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The Mercer Group, Inc. - RFP 2020-02 - Professional Strategic Planning Services Workshops and Strategic Plan Development for the City of Rosemead, California to, SEEA1uday'ti Small Town ?whirl( a ME The Mercer Group, Inc II kij° The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management 10501 East Seven Generations Way Tucson,Arizona 85747 (520)891-1953 Phone (520) 721-7101 Fax bridMeJroupllcCaa)gmail.corn February 6,2020 Ms.Daisy Guerrero Management Analyst City of Rosemead 8838 E.Valley Boulevard Rosemead,California 91770 Dear Ms. Guerrero: The Mercer Group Inc. is pleased to present our Proposal for facilitating Workshops and developing a strategic plan for the City. Our proposal has been developed based on the requirements of your Request for Proposal. We have extensive experience and an exceptional track record of facilitating and developing strategic plans that work for our clients and their communities. Our consulting team is fully qualified to meet the City of Rosemead's goals and timeline for this project.. The steps outlined in this proposal are based on what we think will work best for the outcomes you want to achieve in the strategic plan. We recognize that you have a much better handle on what may or may not work best for your organization and community, so we are flexible in modifying our approach to meet the needs for the outcomes you want to achieve. The approach we are recommending is based on our experience of over 20 years with facilitating, developing and implementing strategic plans for public sector clients. We take significant pride in our track record with clients in tailoring our strategic planning approach to their needs,when necessary making immediate adjustments to the approach and responding promptly to any issues that may come up in the strategic planning process. I am authorized to negotiate and sign the contract for our firm. If you have any questions or require additional information regarding our proposal,please contact me at(520) 891-1953. Very truly ours, Mik= etc er Seg or Vice President 2 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development —_ r Ii The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Strategic Planning Approach Our approach to the Strategic Planning Workshops and Meetings is very simple. We use Data from the online surveys,build Consensus on the survey data to provide the Strategic Direction to confirm or revise your Vision 2020,Key Organizational Goals,Community Values, and Guiding Principles for Fiduciary Responsibility and Strategies. Based on the survey results we would recommend and develop Focus Areas and Strategies that are consistent with the current strategies and other key components in your strategic plan. The following is a summary of our method and tools that will be used to develop the City's new strategic plan. W Strategic Consensus Direction Data any Strategic Plan Mercer Approach Method/Tool Outcome Component Vision 2020 Confirm or Amend Online Confidential Ensure current Vision is Alignment/Development consistent with City's Survey future Key Organizational Goals Confirm or Amend Online Confidential Ensure Key Alignment/Development Organizational Goals are Survey consistent with the City's Mission Guiding Principles for Confirm or Amend Online Confidential Ensure current Guiding Fiduciary Responsibility Alignment/Development Principles and proposed and Strategies Survey Strategies are consistent with City's current direction Strategic Plan Projects and Determine potential projects Online Confidential Identify preliminary Initiatives and policy initiatives to Alignment/Development projects and policy include in the new revised Survey initiatives Strategic Plan 3 ICity of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development I :IL, The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Strategic Plan Mercer Approach Method/Tool Outcome Component Strategic Plan Workbooks Summarize results of online Workshop Workbook Workbook for Consensus survey results building meetings with the Council,City Manager and Executive Team Consensus Building Workshop Meeting with the Onsite meetings with the Develop preliminary Meetings City Manager and Executive Council,City Manager, consensus on strategic Team to refine strategic Executive Team to build Focus Areas and Focus Areas and Strategies. consensus on the Strategies Meeting with Mayor and information received in Council to present and the survey results further refine. Prioritizing Projects and Use interactive tool in the Peter Senge project Consensus on projects and Developing Timeline Workshop meetings to prioritization chart general timeline for determine what projects to completing include and not include in the strategic plan Community Dialogue Facilitate meetings with Deliberative Community input into the Meetings residents based on a series of Engagement City's updated strategic questions determined by the plan City and Mercer. The discussion at the meeting is in small groups with a report out of results. 4 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development � The Mercer Group, Inc. hlir Consultants to Management Mercer Consultant Contact Information i !s I. it Lead Consultant Mike Letcher Cell Phone: (520) 891-1953 Email Address: bridgegroupllc@gmail.coin Consultant Bill Stipp Cell Phone: (623) 693-0032 Email Address: williamstipp@gmail.com 5 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development 1 la: The Mercer Group, IIIc. IConsultants to Management • 3 h 6%1 4s Profile of Proposing Consultant The Mercer Group,Inc. is a management-focused counseling firm incorporated in the State of Georgia and operating nationwide.The firm was founded by James L. Mercer,a management consultant of more than 40 years in the public and private sectors and a former Assistant City Manager. He has written and co-authored six books and more than three hundred articles on various phases of public Mercer has strong established areas of practice in California, Southeast and Midwest,and growing