This success story was originally published as a 2018 All-America City Award project description and is reprinted courtesy of the National Civic League. Learn more about the award program here.

Charlotte has undertaken several racial equity processes designed to improve community service delivery, including the ongoing use of a racial equity lens for city programs. This has resulted in strategic capital investments in targeted neighborhoods. Following a report revealing economic inequity in the city and a police shooting in late 2016, the city engaged thousands of residents in one-on-one conversations and community meetings to collect ideas on how to improve equity and address racial bias community-wide.

Three project examples demonstrate how this community leverages civic engagement, collaboration, inclusiveness and innovation to successfully address local issues:

1.  Project P.I.E.C.E Workforce Development Collaboration
The Partnership for Inclusive Employment and Career Excellence (PIECE) Workforce Development Collaboration program was started by Charlotte’s Economic Development department as an outgrowth of community conversations about economic inequity in the city. In 2016 a joint study by Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley found that a person born into poverty in Charlotte has a lower chance of ascending the economic ladder than in any of the 49 other cities included in the study.

PIECE is a collaboration among the city, local businesses, and nonprofit organizations to provide construction-industry training and employment to economically challenged segments of the Charlotte community. Through neighborhood-level outreach, the PIECE program has identified hard-to-employ populations and provide them with the needed training to enter long-term employment as a skilled worker in the construction industry. Participants include people with criminal backgrounds, periods of chronic unemployment and low skill levels. Particular attention was spent on recruiting youth and people of color.

By working with Goodwill Industries and other nonprofits, PIECE trained 154 individuals in 2017 and employed 117. More than 50 businesses have signed on as partners with PIECE to assist with

• Curriculum development,
• Mock interviews,
• Mentoring, and
• Placement.

2.  LEVEL UP Youth Program
LEVEL UP was started in 2017 to assist Charlotte teens by preventing crime, promoting health, and reducing academic summer regression. The initiative is a collaboration of the city, the YMCA, and an assortment of other nonprofit organizations. It was begun as a result of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Opportunity Task Force’s “Leading on Opportunity” report, which recommended a variety of services to address teen crime, health and academic success.

The LEVEL UP program hosts activities at branch YMCA sites in low-income areas on weekend evenings and during the summer, during which volunteers from several youth nonprofits provide mentoring services, classes, and recreational activities. Additional opportunities include interacting with police officers, tutoring, and becoming part of longer-term mentoring and educational programs.

During 2017, LEVEL UP provided services to just over 1,000 teens and utilized 330 volunteers. A large majority of the teens were low-income African-Americans, and a majority were boys between the ages of 14-18. The program is gearing up for 2018 and has a goal of enrolling 1,500 teens and garnering 400 volunteers. The number of sites and activities will be expanded as well. Goals have been set for the teens to perform better in school, enroll in higher education, and show improvements in self-confidence.

3.  Smart District/North End Infrastructure
Charlotte is working to bring greater prosperity to its North End neighborhood, which is mostly African-American and low-income, through an innovative community engagement strategy aimed at connecting the area’s residents to technology and job opportunities that will improve their well-being. Residents’ ideas will be sought in four areas:

• Smart Homes,
• Healthy Communities,
• Job training for jobs in technology, and a
• “Build your own project” category aimed at miscellaneous innovations.

Many residents in the North End do not have access to the same infrastructure or amenities as other residents in other parts of the city. This project, dubbed the North End Smart District, is aimed at improving the health and economic well-being of people in the area by facilitating resident-driven initiatives to improve access to technology and to adopt environmentally sustainable practices.

A companion project will improve the physical infrastructure of the North End to make it more attractive as a location for high technology employers and as a place to live. The Applied Innovation Corridor Project partners with academic institutions to bring new businesses to the area. Extension of light rail and redevelopment of a housing district will make the area more accessible and attractive, while maintaining affordability for the existing population.

