This is in addition to the City’s current IT budget. However, we estimate that the total annual savings potential for staffing reductions is $625,000. The savings outweigh the costs. However, instead of using the savings to simply reduce the staffing budget, we recommend the reallocation of some staff to a Human Resources Manager and IT Manager (both part-time positions). Finally, we estimate that the total potential cost savings or avoidance across the three major categories is approximately $1.6 million annually without investments in the Human Resources Manager or IT Manager. With investments in the Human Resources Manager and IT Manager, this annual savings reduces to approximately $1.3 million.

2.0 Financial Efficiency Potentials

2.1. Market Salary Adjustments
In Deliverable 3A, Blackberg conducted a salary and total compensation analysis of St. Helena (City). The City identifies 19 Executive or Mid-Management positions on its organizational chart. Blackberg assessed the total compensation of 10 management positions. We identified significant variance from market averages. Considering these 10 positions, all were above market rates except for the Senior Librarian. We believe much of the variance issue for the City is rooted in labor market failures and lack of a Talent Management System (framework, processes, and IT) to properly handle human resources. However, a component (and possibly a major component) of the labor market failure may be rooted in regional corruption issues (i.e. revolving doors). We discuss this in more detail in the following section, “Financial Efficiency Challenges.”
The City has an opportunity to save $590,000 for these 10 positions alone (See Figure 1-Following Page). For the Director of Accounting, we used the mid-sized city data for the average to calculate the potential savings of $28,000. If we include the other nine (9) management positions, we estimate the City has a total cost savings opportunity of $590,000. We did not expand our total compensation analysis to the rest of the City’s employees. To be conservative, we will not speculate if those salaries are above or below market; however, we believe the City has a total cost savings opportunity of approximately $590,000 annually from seeking average market rate salaries for its executive and mid-level management. We do not recommend terminating employees or attempting to reduce existing total compensation. However, the City should seek to reduce compensation to market averages over the long term through “strategic staffing” to realize these savings.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
4 Figure 1 – Salary Market Alignment: The average pay for executive managers derives from Blackberg’s calculations of data from Transparent California, and it is split between base pay and total compensation.

2.2. Financial Efficiency Challenges
Corruption and related integrity risks can significantly undermine financial stewardship and operational efficiency in local government. Small municipalities face heightened exposure due to structural limitations—namely, limited personnel and resources—that restrict the application of comprehensive accountability, oversight, and transparency controls. A 2016 Columbia Law School report observes: “…the very nature of small municipalities makes them susceptible to corruption, because their small size and workforce do not allow for the kind of oversight and enforcement mechanisms that larger cities, state governments, and the federal government can employ”1 .

A documented risk pattern is the revolving-door phenomenon, characterized by personnel transitions between government positions and private firms that do business with the same public entity. These movements can facilitate conflicts of interest, collusion, or other improper conduct. In practice, such arrangements often involve multiple actors and entities, reducing the visibility of potential misconduct.

A documented risk pattern is the “revolving doors” phenomenon, characterized by personnel transitions between government positions and private firms that do business with the same public entity or vice versa. 2 These movements can
facilitate conflicts of interest, collusion, or other improper conduct.

Revolving-door relationships are frequently more complex than direct, one-to-one transitions between public and private sectors. Such arrangements often involve networks of multiple individuals across several public entities and private firms, which can reduce the visibility and traceability of potential conflicts of interest or improper influence. Figure 2, adapted 1 Columbia Law School, “Fighting "Small Town" Corruption: How to Obtain Accountability, Oversight, and Transparency,” https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=public_integrity, 2016. 2 Pons-Hernandez, Monica, “Power(ful) Connections: Exploring the Revolving Doors Phenomenon as a Form of StateCorporate Crime,” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9034252/, Apr 23, 2022.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
5 from a June 2025 Cato Institute publication analyzing 15 cases of local government corruption, provides a simplified illustration of how these dynamics can manifest3
.

