April 17, 2023
By Alyson Fauske, Sr Project Manager, WSB

Like most industries, cities are facing numerous workforce challenges from city staffing to adjusting to more remote and hybrid roles. On top of that, many communities are also thinking big picture about how they can effectively build the smart cities of tomorrow.

As communities think about city staffing, here are some ways that they can rethink about how city staff play a role in building smarter, more efficient cities and how they can build engage, and connect workforces.

City Staff Are More Connected Than Ever Before

We may be passed the pandemic, but there were numerous lessons learned about how technology can better connect staff, and for cities, that is critical for cross-collaboration and problem-solving. Email, Zoom, staff management tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams – they all help with staff augmentation and close gaps on how staff are connecting.

Whether your staff is onsite, hybrid, remote, or all of the above, getting smart about technology gives city staff the tools to remain better connected and address critical community needs more efficiently, effectively, and collaboratively.

Understand How GIS Data Can Improve Efficiency

The need for on-the-ground repair and infrastructure services will never be fully replaced in cities. However, with tools like Google Earth Street view and GIS mapping, some investigative work to identify problems can be done off site. It can be a simple, yet effective tool, and it’s also one that is easily accessible to all cities.

Smart City Tools Foster Better Communication with Residents

At the end of the day, city staff are there to improve communities and the lives of residents. Smart tools and technology are significantly cutting redundancies in city staff time, improving connectivity, and making city government more accessible for everyone.

For example, phone apps and online tools allow residents to report city issues like potholes. Instead of creating multiple pieces of paperwork and follow up for each resident that reports on the same pothole, tech tools can measure the number of complaints and combine a single issue into one report.

Tools like these also ensure that residents can connect with city government at their convenience. They don’t need someone at a desk from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to submit paperwork, share resident input, or access important city information. Technology makes city government more accessible.

In short, as communities think about building smart cities and finding and maintaining a top-quality workforce, tools and technology are critical for fostering connections between city staff and between residents and local government. WSB has the staff and expertise to help support your community as you lead it into the future.

With over 20 years of engineering experience in the municipal industry, Alyson Fauske has built her career providing municipal engineering services throughout the Twin Cities. Her portfolio of work includes street and utility reconstruction, technical analysis and field observations, direct project planning and management, and comprehensive and capital planning services.

afauske@wsbeng.com | 612.263.1736

By Lori Johnson, Sr Professional Community Planner and Laura Melcher, Sr Business Development Coordinator, WSB

Government leaders, whether at the city, county, or state level, face numerous engineering and infrastructure project needs that often require outside consultants and experts. When putting together a request for proposal (RFP), communities have an opportunity to better communicate those needs and requirements to improve the responses they receive. A well-written and informative RFP allows you to find the right outside partner to meet your needs. 

Below are some ways government staff can build a concise, well-organized, and effective RFP to ensure hiring the right consultant to reach your goals.

Communities can get more out of their consultants and establish better relationships by writing an RFP that lays out clear expectations and goals. A higher level of detail in your RFP will increase the responding firms ability to meet and exceed your RFPs expectations. 

Here are a few things to consider when composing your RFP:

1. Be specific and customize your RFP. It’s important to clearly outline specific sections that you would like answered so that every detail is accounted for, ensuring firms can provide meaningful details on how to accomplish your goals.  
2. Be detailed about your specific project. The more details you can provide upfront the better. This will allow consultants to be more specific in their writing, better showcase their applicable skills, and maximize potential without guessing at what should be included or how their services will meet your requirements. 
3. Highlight your top priorities and concerns. By being open about what is most important, what concerns exist, and what stakeholders will be involved in a project, consultants are able to better understand exactly who they need to bring in from their team and how they can provide proper support and expertise. 
4. Allow time for questions and communication with potential partners. Creating set times for potential firms to connect and ask questions, like a virtual Zoom session, is helpful to ensure no details are missed and applicants have a clear picture of your expectations. Having these meetings at least two weeks prior to the submission date is helpful, as consultants work on specific timelines to ensure you get a quality proposal. 
5. Ensure that your RFP defines specific submission requirements and clear deadlines. There should be at least one month between the release of an RFP to its application deadline, as this allows firms to put meaningful time and effort into a proposal. If you have a good idea about how the proposal should be organized, page number requirements can be used to ensure the consultant is concise and follows directions. It is also helpful to be clear if the submission should be electronic or printed and mailed. The address or contact email should be given to allow the consultant to deliver it on time and to the correct location/person.
6. Provide a clear budget when possible and comprehensive scoring criteria. Every project has a budget and budget limitations. Communicating that information will help a firm build a proposal that fits within your budget. Make sure you accurately communicate how you weigh different sections of a proposal. If the budget is weighted heavily, state that clearly in your RFP. 
7. If a firm isn’t awarded the contract, offer honest insight and feedback. After interviewing firms or evaluating the proposals, you must choose the right one for your project. For those who weren’t chosen, provide honest feedback. This ensures that consultants gain a better understanding of what they can improve for next time. A good consultant will take constructive criticism and use it to make their proposals better in the future. This will also serve to build a trusted relationship with the firm.

