St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog
Each year PSTA Board Members are asked to complete a formal evaluation of the PSTA CEO Brad Miller.
This Series gives the detailed evaluation by each PSTA Board
Member.
Comment Text is taken from Documents obtained from formal
Public Records Request with NO edits.
Instructions
(To Board Members)
Please take a few minutes to provide a numerical score in
the following 10 general performance areas. You may also provide narrative
comments as needed. A narrative providing some further explanation of each
performance area is provided to help guide you in developing your overall
score.
1.
Organizational Leadership
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: Mr. Miller has excelled at developing a
strong governance model by empowering a stronger and expanded Executive
Committee, strengthened existing PSTA Board Committees in assisting the full
board, fully participated in collaborative & transportation policy and
prioirity setting, and looked at all ways to support community development and
transportation objectives. Mr. Miller is positioning PSTA well in terms of
making difficult financial decisions in the coming years ( due in part to the
operatational budget crunch to replace nearly half our fleet of buses in the
coming few years.) We continue to measure the benefits strong outsomces
associated with his oversight to hire a new Finance Director, Debbie Leouse,
and strengthening the role of the TRAC committee. Those turned out to be
prudent decisions that continue to make PSTA stronger. Would like to see higher
profile roles developed for other staff, such as COO James Bradford.
2.
Future Opportunities & Investments
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: Mr. Miller is very aware of federal funding
opportunities, whether it is New Starts grant possibilities or working on a
strategic approach with the Pinellas MPO to explore STP flex funds for buses.
He has also proposed such flexible ideas as stretching out the life of buses by
a couple of years by increasing maintenance budgets, ‘smoothin out the bump’ in
critical bus replacements so the agency isn’t hit all at once, and taking
strategic steps to get more competitive for state and federal transportation
funds. Our FY 2016 busget reflects a savings and ability to invest in moving
forward based on a keen understanding our risks, possibilities, maximizing
efficiencies, and eliminating services that do not provide a satidfactory
return on investment.
3.
Policy Development & Strategy
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: I think the adoption of the ‘Path Forward’
strategy reflects a keen skill and strong ability of the CEO to affect change
in policy direction. It should be noted that all ‘change management’ is
inherently difficult, and PSTA additionally faces added stressors of financial
encumbrances due to bus replacement costs that had previsouly been taken care
of by a federal earmark process that no longer exists. Mr. Miller always displays
a strong grasp of national trends and is connected professionally to a national
network of his peers, of which he is a respected leader in APTA. Discussiona
and policy directives get worked out thouroughly on the committee level. In
addition to the committee level deliberations, Brad meets with board members
one one one as needed prior to General Board meeting discussions. An area to
focus improvement is to improve communication with regional elected officials
to make sure we are all on the same page with our understandings of
transportation issues and funding dilemmas. The Legislative Committee has been
focusing on improving these relationships more robustly and this is also a goal
addressed in our ‘Strong Governance Model’ of the Path Forward framework.
4.
Policy Implementation
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 4.5
COMMENTS: I
gave Brad a “4” in this category last year. The score is bumped up this year
because I think we have made some improvements in light of past admitted
mistakes and missteps (DHS grant). For example, Brad has sent out a weekly
email that updates the board on PSTA news and in those communications is candid
about challenges or upcomings issues that may receive negative light in the
press. Again, I think the ‘Path Forward’ process indicates a strong path
forward in the post‐Greenlight
transition and has provided a helpful guidepost in making value‐based and strategic policy and financial decisions in the
coming year and beyond.
5.
Working Relationship with the PSTA Board (As a Governing Body)
Rating for this category on a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: The year began with a critically important
workshop that set in motion the ‘Path Forward’ mission. That set the tone for what
has been a positive and collaborative partnership with the board to set a new
direction for PSTA. The final document reflects input and comments from the
entire board, and reflects the diversity of opinion that exists on the board.
New members feel comfortable asking questions and speaking up; our experienced
board members are effective at contributing their perspective when needed.
6.
Working Relationship with Individual PSTA Board Members
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: Brad is quick to follow up and provide info
as requested. He provides candid assessments and insight. I consider my working
relationship with him to be positive, effective, and productive.
7.
Financial Resource Management
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5+
COMMENTS: Our FY 2016 budget speaks for itself. I have
addressed this issue in responses to other survey questions in this document.
8.
Human Resource Management
Rating for this category on a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 4
COMMENTS: I
have dropped Brad’s score from a 5 last year to a 4 this year. The overall
competence and professionalism of Brad’s team is admirable. PSTA has some real
stars on the field: COO James Bradford, CFO Debbie Leouse, CDO Cassandra
Borchers, and I could name several more who simply stand out as top notch. I’d
like to see them empowered to do even more, which I mean a s a compliment to
Brad Miller, who has put together a great team. I would like to see some
improvements on the operations side of PSTA. Although Mr. Miller is not
responsible for the turmoil dealing with the TBWATU, it seems a lot of that
conflict bubbles up to the attention of the board that brings into question how
to better handle conflict management issues.
9.
Community Leadership & Relations
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS: I wholeheartedly give Brad a 5 in this area.
I think the next level for Brad to take his success up to is to empower more of
his higher level staff to take on organizational, advocacy, and speaking roles
when deemed prudent.
10.
Project Management
Rating for this category is a scale of 1 (worse) to 5
(best). SCORE: 5
COMMENTS:
I
think the next few months – especially the next legislative session ‐‐will put our ‘Path Forward’ to the test. I think it will
also require a strong level of engagement from board leadership to meet our
agreed‐upon goals. I have great hopes
this will happen. There will always be a sense that there “are a lot of moving
parts” when it comes to transit agency work. It is a challenging board
assignment because the mission is important and there is a lot of individual
and committee work to do. Balancing all of it is a challenge, but it is a challenge
that requires an active and engaged board to work with the CEO to address. Mr. Miller
leads PSTA through these considerable challenges with the utmost and unquestionable
integrity and thoughtfulness.
E-mail
Doc at mail to:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment
below, and be sure to share on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay
Post Photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment