Page 34 - City of Arlington FY19 Adopted Operating Budget

Business Plan

Arlington is a water industry leader in its use of technologies such as pre-
chlorinated pipe bursting and multi-sensor robots that examine large-diameter
mains for defects. The Water Utilities Department has received several awards,
including the Best Tasting Surface Water TWUA State Award in 2014 and
2015, and the AMWA Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance. In 2018,
the department newsletter, Buzz Words, was honored with a Watermark Award
for communication excellence by the Texas division of the American Water
Works Association.

SHARED SERVICES

The City of Arlington’s Shared Services City Service Team consists of Asset Management, Communication & Legislative
Affairs, Municipal Court, and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. The mission of the Strategic Support Team is to embrace
the City’s vision of being a pre-eminent city by dedicating resources to partner with customer departments.

Communication and Legislative Affairs has divisions in
Executive Support, City Secretary’s Office, Vital Statistics, Office of
Communications, Action Center, Intergovernmental Relations and
Knowledge Services. Due to the varying types of work,
Communication and Legislative Affairs collaborates with various
City departments through communication efforts, open records
requests, customer service, intergovernmental relations, City
Council agenda management, legal postings, revenue
enhancement, records management and managing special
projects. The department also directly serves the City Manager’s
Office and the Office of Mayor and Council. The Communication
and Legislative Affairs Department not only facilitates work across
departments to enhance cooperation within the organization, but also takes the lead in connecting City government to Arlington’s
residents through City Council meetings, on-line and social media, answering calls from residents on a variety of topics and
telling the story of the work that the organization does. The City's Intergovernmental Relations Division is primarily responsible
for developing state and federal legislative agendas, monitoring legislation and activities, and managing the City's state and
federal lobbyists. The department also manages resources such as printers and copiers throughout the organization with the
goal of improving work efficiencies and effectiveness.

The Municipal Court handles payments for citations, court appearances for
teens and adults, jury service requirements, and management of revenues from
fines. The court strives to improve customer service through advanced
technology such as providing online check-in for jury service, access to common
information in the Open Data Portal, new payment method options, and text
reminder notifications for court dates. The Jury Online will allow the potential
juror to respond to the summons, reschedule jury dates, request exemptions,
and print their required documentation. The Court also recently began texting
defendants reminders for upcoming court dates as a courtesy reminder. These
new technological enhancements coupled with our online records search and
information on the Open Data Portal, allows a defendant to verify court information without having to call or come to the court.
Finally, the Court will implement Apple Pay and Android pay as payment options for in person payments.

2019 Adopted Budget and Business Plan 19 City of Arlington, Texas