While such patterns can theoretically appear at any organizational level, they tend to emerge more prominently in roles with significant decision-making authority. Research has examined this issue in the context of city managers through the lens of principal-agent theory, identifying “agent capture”—a situation in which the agent (e.g., the City Manager) aligns with external interests (sometimes linked to revolving-door connections) rather than prioritizing the interests of the principal (the public and residents). Municipal governments should implement appropriate preventive measures, including strong conflictof-interest policies, procurement transparency, and independent oversight, to address these risks.

Figure 2 – Local Government Corruption Cycle: This image is taken from footnote reference #3.

Blackberg makes no assertion that corruption is occurring in St. Helena. However, the review has identified a number of governance, control, and compensation-related conditions that collectively heighten the risk of improper conduct or resource inefficiency remaining undetected.

A prominent example is the materially above-market total compensation levels for managers in the City, which present a substantial challenge to fiscal prudence and long-term budgetary balance. Additional indicators of concern include various documented deficiencies in oversight, data integrity, professional qualifications, performance tracking, and procurement3 Edwards, Chris & Kallash-Kyler, Yasmeen, “Local Government Corruption: 15 Case Studies”, https://www.cato.org/blog/local-government-corruption-15-case-studies, CATO Institute, June 3, 2025.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
6 related practices. Blackberg provides the following examples of support for these concerns; however, these examples are not exhaustive:
1) Multiple stakeholders, including Finance Committee members, City employees and managers (from 12 separate interviews), and respondents to the City Satisfaction Survey, have indicated a significant level of distrust toward City operations and leadership.
2) Blackberg's contract with the City spans approximately nine months for the conduct of this study. At project inception, Blackberg representatives met with the City Manager and City Clerk. During this meeting, the City Manager inquired whether the study could be completed in one month, which was inconsistent with the agreedupon scope and timeline. Additionally, when asked about the appropriate frequency of engagement with the City Council—including the possibility of a contract kickoff meeting—the City Manager advised that no meetings with the Council were necessary during the study, with potential presentation of findings only at the conclusion. This guidance differed markedly from standard expectations for stakeholder involvement in such engagements.

Accordingly, Blackberg sought direct clarification from City Council members, who confirmed the need for periodic updates and input throughout the study, explicitly advising against deferring engagement until the end. These interactions raised questions regarding the level of support for independent review, appropriate oversight, and general professionalism of City management.
3) The City lacks a centralized asset management system. Although limited, piecemeal tracking exists for major assets (e.g., vehicles), the absence of comprehensive monitoring and controls creates a significant risk that other assets could be misappropriated without timely detection.
4) Multiple individuals have informed Blackberg of alleged threats—experienced personally or observed—attributed to St. Helena employees or managers. Among the reported incidents are claims of physical threats made in relation to requirements that a contractor, rather than City employees, be used to perform a particular project. 5) Baker Tilly reports, “on October 25, 2022, City Council authorized a Professional Services Agreement (PSA) with Baker Tilly to: (1) provide an independent review of the existing LRFF [Long-Range Financial Forecast].” However, we see in the report that “Furthermore, City leaders have identified the need to increase staffing levels to support service delivery and, due to a number of factors including location and high cost of living, the City has become less attractive as an employer and therefore needs to ensure compensation is competitive to attract and retain staff.” This statement attributes certain observations and needs directly to 'City leaders,' raising questions about the extent to which the analysis and related recommendations reflect independent assessment versus input received from City personnel. Notably, Baker Tilly’s recommendations included staffing-related cost increases totaling $2.776 million.
6) In reference to the Baker Tilly reports, on October 25, 2022, the discussion of additional public works expenses references the following explanation: “In addition, over the past few years, numerous capital improvement and infrastructure needs have been identified totaling into the tens of millions of dollars for which General Fund support will be needed. In the past, these additional expenses were not incorporated into the forecast because of the magnitude of the costs on an already burdened General Fund operation.” The language suggests that significant identified capital and infrastructure requirements were deliberately omitted from earlier forecasts solely due to their scale and the resulting strain on the General Fund. This practice raises questions about adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) requirements for comprehensive and transparent financial forecasting in governmental entities, as well as potential implications for fiduciary obligations under California law. This may warrant further evaluation regarding compliance with GAAP applicable to governmental entities, as well as alignment with expectations of fiduciary responsibilities (including duties of care, loyalty, and candor) under California law. The matter is highlighted here strictly as a risk management concern and is not intended as legal advice.