Northeast and Southwest, Our firm now has thirty-one people serving the public sector from eighteen offices across the United States. Our corporate website(www.merceriiroupinc.com)provides additional information on our firm and its practice areas,bios of Mercer principals,and project and client lists. More information on the specific services provided by consultant Mike Letcher can be reviewed at his website (https://bridgegroupllc.net/). The Mercer Group provides exceptionally high quality consulting services to a wide range of public sector clients: I ➢ State and local governments i' Fire districts ➢ Counties r- Health care providers ➢ Utilities > Special districts > School districts ➢ Colleges and Universities > Transit authorities Specialty practice areas of our firm include: ➢ Strategic planning and policy studies > Service delivery alternatives, including the feasibility of consolidation/merger and collaboration/shared services > Organizational reviews and structure analysis > Management,organization,operations,financial,and productivity improvement > Human resource management, compensation and classification studies, and performance management systems > Executive recruitment We have no history or current litigation and will be using no subcontractors on this project. 6 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Qualifications of Consultants and Relevant Projects We are proposing to staff this project with two of our most experienced management consultants. No sub- consultants or contractors will be used. Our consultants will be involved in each phase of the project. On all the relevant projects listed our consultants completed a 100% of the work. Detailed resumes are available upon request. Our consulting team has extensive experience working throughout the country. Consultant Bill Stipp,MPA is a Mercer Group Senior Vice President. He has over 20 years of executive level municipal government experience, retiring from the fire service after 27 years having served as a Fire Chief and other ranks. He has served on national and state committees including the Massachusetts Joint Labor Management Commission. He currently is in his second term as a city council member in a rapidly growing suburb of Phoenix, AZ. with an annual budget of $236 million. These experiences provide him an excellent perspective on the challenges and opportunities of being an elected official in addition to seeing strategic planning from both the staff and the policy perspectives. Bill recently completed an interim position as Administrator for a Special Taxing District in Arizona overseeing a $10 million budget and 120 employees. This "turn-a-round" assignment was necessary to close an $885,000 budget gap, restore strong management practices and improve governance relations. In addition to strategic planning, Bill also is an organizational assessment consultant with the Mercer Group studying organizational and operational effectiveness. His education includes a Masters of Public Administration Degree from Grand Canyon University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Service Administration and he is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. Consultant Mike Letcher, MPA, CPM, ICMA-CM, TQM is a Mercer Group Senior Vice President and Director of our Tucson, Arizona and Imperial Beach, California offices. He has 30 years of experience as a city manager, budget director, finance director, human services director, human resource director, and general services/facilities director in cities from 6,000 to 500,000-population. He is a recognized expert in developing strategic plans for public sector clients. Mike is a certified total quality management(TQM)facilitator and the recipient of innovation awards for programs he has developed in Human Resources,Finance and Customer Service. Mike holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Kansas and has published national articles on strategic policy development, improving customer service and redefining the relationship between the Mayor and Council and City Manager. He is an Assistant Professor in the University of Arizona Masters of Public Administration Program(MPA). Mercer Senior Vice Presidents Bill Stipp and Mike Letcher have a unique combination of executive, political and academic level strategic planning expertise, along with a proven track record of developing effective strategic plans for our clients.Why should you select Mercer for developing your strategic plan? We have: D. Over 20 years of experience developing and implementing strategic plans. D Experience working in Cities and Towns in multiple states. 7 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development hL_—� The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to)1anagemIt ➢ Extensive experience working with Mayors,City Councils,City Managers and Board of Directors. ➢ Experience from both sides of the strategic planning process—elected and staff perspectives that have implemented strategic plans and have experienced plans that simply don't work. ➢ Academic experience teaching strategic planning at the graduate school level. > Extensive experience facilitating elected board and staff strategic planning development meetings > A passion for developing effective and result oriented strategic plans. > 100%client satisfaction with our strategic planning services. ➢ Executive experience developing, implementing and managing strategic plans in previous public sector positions. Town of Bluffton,South Carolina Consultants(Bill Stipp and Mike Letcher) Project Description: Facilitated a complete overhaul of their existing Strategic Plan,Mission and Vision Statements and financial/budget priorities. Involved meetings with Mayor and Council,Town Manager and Executive Team members.A workshop was conducted with Mayor and Council,Town Manager and Executive Team for finalizing the strategic plan and budget priorities. Cost for the project was $25,000 and the work was completed on time and within budget. Mercer worked with the Town in 2016,2018 and is currently working