How long have you been manager in Montgomery?
I have worked in Montgomery for almost 12 years.  And, I would note that these years have been the most rewarding and enjoyable in my 28-plus years in local government because of the quality of our community, and the great employees, City Council members and volunteers with whom I work!!  

Montgomery is truly a “community” in every sense of the word and I love living and working here!

How much change has the organization undergone during your time as manager?
I would say that it has undergone quite a bit of change in terms of our approach to work, increased personal and professional development of staff and the enhanced quality of our service to the community.  
 
When I joined the City, I found a great organization with wonderful people who were committed to providing excellent service to our residents.  However, it was clear that all of this could be better with more of an organization-wide focus (our departments were a little siloed!),  the development of a new, more  strategic approach to our work (the City hadn’t done a strategic plan in some time!) , and the development of leadership, management and team skills in all of our staff members (they were great at technical tasks, but had great potential for doing so much more!)
 
We undertook work to develop an organization-wide focus and vision through a new strategic plan and focus on our city’s mission, vision and values.  We also worked to develop our employees beyond their traditional technical abilities through improvements to human resource systems (new job descriptions, 360 degree evaluations, goal setting, and personal and professional development opportunities.)  As a result of this work, we have truly unleashed the power of our organization to deliver quality services that our customers want in a sound financial way.  (I have to thank the Senior Executive Institute and the Commonwealth Centers for High Performance Organizations for assisting us on this path and approach toward higher performance in our city.)  
 
I really think we have grown together as an organization in this timeframe, improving not only on “what” we do, but also focusing on “how” we do it.  I think this is very important as our citizens demand more and more from us, but also because our employees often have so much more to offer toward our overall success than what we may traditionally think.
 
How do you encourage innovation within your organization?
One of our organizational values emphasizes continuous improvement of what we do and how we work.  Our employees have taken this to heart and are always looking for better ways to do things.  We encourage teamwork and employee ownership in everything from health insurance to energy conservation to disaster preparedness to training.  When people at all levels of the organization share their knowledge and interests in the diverse operations of our city, you are bound to get great ideas to carry forward!
 
One of my favorite examples is the Health Care Benefits Committee.  Like other teams in our City, this team is made up of a cross-departmental grouping of employees representing each of the City’s major departments.  This team has been in place for 12 years and their function is to get the best possible insurance coverage at the least cost for the City and its employees.  In most organizations this is the work of the manager or the city’s senior staff, but in Montgomery, I am no longer a part of this, as this team researches proposals, works with our broker and providers, educates our staff on health care options, gets the necessary training and professional development, functions as liaisons, and develops the recommendation on legislation and presents this to our City Council.  This work occurs because this team was presented with a challenge, given the support and the resources needed to be successful, and allowed to take ownership of a process to best represent the interests of the City and its staff.    
 
In order to encourage innovation, it is important to be exposed to professional development and experiential learning opportunities and sharing of information from cities, counties and jurisdictions across the country and world.  Our city council has been tremendously supportive of our
involvement in the Alliance for Innovation and ICMA and I truly believe that many of our best ideas have come from the ideas, inspiration and creativity of others!   These organizations provide the right environment in which to spur innovation and we take full advantage of conferences, publications and distance learning to encourage creativity in our staff.   
 
And, not only is this an opportunity for our employees to get involved in improving the work of our organization, it is an expectation of all of us as we contribute to the success of our
organization.  This has really become our organizational “culture” and that is very exciting!
 
Considering out of crisis grows opportunity, have these economic times been helpful in inspiring innovation in your organization?
Our city has been fortunate in that it has not been hit as hard financially as some others in the Midwest.  However, in times such as these it is critical that we conserve the resources we have and our organization has used the financial challenge as an opportunity to take a look at how we do business to ensure that we are always getting the most cost effective services that we can.  
 
In pure Montgomery fashion, we have used the talents of employees throughout the organization to ensure that this is being done.  As they heard of friends and colleagues in local government losing jobs and facing financial cutbacks, the environment was ripe for them to truly understand the difficulty of the situation and to contribute to our reaction to the crisis.
 
This work included identification of areas where costs could be saved.  As a result of a mock budget reduction exercise that involved all departments and staff, more than $1.2 million were identified for savings out of a $30 million budget should the need arise.  While this was a mock exercise, it created a lot of awareness and buy-in from employees as to the current financial crisis and its impact on local governments.  And, if you do have to cut, isn’t it their help that we really need to get through this?
 
Additionally, our staff has also seen the current financial crisis as an enhanced opportunity for innovation in our organization.  From energy savings to new ways of plowing snow with reduced dependence on costly and difficult-to-obtain chemical treatments, our staff understands what our city could face and has taken steps to ensure that our citizens are getting the best bang for their buck.  While I think this spirit was present before the economic crisis, the environment surely helps to heighten the awareness of the critical importance of exploring innovation and creativity in our work places.   
 
As a leader, how vital is innovation to you?
I believe that innovation and continuous improvement are critical to all of us, from the city manager to the police officer or public works employee on the front line.  After all, our customers’ demands are ever increasing and for us to continue to be perceived as a quality place to live and work, it is critical that we be able to respond to those demands efficiently and effectively with the best equipment, knowledge or skills available.   
 
The Alliance has been an important asset to me and to our organization, not only for the great new ideas we get, but for the opportunities to network with the best of the best in local government management.   I think we have a better organization as a result of the many contributions of the Alliance for Innovation and its members.  The Alliance has certainly raised the bar for us in terms of encouraging innovation.
 
One of my favorite sayings is “When you stop getting better, you cease to be good!”  I have tried to employ that in my personal life as well as at work.  People probably get tired of hearing me saying that, but if you think about it, it is really a great philosophy!  

Cheryl Hilvert is City Manager of Montgomery, OH. Cheryl is also a member of the Alliance Board of
Directors as well as the ICMA Board of Directors.  Cheryl  and the Montgomery team is a constant  at most every Transforming Local Government conference.  Learn more about the City of Montgomery by visiting their web site at www.ci.montgomery.oh.us.