BLACKBERG
GROUP
Efficiency and Business Transformation Study
Deliverable 3C: Financial Efficiency Review
7 7) During discussions with Administrative Services, it was reported that none of the seven individuals in the Accounting function (excluding the HR Analyst) holds a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting, nor does any possess a significant accounting certification, such as a CPA.

This staffing composition is noteworthy considering the magnitude of certain budget and financial reporting issues that have arisen in recent years, including substantial revisions to prior figures. The City Manager explained that he observed confusion amongst some individuals (including within the Finance Committee) about the budget deficiencies and what they comprise.
8) An executive manager reported that, during the tenure of a former (now-terminated) executive manager in Public Works, employees were instructed that they were not permitted to perform work without specific authorization and that required tasks must instead be assigned to contractors. The same executive manager further indicated that, because of this directive—combined with an overall lack of management oversight and assignment of duties— many Public Works employees were not performing their assigned responsibilities. 9) A formal request was made to the Director of Public Works for work volume and performance data in the following functional areas: buildings and streets, parks and trees, underground utilities, water treatment, and wastewater. The requested information was not provided in any meaningful detail. Subsequent discussions with the Director indicated that systematic tracking of such data does not currently exist.

Considering Public Works’ status as a significant cost center and the projected multi-million-dollar scale of infrastructure investments, the lack of robust performance and workload monitoring represents a material weakness in oversight. This gap impairs the City’s capacity to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of its workforce and contractor expenditures and elevates the risk of undetected resource misallocation. 10) Interviews with City personnel and examination of existing records indicate that minimal data is captured and maintained through formalized management systems. Data that is retained is predominantly stored in hard-copy documents or standalone Excel files, without version control, change tracking, or audit trails to monitor edits or safeguard integrity.

These conditions reduce the reliability and traceability of information and heighten the potential for undetected modifications to critical records.
11) In Deliverable 3A, Blackberg recommended that the City implement minimum capability requirements for Administrative Services and other departments, specifically including accounting degree qualifications and professional certifications (e.g., CPA licensure) for relevant accounting positions. We were informed that the City Manager shared this interim deliverable with the Director of Administrative Services prior to completion of Deliverable 3 or the overall report, resulting in a requested meeting between Blackberg and the Director.

During the discussion, the City indicated that it did not support mandating accounting degrees or significant certifications for its accounting staff (e.g. CPA), including senior-level personnel. The City requested additional research to substantiate the recommendation (which has been performed and will be submitted separately).

These interactions are recorded as they reflect an atypical level of departmental involvement at the interim stage and a substantive disagreement with a foundational professional qualification standard. 12) Blackberg delivered Draft Deliverable 3A on November 5, 2025. On November 6, 2025, the City Manager, issued a response (refer to Email A in the Appendix). This immediate reply—evidently prompted by the deliverable’s first paragraph—departed from the City’s typical review timeline for prior deliverables.

The City Manager’s email reproduced a paragraph from Draft Deliverable 3A (italicized) with added yellow highlighting, which he associated with his statement that the introductory remarks were “disconcerting.” For the record, Blackberg did not understand why the City Manager would find Blackberg’s statement, “Blackberg decided to conduct a salary benchmark analysis” to be “disconcerting.” The highlighted material addressed Blackberg’s conduct of a salary benchmark analysis, based on information obtained through discussions with the City’s HR Analyst.