with them in 2020 to update their plan. References: City Manager Marc Orlando Phone: (843)706-4511 E-Mail: morlando@townofbluffton.com City of Port Townsend,Washington(Consultant Mike Letcher) Project Description: Facilitated with the City Manager,Council and executive staff an updated strategic plan and integrating it into key city business and planning processes.Affirmed or amended the current vision and mission statements and facilitated a"deep dive"into the city's other planning documents; providing ideas for improvement, and listing of potential future projects for implementation in the strategic plan. Cost for the project was$15,000 and the work was completed on time and within budget. Work was done in 2018. Reference: City Manager David Timmons Phone: (360)379-5043 E-Mail: dtimmons3@msn.com —Fr-City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development kiii%r: The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management City of Oceanside, California (Consultant Mike Letcher) Project Description: Facilitated the updating of their strategic plan,Mission and Vision Statements,Core Values and financial/budget priorities.The update involved six community meetings, meetings with Mayor and Council, City Manager and Executive team members. A workshop was conducted with Mayor and Council for finalizing the strategic plan and budget priorities. Cost for the project was$20,000 and the work was completed on time and within budget. Work was done in 2012-13. References: City Manager Michelle Skaggs-Lawrence Phone: (949)-922-5499 E-Mail: gonetohaworth@gmail.com City of East Point,Georgia(Consultant Mike Letcher) Project Description: Revised their current strategic plan that was focused too much on vision and strategy and not executing projects. The new strategic plan was linked to their budget, staff annual work plans, performance measures and Mayor and City Council agenda process. Developing the strategic plan involved meetings with the Mayor and Council, City Manager and Executive Team members.A workshop was conducted with Mayor and Council,City Manager and Executive Team members for finalizing the strategic plan for eventual adoption. Cost for the project was$10,500 and the work was completed on time and within budget.Mercer worked with the City in 2017 and is currently working with them in 2020 to update their plan. References: City Manager Fred Gardiner Phone: (678)-739-8557 E-Mail: fgardiner@eastpointcity.org 9 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development 4iiirf-P The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Work Plan/Proposed Approach: Why Use Mercer? The City of Rosemead is seeking a consultant to facilitate Workshops and develop a strategic plan. In reviewing your current strategic plan it is clear that the city has a strong commit to strategic planning. This is good. The Mercer Group is committed to developing and facilitating a successful strategic planning process. We will work effectively with the City Council, City Manager,Executive Team and the community to develop and implement an updated, forward thinking strategic plan that will extend from 2020-2030,with two year work plan. The Mercer Group's strategic plan facilitation process creates a living document that identifies Strategic Focus Areas and Strategies updated from your current strategic plan.From that process, a two year work plan and performance measurement metrics that are linked to your Vision and Mission Statements, new Focus Areas and Strategies will be developed. The focus of our approach is to develop a strategic plan that provides a clear path for implementing your current and future priorities. How will this be done? The Mercer Group will develop a custom online survey that will gauge the views of the Council,City Manager,Executive Team, and Key Stakeholders(optional). The City will determine who to include in the survey. This dynamic process allows for The Mercer Group to gain valuable information beforehand, saving time in the workshop facilitation process. Our value added is: • The City does not spend time in a Workshop deciding what specific projects you want to do over the next two years. • Prior to the Workshop,the City has already determined potential changes to the current Vision Mission Statements and other key components of the strategic plan. • Prior to the Workshop,the City knows whether or not there is support for integrating the new strategic plan with the City's budget, agenda process, staff work plans and any performance measures. We capture all of these thoughts from participants in the survey before the Workshops. This allows the Workshops to remain focused on what matters most; Results and Consensus. The consulting team for this project has extensive experience facilitating the development of strategic plans that work for our clients and are easily updated.Our experience working with a variety of clients in the public and private sectors will be very helpful to City. The team has developed strategic plans for communities with populations ranging from 5,000 to over 100,000.As you have noted,on pages 8-9 several of our clients utilize our services in updating their strategic plans over a number of years. Our unique advantage on this project is that our consultants bring experience from both the city manager and elected official perspectives. In addition,our team focuses on only a few clients simultaneously whereby preventing scheduling conflicts and the frustration that follows from consultants who are"spread too thin". 