Charles McNeely (Class of 1975) - 2006 Edwin O. Stene Award for Managerial Excellence

Reno City Manager Charles McNeely (KUMPA 1975) is an outstanding local government administrator whose leadership over the past ten years has changed the corporate culture inside Reno City Hall as well as the perception of Reno city government by the citizens it serves.  Charles has played a key role in changing the face of downtown Reno as well as the skyline of the “Biggest Little City in the World.”  His leadership over the largest public works project in Northern Nevada history resulted in keeping Project ReTRAC, as it’s called, on time and under budget.  He has also been a driving force in finding solutions to long-standing problems in the Reno community, such as homelessness and he has helped better the quality of life in Reno by offering citizens more outdoor and recreational facilities as well as fostering art and culture.  During his tenure, Charles has enhanced the effectiveness of local elected officials and has consistently initiated numerous creative and successful programs. He has stayed committed to bettering the future of local government by developing a younger generation of leaders. We ask that you consider his nomination for the Stene Award for Managerial Excellence.

Charles took the helm in 1996 during a time of political and economic change.  At the time, Reno city government was viewed by its citizens as inept, ineffective and inefficient.  Charles changed that perception in several ways.  First, he focused on employees implementing a program called “Building a Better Reno.” It was a sweeping reinvention of Reno city government and services with a brand new emphasis on customer service. Systems deemed too bureaucratic or not customer-friendly
were identified and changed.  Employees received new training and customer service became a key component in employee performance evaluations.

He also recognized good employees were the key to realizing the vision, “Building a Better Reno.”  He elevated employee morale and their commitment to this vision by establishing a pay-for-performance system, the creation of employee recognition and innovation awards, enhanced and proactive training opportunities, as well as the establishment of a liberal tuition reimbursement program for continuing education.           

Employees weren’t his only focus.  Charles recognized the need to stay in front of organizational and financial issues.  “Building a Better Reno” also included the establishment of the Office of Organizational Effectiveness which instituted long-range financial planning for the city withdrawing the city from a reactive, crisis management mode to a proactive, well thought out, strategic approach to management. .

With the internal issues being addressed, Charles also placed new emphasis on community outreach.  He rebuffed a “top down” approach to addressing neighborhood and business concerns and focused on citizen-centered solutions by establishing Neighborhood Advisory Boards.  These boards quickly became very effective tools for opening lines of communication and encouraging public participation.  The boards allow neighbors to get involved in the planning of services and programs.  They also encourage community-based problem solving and forge neighborhood partnerships for joint community projects.

Charles's commitment to community outreach served as the impetus to his creation of the Office of Community Relations as a division of the City Manager's Office.  This change highlighted the priority and importance placed on communicating to the community about the city's mission, vision, services and programs.

In 2003, under the leadership of Charles and with the approval of the Reno City Council, the Office of Community Relations implemented a Citizen Service Center called Reno DIRECT.  Thiscentralized call center focused on responsiveness and accountability in responding to citizen requests for service and information.  Reno DIRECT uses an innovative citizen request management system operated by five employees in the actual call center and is supplemented by staff from other departments.  It was created with no new budget allocations or additional employees.

The Reno DIRECT call center is so successful another new service that utilizes new technology is being added this year.  It’s called, Reno CONNECT.  The technology allows citizens to receive the latest news, information and announcements from the City through email, telephone, cell phone or fax machine.  Citizens sign up for the service on-line and choose how they wish to receive information. 

All of these internal and external changes have created new confidence in Reno city government and have spurred new interest and new investment in Reno redevelopment.  Under McNeely’s leadership, the City has experienced an unprecedented success in the downtown core with more than $1 billion in private and public investments including hotels, retail space, entertainment, and transportation projects. In the last six years, the City’s Redevelopment Agency has been successful in creating a river walk arts and entertainment district with a movie theater ranked in the top 25% grossing theaters nationally, numerous and diverse restaurant venues and eateries, market-rate condominium projects with multi-use retail and a multi-million dollar downtown events center.  

Charles’ successes extend beyond buildings and new development.  During his tenure, Reno has seen 19 additional parks, including the Truckee River Whitewater Park. This Kayak course, in the middle of downtown Reno, brought 32,000 people to the river last summer.  Because of this course, there is now a River Festival.  Charles has also focused his energy on art and culture. He was instrumental in the creation of a new arts district in downtown Reno.  His leadership aided in the renovation of a landmark building called the “Riverside Casino” creating the “Riverside artist lofts” which provides a place for local artists to live and show off their work.  Under his guidance, Reno’s month-long celebration of art and culture during the month of July, called “Artown,” continues to grow and thrive.  His support of the arts has created a “can do” atmosphere that has led to a brand new Nevada Museum of Art downtown and work is now underway to build a Children’s “Discovery” Museum too.