OVERVIEW

The City of College Park has a council-manager form of government. The City Council, as the elected leadership, is the governing body of the City. The Council appoints and directs the City Manager, who provides the management and oversight of all City services, implements policy established by the City Council, and appoints and supervises department heads. The City Manager also serves as an adviser to the City Council by providing objective feedback and long term consequences of policies under consideration.

The City Manager’s Office manages the day-to-day activities, financial affairs and administrative actions of the City, to ensure that the City is being responsive to the needs of its residents. The City Manager’s Office oversees communications and IT for the City.

CITY MANAGER
KENNY YOUNG

Kenny Young began his tenure with the City of College Park, Maryland on September 27, 2021. Mr. Young brings with him more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience in the private sector and local government across the country.

Prior to coming to the City of College Park Mr. Young served as County Administrator - Goochland County, VA, Assistant County Administrator - Loudoun County, VA, Assistant Town Administrator- Town of Capitol Heights, MD, Acting Assistant City Manager- City of North Las Vegas, NV, and other leadership roles in private and public organizations. Kenny is well-known for his expertise and experience in economic and community development and working in communities undergoing rapid growth and transformation.

Mr. Young is a Credentialed Manager from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and a member of the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, having previously served on their Executive Board. He received his master’s degree in Public Administration and bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University.

ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
BILL GARDINER

Bill Gardiner grew up in LaPlata, Maryland and attended Wake Forest University (B.A., Politics) and the University of Maryland (M.A., Urban Planning). He started his local government career as a planning / economic development intern for Terry Schum in the late 1990s! Bill has more than 10 years of experience in economic development at the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, where he was Director for Business Resource and Project Analysis. Bill was responsible for new business development, project management, research, and collaboration with M-NCPPC and the federal government.

Bill was elected Mayor of the City of Hyattsville and served for eight years. As chief executive of the City, he worked closely with City Council, staff, community organizations, and other government entities to modernize services and policies and increase investment. Bill has completed the Maryland Municipal League Academy of Leadership, and is a member of the International City/County Manager Association.

Prior to joining the City of College Park, Bill and his wife, were in Santiago, Chile, where his wife had accepted a faculty position in the School of Education of Catholic University. In Chile, Bill worked as a grant writer and editor for an international non-profit, and completed academic editing and translations for professors. He is very pleased to return to this area and have the opportunity to work with the City of College Park.

Council-Manager Form of Government

The City of College Park operates as a council-manager form of government. The council-manager form is the system of local government that combines the strong political leadership of elected officials in the form of a governing body, with the strong managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. The council-manager form establishes a representative system where all power is concentrated in the elected council and where the council hires a professionally trained manager to oversee the delivery of public services.

The Manager has a crucial role in the council-manager form of government. The manager is hired to serve the council and the community and to bring to the local government the benefits of training and experience in administering local government projects and programs on behalf of the governing body. The manager prepares a budget for the council’s consideration; recruits, hires, and supervises the government’s staff; serves as the council’s chief adviser; and carries out the council’s policies. Council members and citizens count on the manager to provide complete and objective information, the pros and cons of alternatives, and long-term consequences.

2021-2025 Strategic Plan

In February 2020, the City Council engaged Performance Breakthroughs, Inc. (PBI) to facilitate the update of our plan and assist staff in developing performance measures. COVID-19 has delayed the project, but we are on track to launch the new plan in early 2021.

Since the spring of 2020, the City has held a dozen virtual focus groups and received a couple hundred survey responses on the vision for the City and current strengths and challenges. PBI provided the City Council a briefing of the data from those meetings and outlined the process to develop the new plan. From August through November PBI led Council through developing a new vision, and mission for the plan. Several public meetings were held at The Hotel in order to meet in-person and have space to maintain social distancing.

Click here to view the final Strategic Plan Executive Summary. Click here to view the Strategic Plan Overview and Update.

The City Council discussed and ultimate adopted the following vision and mission for the City’s 2021 – 2025 strategic plan:

Mission: We provide excellent services, transparent and inclusive governance, and advocate for our residents to enhance the quality of life for our diverse community.

Vision: College Park is a vibrant forward-thinking City with a welcoming community that celebrates our history and diversity and strives for innovation, connectivity, and sustainability.

The Council’s next step was to develop Five-Year Objectives and Key Results (OKR). This OKR methodology has been used by numerous successful companies to create high performing organizations and was recommended by our consultants. The City Council met several times to develop the Five-Year OKRs and on November 17, 2020 approved this document.

City staff are developing one-year and quarterly objectives and key results that will enable the City to accomplish the five-year objectives. Staff are also evaluating different software tools to collectively monitor and update the plan. PBI has been assisting in all of these efforts and will provide the final plan for Council consideration in January 2021.

Please visit www.collegeparkmd.gov/councilmeetings view or listen to Special Council Meetings to develop the plan and to see other information related to the new plan. If you have any questions, please contact us at strategicplan@collegeparkmd.gov.

OVERVIEW

Council-Manager Form of Government

Organizational Chart

Plans & City Surveys

2021-2025 Strategic Plan

City Surveys

2015 - 2020 Strategic Plan

SUSTAINABILITY PLAN