10 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development tirLTlie Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Integrated Strategic Plan Model The Mercer Group has implemented similar strategic planning efforts for vision other clients and we are fully capable of carrying out the scope of work requested by the City. We highly recommend that the City of Rosemead Stratepic Goals integrate its strategic plan into the business practices of the organization and begin linking it to the Council's agenda process,budgets, staff work plans/evaluations organiatio;, and any current and/or newly developed performance measures.The results of the performance measures can be used to continuously update the plan. If you already have many of these linkages we will just confirm that they are working well for the City. Strategic Plan _. e Boar Agenda Plan I . Process Performance Measures Budget Staff Work Ot er Plan --_^. Approved The Integrated Strategic Planning approach creates a balance that aligns both your financial and human capital(employees)to focus on achieving the strategic goals and objectives of the plan. A strategic plan is not just a document that identifies the strategies, goals and objectives for prioritizing your services, programs and capital needs.This is one element,but it can offer much more. Our process fully integrates your budget process with the strategic plan. It also provides a system for prioritizing strategic projects and work plans for your staff to improve service delivery and effectiveness based on the strategies and goals in the plan. Finally, The Mercer Group will also demonstrate how to fully integrate the strategic plan projects and initiatives into Council's agenda process. The Mercer Group uses an innovative format and approach to facilitating the revision of your strategic plan. Our format allows us to tailor our strategic planning approach to meet your specific needs and requirements. Since we will revise the strategic plan based on your needs,we want to make sure everyone is in agreement on the outcomes you expect from the strategic plan. To accomplish this we will use a Strategic Plan Alignment and Development Survey. 11 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development hi: The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Strategic Plan Alignment and Development Survey for Initial Meetings Alignment Do you always get what you expect without some planning in advance?The Mercer Group uses an innovative online confidential Strategic Plan Alignment and Development Survey to review the key components that will be included in the City of Rosemead's Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan Alignment and Development Survey serves two purposes. One focus of the survey is to determine how you want to integrate the plan into your current systems and business practices. The second focus of the survey is to determine the key components of the strategic plan i.e.Vision,Mission, and Strategies etc. Strategic Plan Development The current Vision 2020,Key Organizational Goals,Community Values, and Guiding Principles for Fiduciary Responsibility and Strategies will also be evaluated for revisions in the survey. The survey will provide participants with an opportunity to comment and recommend revisions to these key components. Finally,the survey will also review the Strengths, Weaknesses,Threats and Opportunities(SWOT)as part of the environmental scan for Rosemead. The results from this survey would be used in the Workshops with the Mayor and Council,City Manager, and Executive Team to develop the updated strategic plan In Workshop 1,the results of the Strategic Plan Alignment and Development Survey will be used to develop the updated strategic plan. Our experience has shown that the survey approach is very effective at saving time and providing an opportunity for community leaders to have the time to think about their future and not be on the spot at a meeting to come up with ideas or approaches. The survey will be collaboratively developed with Rosemead leadership. Workshop 1—Strategic Plan Development This workshop will focus on developing a working draft of the proposed Strategic Plan. Workshop participants will work through key components of the Strategic Plan. In this regard, The Mercer Group's workshop approach is uniquely innovative since a significant part of the information for building and • developing the strategic plan is acquired by using the confidential online surveys. The Workshop is then used to build a consensus on what will be included in the draft strategic plan. The workshop includes the following components: ✓ Review the current Vision and Mission Statements- Review the Vision and Mission Statements based on Strategic Planning Alignment and Development Survey results. ✓ Review Proposed Strategic Focus Areas, Strategies and Projects- Developed around the results of Strategic Planning Alignment and Development Survey. ✓ Review Strategic Planning Performance Measurement—Develop new and/or align current performance measures to include in the strategic plan.Performance measures would be focused on tracking organizational performance on strategic planning initiatives. ✓ Develop Integrated Strategic Planning Model- Integrating the strategic plan into the city's businesses processes. ✓ Develop Strategic Agenda Process-Integrate the strategic plan into the agenda process. ✓ Develop Communication Plan- Implement a program for communicating progress on the strategic plan to the community. 12 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development /,_? vi i The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to Management Draft Strategic Plan Following Workshop 1, The Mercer Group will develop a draft of the Strategic Plan for review and preliminary approval during Workshop 2. Workshop 2 This workshop provides an opportunity for the Council,City Manager and Executive Team to review and discuss the work done in Workshop 1.Following this workshop,the strategic plan will be finalized by the consultants for future adoption by the Council. Proflect Timeline-(Start March 2020-Julv/August 2020) t Strategic Plan Alignment Conduct Workshop 2 and Development Survey Amend Draft Strategic Plan Developed l Survey is Active for Develop Draft Strategic Council Adopts Strategic Paricipants to Complete Plan and Workshop 2 Plan Conduct Workshop 1 and Review Survey Results and L.