Following these steps to create a more effective RFP will help to ensure you hire the right consultant to meet your community’s unique needs. 

Lori has more than 25 years of experience working in a municipal planning department, having worked her way up through the planning department at the City of Blaine to become their city planner. She has worked in all aspects of city planning activities including project management, site plan and application review, public participation and long range planning.

ljohnson@wsbeng.com | 612.364.3029

Laura is a business development professional with over eight years of experience in the construction and engineering industry. She works with clients and internal teams to develop strategic solutions. Her experience in the construction industry across the United States has given her valuable insight on projects from the opportunity phase all the way through to the execution and completion of the construction project.

lmelcher@wsbeng.com | 615.772.4555

Bart Fischer, Senior Public Administrator, WSB and Gary Carlson, Intergovernmental Relations Director at the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), unpack the issues communities should pay attention to post-legislative session and how to prepare for a potential special session.

BF: Thanks for joining me Gary for another legislative recap. As always, there were some predictable outcomes and other issues that created a wild ride this session. What were the top takeaways that communities should be paying attention to?

GC: The biggest question for everyone is whether there will be a special session. There were a lot of things left in limbo when the legislature adjourned. Many people, on both sides of the aisle, are wondering where we go from here.

BF: Yes, I’ve been checking every day to see whether or not a special session will be called. What bills did not pass that are making things feel unfinished?

GC: There are two big bills that were not passed: the Tax Bill and the Bonding Bill. More and more, you’ll see that legislators are piling everything into these bills. To gain more support, they compress everything into a few bills, and if they don’t have agreements, then everything dies. Much of what is traditionally in the Tax and Bonding Bills have direct impact on our communities.

BF: What are the impacts if a special session isn’t called?

GC: Well, the Tax Bill generally contains local sales taxes, tax increment financing, lodging, entertainment taxes, etc. Without this passage, communities are kind of left hanging. An even bigger issue is that the Bonding Bill was never unveiled. Usually, committees would release a compilation of projects they want to include, but they never got that far.

The lack of a Tax Bill has a tremendous impact on the 15 cities that had local sales tax requests. In addition, it also impacts the 18 cities that received sales tax authority last year that have not yet conducted the referendum. Many of those projects have seen unexpectedly large construction cost increases due to rising labor costs and supply chain disruptions and those cost increases would have been partially addressed in the omnibus tax bill agreement that never made to a final vote.

 BF: What did get accomplished this session?

GC: There were some pretty significant bills were passed including the Frontline Worker Pay Bill and the Unemployment Insurance Bill as well as the opioid settlement bill which will distribute $253 million to counties and many larger cities over the next 18 years. The state budget is in place and there is a surplus, so we’re in good shape there. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t a lot done that relates directly to cities and counties.

BF: Any advice for communities post-session?

GC: There is no time limit on when a special session can be called so be on the watch for it. There is still so much uncertainty. If a city or county has a project as part of the bonding request or local sales taxes, they should continue to push their legislators for a special session.

BF: Thank you, Gary.  As always, I appreciate your expertise and the valuable insight you provide.

Still have more questions?  Connect with the League of Minnesota Cities Intergovernmental Relations staff.

Bart Fischer

Bart Fischer has over two decades of experience in public administration. Throughout his tenure, he’s worked in five Minnesota communities as the city or assistant city administrator.  Bart joined our firm in 2019 as a senior public administrator and focuses on lending his public service expertise to our clients.

Gary Carlson

Gary Carlson has 37 years of experience in government affairs. As the Intergovernmental Relations Director at the League of Minnesota Cities, Gary leads the League’s legislative efforts that matter to cities including aid to cities, economic development, employment and human resources, pensions and retirement, public finance, taxes, tax increment financing (TIF) and workers’ compensation.