First in a series on the work of Noblesville’s city departments . . .
Noblesville Deputy Mayor
Having worked for the City of Noblesville for nearly two years, I am continually impressed by the hard work and dedication of my fellow city employees. Some of them are well known for the work they do out-and-about in the community. But a vast majority are the unsung heroes who help make our great city the vibrant community that it is today.
Starting now and for the months ahead, I will focus each of my columns in the Hamilton County Reporter on the work of an individual department or two. The reason? To share with readers and local residents in particular what it takes to keep our community of 62,000 going strong.
Human Resources
Like any organization, whether it’s a Fortune 500 business, non-profit service provider or a municipality – it’s the people themselves who ultimately determine our success.
You may be surprised to learn that it takes 369 full-time staff to conduct the business of our city. You may be even more surprised to learn that all of our personnel matters for these 369 workers are managed by a Human Resources Department of only three employees. And they do a magnificent job!
Appointed by Mayor John Ditslear in 2003, Human Resources Director Holly Ramon and her two staff members oversee all personnel policies, procedures and compliance with local, state and federal employment regulations. They also manage recruitment and hiring, personnel records, employee performance evaluations, health insurance coverage, workers compensation and the city’s deferred compensation plan.
Just like in the private sector, the challenge for our city is hiring and retaining the right people. Each job applicant HR considers to fill a position goes through specialized testing as well as a thorough interview process. In 2017, HR facilitated the hiring of 34 full-time and 66 part-time and seasonal employees. And as they do every year, HR worked alongside each department director to manage the employee review process to help encourage performance excellence.
Also in 2017, HR led the research, analysis, selection and roll-out of a new deferred compensation provider, helped the Controller’s office launch a new employee payroll and HR software program and improved internal communication by deploying informational screens in city facilities to keep workers informed and engaged.
In addition, HR was instrumental in an important part of the budget process, which for 2018 resulted in a 5 percent increase in pay for full-time employees, but coupled with a modest increase in the share employees pay for health insurance benefits, which reduced the net increase for the overall city budget.
And each June, HR rolls out administration’s Employee Appreciation Week to celebrate the contributions of each and every worker. But HR is very much deserving of our appreciation for all that they do – so the rest of us can focus on our own duties and responsibilities.
Information Technology
While people are the No. 1 key to success for a city, we also need the right tools in place to do an effective and efficient job – and to ensure we are able to respond to the needs of citizens. That’s where the seven employees of our Information Technology Department come in.
Misty Shearer began her career with the Street Department in 1998 before transferring to IT in 2004. She was appointed by Mayor Ditslear as IT Director in 2013.
Working behind the scenes, the IT Department’s success is rarely seen by the public as they maintain all of the city’s networks, websites, computers, servers, phones, cameras and WiFi for 14 different buildings throughout Noblesville. But when the system goes down, that’s when you really find out how vitally important their function is. Thankfully, with our IT Department, that doesn’t happen often.
IT also assists our public safety departments with laptops, software and equipment upgrades, requiring IT staff to be on call – day or night and all year round. This round-the-clock service ensures our police officers and firefighters can respond to citizen emergencies no matter what.
In 2017, IT installed new laptops in 70 police vehicles and all fire apparatus. At the same time, they facilitated the city’s dispatch software conversion, a complicated process to ensure all Hamilton County emergency responders are fully connected for better communication and collaboration.
Thanks to the hard work of our IT Department, their efforts and the technologies they deploy, the City of Noblesville can remain connected with the people we serve.
Want to read more about the work of Noblesville’s HR, IT and our other departments? Check out the 2017 Annual Report, which can be found at bit.ly/2pjsmYz. I look forward to sharing more behind-the-scenes glimpses into the public servants who work for the City of Noblesville.