-- Community Meetings Plan Workshop 1 13 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development L � The Mercer Group, Inc. •• Consultants to Management Staffing Facilitation of Strategic Plan/Community Engagement Event(s)/Goal Setting Workshops(Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) : • Plan a community engagement event(s)to receive feedback from the community to help determine the services needed in our City. • Consultant's shall demonstrate an understanding of the City's mission and vision and assist with developing a strategy that will help accomplish the services needed. • Initial planning of meetings with City Manager, City Council,and City Staff. • Facilitate half day workshops for City Council and Staff. • Evaluate the services the City currently provides. ➢ Outlines fmdings related to the strategic plan work undertaken and provides recommendations based on these findings. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) > Provides the method and timeline for plan updates and revisions.(A strategic plan cycle and a recommended scheduled strategies,tactics,and actions necessary to implement the recommendation). (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note.Qualifications on pages 7-8) ➢ Identifies the City's major strategic issue areas, including a defined goal for each area as well as outline of associated priorities for achieving those goals. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) ➢ Provides methods for implementing and measuring recommended goals and objectives. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) ➢ Evaluates and categorizes current City Council priorities into each identified strategy and assist in the development of new priorities as needed. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) > Transforms the conceptual goals of the visioning process into realistic,achievable targets. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) ➢ Develops a clear and concise mission and vision for the organization that reflects the community's current and future needs and identifies the challenges the organization can expect to face and should prepare for in the future. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) > Follow-up meetings with City Council and Staff to review results. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp (Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) )- Preparation of final report. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp (Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) 14 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development ; L The Mercer Group, Inc. Consultants to\lauagemest ➢ A recommended final Strategic Plan document that includes an implementation plan with benchmarks or milestones that measure the City's progress. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) )=. Presentation to the City Manager, City Council, and City Staff at a City Council meeting. (Mike Letcher and Bill Stipp(Note Qualifications on pages 7-8) Proposed Innovations Alignment and Development Survey-The use of this copyright survey sets Mercer apart from other consulting firms that develop strategic plans. One of the biggest challenges in developing a strategic plan is the amount of time it takes in meetings. Our focus with the survey is to provide a forum for the Council and executive staff to provide their thoughts on connecting the plan with your key business systems and developing your new Focus Areas, Strategies and projects. The survey saves a significant amount of the Council's and executive staffs time in developing the strategic plan. The Workshops can then focus on using the results of the survey data to develop the new strategic plan. Senge Payoff Matrix Rating-Reaching consensus on whether to include a project in the Strategic plan and in what year it should be included is challenging. Using the following Payoff Chart developed by world renowned management author Peter Senge allows our clients to reach quick consensus in the Workshop on the proposed projects to include in the strategic plan. Sense Payoff Matrix Chart© Goal IS EASY TO Goal IS DIFFICULT ACCOMPLISH TO ACCOMPLISH HIGH IMPACT ON I • ORGANIZATION/COMMUNITY ' -�a LOW IMPACT ON 3 4 ORGANIZATION/COMMUNITY Deliberative Engagement Community Dialogue-Our community engagement process is focused on providing an overview of the process of developing the strategic pan and where the meeting fits into the process. Once that foundation is set,we then inform the participants how their results will be used. Working through a series of questions developed by the City and Mercer, groups of participants work at tables and then report out their results. The results are then summarized by the consultant for use in developing the strategic plan. We can also use Survey Monkey technology at the meeting for summarizing the dialogue results. Workshop Workbooks-The Workbooks we use to facilitate your meetings are designed to provide a seamless path for the city to reach consensus on key aspects of your strategic plan. The Workbooks provide information on the results of the survey and are designed to reach consensus on those results. 15 I City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development • ii.,411 The Mercer Group, IIIc• Consultants to Management Integrated Strategic Plan-Your strategic plan should be integrated into your budget process,Mayor and Council agenda, staff work plans, performance measures and other approved city plans. Our innovative strategic plan approach ensures your new strategic plan is linked to these key components. Proposed Cost Sheet and Rates This quote is firm for a period of 90 days from the date of this proposal.Our total not to exceed cost for developing the strategic plan is$25,000. Our hourly rate for extra work per consultant is$150.00 per hour. Project Components Cost Strategic Plan Alignment and $4,000 Development Survey and Preparatory Meetings Workshop 1 and Community 6,000 Meetings—Strategic Plan Development Draft Strategic Plan 3,000 Workshop 2-Review and Revise 3,000 Strategic Plan Meeting for Final Plan Adoption 3,000 Travel Cost and Materials 6,000 Total Not to Exceed Cost $25,000 16 City of Rosemead Workshops and Strategic Plan Development