DAKOTA COMMUNICATIONS CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY

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2 DAKOTA COMMUNICATIONS CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY The mission of the Dakota Communications Center is to serve and protect public safety by providing a vital communications link between the community and their public safety responders. We recognize both as our customers. In furtherance of our mission, we are committed to: The highest standards of integrity and customer service Efficient and effective acquisition and dissemination of information Accountability for performance and conduct Continuous improvement through professional development This is an exceptional opportunity for a seasoned professional to provide on-going transformational leadership and management to a multi-jurisdictional, consolidated, public safety communications center. The current Executive Director has announced her retirement effective May 31, She has been with the Dakota Communications Center (DCC) since its creation and will be leaving a six year legacy of very successful leadership for the organization as its Executive Director. The next Executive Director will be instrumental in building on this legacy and assisting the DCC continue to evolve as a mature, anticipatory, and professional organization. THE CITIES AND DAKOTA COUNTY Dakota County is the third largest in Minnesota and one of nine counties included in the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board s area of responsibility. The county is bordered by the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers on the north, and the state of Wisconsin on the east. Located south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Dakota County is set in a rolling landscape of farms, lakes, forests and streams, including the Vermillion River, characterized as the only trophy trout stream within a major U. S. metropolitan area. The county was the site of historical events at Mendota that defined the state s future, including providing materials for the construction of Fort Snelling across the Mississippi River and the signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux which ceded land from the native Dakota nation for the Minnesota Territory. The county's history was initially tied to the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, both strategically important for United States expansion and to the Dakota and Ojibwe nations who regarded the site as sacred. Influence shifted westward during the post-world War II settlement boom when Interstate 35 connected the western half of the county to Minneapolis and Saint Paul and bedroom communities grew. Most residents work outside the county, although Dakota County continues to develop a broad mix of industries and jobs and it has a significant and growing commercial base. According to the 2010 Census, Dakota County had a population of 398,552. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 2015 population to be 415,000 with a projected population of 488,000 by Approximately 95% of the County's residents live in the eleven DCC member cities, while the remainder reside in small cities and rural townships. The cities and county have a strong tradition of collaboration throughout the region that has produced a high quality lifestyle with an excellent system of schools, libraries, public services, and a vibrant business climate. Residents and visitors to the cities and county enjoy a variety of recreational opportunities available in abundant sports facilities, golf courses and beautiful county and regional parks. In 2013, 93% of Dakota County residents said the quality of life was excellent or good. DAKOTA COMMUNICATIONS CENTER DCC was established in late 2005 through a Joint Powers Agreement between Dakota County and eleven cities located within the County. DCC members include Dakota County and the cities of: Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, South St. Paul and West St. Paul. In 2004 the High Performance Partnerships (HiPP) project, conducted by the Dakota County cities and the County, identified the need for a centralized public safety answering point (PSAP) and dispatch center. A combination of factors attention to

3 homeland security, upgrades in technology, the readiness of various governmental units to act, the availability of grant money, and the financial benefits to participating governments served to bring the idea to reality. All dispatch staff at five existing centers were offered employment at the DCC. Over 90% accepted employment in the new organization, assuring that the existing experience and knowledge of the operations was not lost. There are now 66 employees working at the DCC, 61 of these are in dispatch operations. The DCC organization is guided by a complex governance structure with three distinct committees including the Board of Directors (elected officials), the Executive Committee (city/county chief administrators), and the Operations Committee (law enforcement, fire, and EMS personnel). The governance structure reflects the desire of the members to retain local decision making in a centralized service. However, the incoming Executive Director will be asked to evaluate this structure and help develop a model that reflects an organization that has moved past the startup phase and is now more mature in its operations. Construction of the facility began in 2006 and was completed in late The DCC is equipped with a new 800 megahertz digital radio communications system to allow police, fire, EMS and sheriff s personnel in multiple jurisdictions to communicate with each other, enhancing the interoperability of radio systems among all first responders. The DCC system is part of a regional and State-wide interoperable radio system. In 2015, 204,611 incoming calls were answered along with 139,813 calls on the 10-digit administrative lines. This resulted in 22,345 Fire/EMS calls for service with an additional 291,046 law enforcement events. The DCC operates on a calendar fiscal year. The 2016 approved operating budget is $8.6 million. Of that amount, approximately 66% is allocated for personal services with 30% allocated for contractual and similar expenses. The major revenue source is membership fees (approximately 92% in 2016). Membership has remained constant since the DCC was created. The operating budget (and, therefore, membership fees) has remained stable over recent years due to careful financial planning and budgeting, including for capital expenditures which are reflected in a 10 year capital plan. The DCC contracts with the City of Lakeville for fiscal services including payroll, accounts payable and receivable, and monthly reports. The City also assists with budget preparation and arranges for the annual audit. ABOUT THE POSITION The Executive Director is appointed by and responsible to the DCC Center Board of Directors. Specific duties include: Carrying out all personnel actions including hiring, performance evaluations, promotions and discipline including terminations. Being the spokesperson for the DCC including communications with the media and public on routine and urgent matters. Maintaining trust and confidence with the emergency response professionals and the community at large. Coordinating human resource activities including labor relations (contract negotiations are assisted through a third party), pay plan administration, benefit administration, insurance programs, and worker compensation administration. Preparing and presenting the annual budget and tenyear Capital Improvement Plan. Financial expertise and assistance is provided by the City of Lakeville. Providing oversight of the organization s fiscal management. Coordinating the drafting and execution of all vendor and system contracts. Ensuring citizen calls for emergency and non-emergency assistance are promptly and effectively answered and that requests for public safety assistance are prioritized and dispatched. Ensuring agendas and supporting materials for all Board and Committee meetings facilitate effective decision making. Coordinating and attending all meetings of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Attending Operations Committee and subcommittee meetings. Overseeing and coordinating the maintenance and installation of all emergency communications equipment. Making recommendations to the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors regarding organizational changes. Recommending and establishing procedures and practices to ensure efficient operations in consultation with the Operations Committee. Photo courtesy of Wold Architects and Engineers

