Meeting_Body
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
JANUARY 16, 2025
Subject
SUBJECT: BOARD ADMINISTRATION 5-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN ANNUAL UPDATE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE the Board Administration 5-Year Strategic Plan annual update (Attachment C).
Issue
ISSUE
Motion 43 by Directors Garcetti, Solis, and Najarian (Attachment B) was approved at the May 27, 2021 Regular Board Meeting. This Motion directs the Board Clerk to prepare a strategic plan, including but not limited to:
1. Delivering continuous improvement to encourage meaningful public engagement and improve the accessibility of Board meetings, materials, and public comments; and
2. Continuation of effective public engagement options developed as Metro and L.A. County jurisdictions responded to the pandemic and its recovery process.
The strategic plan was presented in January 2021. The Board Clerk committed to providing yearly updates on the progress of the goals laid out in the Strategic Plan.
Background
BACKGROUND
Led by the Board Clerk, the Office of Board Administration (Board Administration) is currently a 30-member team. Board Administration is comprised of the Board Clerk’s Office, Legal Services, the Dorothy Peyton Gray Research Library and Archive, and the Records Management Center. As the agency’s record keeper, the Board Clerk is responsible for keeping accurate Board Meeting minutes and producing Committee and Board Meetings. The department handles public records requests, claims for damages, electronic records management, and manages the research library and archive. The need for innovation has increased exponentially as the department has moved away from a paper process and embraced technology in multiple facets of business operations. Board Administration no longer solely plays an administrative role at Metro but is an important strategic partner for the agency. This team is comprised of future-thinking, highly skilled individuals who strive to keep Metro transparent, responsive, equitable, and accountable. Transparency and public engagement are crucial to the democratic process and quality decision-making by our Board of Directors. As the conduit between the public and the Board of Directors, the Board Administration aims to remove barriers to access of public information.
The Board Administration 5-Year Strategic Plan was first presented to the Board of Directors in January 2021 and has four goals, each with subgoals and yearly milestones. The Strategic Plan is a roadmap for Board Administration and gives the public a clear picture of where the department plans to be and how it will get there in five years. The four goals are: 1. ongoing workforce development; 2. responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization; 3. enhanced public engagement with Metro’s Board of Directors; and 4. improved agencywide Strategic Knowledge Management, utilizing innovations in the preservation, access, and curation of Metro’s information.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Progress on the goals is detailed in Attachment C, with highlights shown below:
1. Ongoing workforce development.
• Subgoal 1.3: Onboarding Program for Board Members
o After feedback from Board Directors, an Onboarding Manual was created specifically for Board Deputies. This manual has been shared with new Board Deputies as they come onboard and will continue to be shared with new Board Deputies as they join.
2. Responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization.
• Subgoal 2.4: Records Audits
o While the year 1 milestone of setting up a records coordinator list is complete, a plan and/or schedule for records audits has not yet been created. However, it is feasible that this can be created in preparation for Year 3 milestone.
o Development of a schedule of records audits consistent with the Year 2 milestone will commence once the Principal Transportation Planner has been onboarded.
3. Enhanced public engagement with Metro’s Board of Directors.
• Subgoal 3.1: Public Comment Systems
o The Office of Board Administration has trained the Customer Experience Department (CX) to use the tablets, which has improved the turnover in public speakers during the meetings. This has also increased accuracy with order of names and members of the public that approach the podium to speak during their allotted time.
o Based on feedback received from staff, the interface views have been updated to include the names that have been called and who have spoken. This allows both CX and the Board Administration team to keep track of the queue more efficiently.
4. Improve agencywide Strategic Knowledge Management, utilizing innovations in preserving, accessing, and curating Metro’s information.
• Subgoal 4.3: Cultural Curation
o Collaborated with the Communications/CX Department on several public outreach projects, including “This is 30” celebration of Metro’s 30th anniversary, Los Angeles’ 100th anniversary of bus service, research for other significant milestones for posts on Metro’s The Source.
o Providing the CEO’s office and Board staff with time-sensitive historical context (e.g. staff communications, All-Hands Meeting sites, milestones in past Board member’s tenure, Metro-related contributions of former U.S. House member).
o Los Angeles Railway exhibit launched early 2023, a collaborative effort of Metro Library & Archive with the Metro Art program.
o Library & Archive staff worked with Getty Research Institute to execute a conservation assessment of the fragile, framed 1927 Laura Whitlock Map outside the Library. The map has been photographed and the Library & Archive is in possession of high-resolution imaging that will allow us to reduce wear and tear on the original resource. The digital surrogate may be used in creating new knowledge resources in the future, such as data layering with other information (e.g. census, ridership numbers), mash-ups with other maps to surface additional information, or to pin digital photos or films to specific locations on the map.
o Library & Archive staff are actively engaging the Customer Experience team to promote and celebrate departmental assets. Resources have been featured in numerous Friday Facts, Daily Brief and Metro’s The Source posts throughout FY2024.
o Library & Archive staff conceived, assembled, launched and promoted a Black History Month / Juneteenth exhibit for the Plaza Level display cases at Gateway Headquarters.
o Library & Archives staff strengthened relationships with the Office of Civil Rights, Racial Equity, and Inclusion, employee resource groups, and Metro Art to further facilitate collaboration for future exhibits.
o Library & Archive staff have met with peers at: Los Angeles Public Library; California State University, Northridge; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; Getty Research Institute, Automobile Club of Southern California Archives; the LA as Subject network.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The Strategic Plan supports equitable access to information for internal staff and the public. Additionally, the Strategic Plan increases access to information by offering multiple means of communication with the Board, including options for communication in different languages. Further efforts include optimizing search capabilities in the Board archive database; integrating an online translating service for forms, such as the forms for public records requests and claims for damages. In large part to these efforts, traffic to our boardagenda.metro.net website has increased by 319%, with our Public Records Requests increasing by 9% in the last year alone. Board Administration also continues to provide multiple opportunities for public participation at Committee and Board meetings by accepting public comment both in-person, via telephone during meetings, and via email and U.S. Mail in advance of meetings.
All of this is in pursuit of making Metro more transparent, accessible, and responsive to our community.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
This recommendation supports Metro’s Vision 2028 goal 5 to provide responsive, accountable, and trustworthy governance within the Metro organization. Further, the goals contained within the Board Administration 5-Year Strategic Plan are connected to the following Metro subgoals under goal 5:
• Subgoal 5.3: Metro will develop a transparent data management policy that addresses open data, data storage, and data protections.
• Subgoal 5.4: Metro will apply prudent commercial and business practices to create a more effective agency.
• Subgoal 5.7: Metro will build and nurture a diverse, inspired, and high-performing workforce.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Staff will return annually with an update on milestones achieved and will return in FY2028 with an updated 5-Year Strategic Plan.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Board Administration 5-Year Strategic Plan
Attachment B - Motion 43
Attachment C - Detailed Strategic Plan Updates
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
Matthew Barrett, Director, Library Services & Records Management, (213) 922-7444
Omar Camacho, Director, Systems Projects, Research & Records Information Management, (213) 922-2335
Margarita Lencioni, Manager, Legal Services, (213) 922-2333
David Lor, Senior Manager, Information Governance, Research & Records Information Management, (213) 922-2883
Deanna Phillips, Deputy Board Clerk, Board Administration, (213) 922-2566
Shelly Ray, Manager, Information Governance, Research & Records Information Management (213) 418-3040
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Collette Langston, Board Clerk, Board Administration (213) 922-2837