Additional Resources

• Charlotte, North Carolina, 2018 AAC Award video presentation
• 2018 AAC Award presentation photo gallery

Meet the Manager

Marcus D. Jones

City Manager

Marcus Jones began his role as city manager of Charlotte on Dec. 1, 2016. Before moving to Charlotte, Marcus served as the city manager of ​Norfolk, Virginia, a role he began in February 2011 after serving the city from 2004-2009 as the director of budget and grants management and as an assistant city manager. As the city manager of the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, he helped Norfolk build on its competitive advantages as the urban core of a region of more than 1.7 million people. Marcus has 23 years of public service experience, which includes serving as a deputy secretary of finance for two governors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In each case, he played a major role in protecting the Commonwealth’s coveted AAA bond rating and streamlining government operations. He has experience managing complex budgets ranging from $1.2 billion (local) to $50 billion (state). While serving with the state government, Marcus gained a strong reputation for his ability to negotiate complex financial and legislative issues across party lines. Marcus earned his bachelor's degree in public administration from James Madison University and an MPA from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Excerpted from the Charlotte, N.C., website: http://charlottenc.gov/CityManager/AboutUs/Pages/City-Manager-Marcus-D-Jones.aspx

ICMA University + The League of Women in Government Symposium

Join your colleagues from across the nation for the 3rd Annual ICMA University + League of Women in Government Symposium. 

DATE:

Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM (Eastern)

WHERE:

Baltimore, MD in conjunction with the ICMA Annual Conference – Room TBD

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

This year’s keynote speaker will be Joanne Lipman, bestselling author of That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together. One of the nation’s most prominent journalists, she most recently was Chief Content Officer of Gannett, and Editor in Chief USA TODAY and the USA TODAY NETWORK, comprising the flagship title and 109 other news organizations including the Detroit Free Press, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Arizona Republic. In that role, she oversaw more than 3,000 journalists and led the organization to three Pulitzer Prizes plus an additional three Pulitzer finalists.  

Ms. Lipman began her career as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, ultimately rising to Deputy Managing Editor, creating Weekend Journal and Personal Journal, and supervising coverage that earned three Pulitzer Prizes. New York Times media columnist David Carr described her as the Journal’s “innovator-in-chief.” She subsequently was founding Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast Portfolio and Portfolio.com, which won National Magazine and Loeb Awards. She is a frequent television commentator, seen on CNN, NBC, CNBC, and CBS, among others, and her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Time, Newsweek and Harvard Business Review. She is also co-author of the critically acclaimed musical memoir Strings Attached.

OPENING SPEAKER:

Fran Mainella will be this year’s Symposium opening speaker. Director Mainella served nearly six years as the 16th Director and the first woman to lead the U.S. National Park Services. Prior to that, she served twelve years as Director of Florida’s State Parks, which were awarded the Gold Medal Award, recognizing Florida as the best state park system in the country.

Ms. Mainella has also served as executive director of the Florida Recreation and Park Association and as president of both the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association of State Park Directors. Today she leads her own consulting firm and will be speaking about Reaching the Summit through the 3 C’s: Courage, Communication, Connection.

CLOSING SPEAKER: 

The League is excited to announce that in addition to  Joanne Lipman and Fran Mainella, Angelica Wedell, National Research Center, Inc. Marketing Director will be presenting survey data highlights on the perspectives of local government employees across the U.S. Angelica will be answering the important question, Do women see the local government workplace differently from their male colleagues?

As the profession seeks to promote healthier organizations that equally provide job satisfaction and opportunities for advancement, this is a question we must ask. Fortunately, the answers are not beyond the reach of public sector leaders. Angelica will share findings on how women and men rate key aspects of municipal work-life. Join us at the symposium to see how these genders rate the workplace differently, or the same. And may these data inspire ideas and strategies to move your own municipal organization forward.

Mark your calendars and make your travel plans to arrive in Baltimore early for this not-to-miss event! You won’t want to miss this fantastic presentation! Seats are only $25 and will sell out quickly.

Get your ticket today:

To register for the Symposium you may complete your Symposium ticketing online through the ICMA Annual Conference Registration process. Look for the Symposium under the “ICMA UNIVERSITY WORKSHOPS” section in the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM WHICH MAY BE FOUND HERE.

If you have already registered, adding the symposium ticket is quick and easy. Simply log into your icma.org account and visit “My ICMA.” Click “My Events” to view your registration to the 2018 Annual Conference, then click the orange “Add Session” button to purchase additional tickets.  

Hope to see you in Baltimore!