4 THE IDEAL CANDIDATE Education and Experience Candidates for the position of Executive Director must hold a Bachelor s degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration, Business Administration, Information Systems Management, Criminal Justice, Emergency Management or a closely related field and possess five years of progressively responsible supervisory experience in a government public safety environment. Desirable qualifications include: A Master s degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, Information Systems Management, Criminal Justice, Emergency Management or a closely related field; advanced training and/or certification in public safety, technology or related fields; five years of director level experience in a large, governmentally-operated, public safety communications organization; and experience working for a joint powers or similar type of organization. Experience, Knowledge and Skills Demonstrated success as a strong leader and supervisor or manager in a public safety communications center of similar size and complexity preferred. Experience and knowledge of CAD systems; call processing protocols; interoperability and complex emergency dispatch protocols as applied to law enforcement, fire and EMS in a metropolitan and semirural environment with both career and paid on-call public safety personnel. Knowledge of development, implementation and maintenance of geographic data base information. Knowledge of management/supervisory principles and practices. Knowledge of federal, state and local laws and regulations related to public safety communications systems. Thorough understanding of law enforcement, fire and EMS operations. Proven people-management and budgeting skills. Knowledge of available federal and state funding through grants and other sources. A strong commitment to diversity in hiring and in the community. Broad supervisory experience and knowledge of human resource activities including union labor relations, pay plans, benefits, insurance and workers compensation administration. Excellent oral and written communication skills. Strategic thinking, planning and process improvement skills. Ability to envision and achieve desired outcomes through clearly defined programs and initiatives and to convince others that the selected course of action is the appropriate one. Expertise and demonstrated experience in intergovernmental relations. Demonstrated self-confidence. Willingness to listen, to be approachable and to take time to understand needs and situations. Excellent negotiating skills. Experience with project management, working successfully with vendors and writing requests for proposals. Management Style, Abilities and Personal Traits Unquestionable ethics and high moral character. Excellent facilitation skills. Excellent interpersonal skills. Ability to proactively identify the DCC s needs and develop effective solutions. Innovative and collaborative style that values input from diverse perspectives. Ability to communicate effectively and credibly with the board, committees, councils, public, staff, emergency personnel, press and others. Training and teambuilding skills. Professional manner with a deep sense of customer service. Ability to build coalitions within the member entities and the larger community. Ability to focus on leadership and management of the organization including inspiring and mentoring staff, treating all staff with respect and valuing their input. Ability to be politically savvy without being political.

5 MAJOR INITIATIVES FOR THE FUTURE The DCC along with its member agencies has endeavored to provide quality services by staying ahead of the curve on issues. Currently identified issues which the DCC believes important to address include: CAD implementation is nearing completion. The DCC s data processing contractor, Local Government Information Systems (LOGIS) and the DCC are working to ensure that the configuration and training is complete by this spring. Making sure that implementation goes smoothly will be a priority. In addition, the DCC will be exploring the option for CAD to CAD interface with partnering centers to enhance its ability to transfer information from one center to another in a clear, efficient manner. Communications technology is quickly evolving. The DCC believes its future technology needs include changing methodology for fire/ems alerting, audio logging which will combine voice and data, telematics which will give detailed information from vehicles involved in accidents and text to Work force recruitment is becoming more challenging as the profession becomes more complex. With the changing technology as well as the challenging psychological and emotional stress, the DCC will need to develop new ways of training to prepare staff for the potential onslaught of videos and pictures from crime scenes. The DCC will also need to remain competitive with wages and benefits to attract the best candidates. The Training Supervisor will be retiring in September, 2016 and attracting the right person to fill this critical position will be a top priority. Governance structures must evolve to meet current needs and realities. The current governance structure of a Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Operations Committee with several sub-committees has served the DCC well since its creation. However, the organization feels it is time to examine how that structure might now be changed to reflect the organization s now more mature and developed status.

6 DAKOTA COMMUNICATIONS CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS The starting salary for the Executive Director position is negotiable, depending on qualifications. The starting salary is expected to be in the range of $90,000 to $146,000 per annum. The DCC also offers an excellent fringe benefits package including employer contributions toward comprehensive health and dental benefits; participation in the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), a State administered defined benefit retirement program; life insurance; and disability insurance. The DCC also provides a very attractive vacation and other leave package. HOW TO APPLY For additional information on this outstanding opportunity or to apply, please contact: Jim Miller, Senior Vice President The Mercer Group, Inc Lake Augusta Drive, Mendota Heights, MN jf_miller@outlook.com Or Photo courtesy of Wold Architects and Engineers Jim Mercer, President/CEO The Mercer Group, Inc. 5579B Chamblee Dunwoody Road, #511 Atlanta, GA jmercer@mercergroupinc.com This position is open until filled. Please send cover letters and resumes, preferably via , to one of the search consultants above. First review of resumes will be conducted on July 15. Women and minority candidates are especially encouraged to apply!