NEW ORLEANS — Current and former City of New Orleans employees were recognized Thursday, May 12, 2016, for their service by the Bureau of Governmental Research at its 2016 Excellence Governmental Research Awards luncheon ceremony.
Ava Rogers, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Operations, and Snapper Poche, Deputy Director for Strategy and Planning of Code Enforcement, were awarded Excellence in Government Awards. Former Performance Analyst for the Office of Performance and Accountability Dylan Knaggs also received an Excellence in Government Award.
The awards recognize outstanding performance, innovation, creativity and dedication in local government, BGR reps said. Rogers, Poche and Knaggs were recognized for their innovation and leadership in developing the Code Enforcement Abatement Tool for the City of New Orleans.
The tool was born out of a need to reduce a backlog of more than 1,500 blighted properties that were awaiting determination to be auctioned or demolished, BGR reps said. Rogers, Poche and Knaggs worked together to develop a solution without compromising the consistency of the decision-making process to determine the demolition or auction of blighted property.
BGR reps said Rogers recognized that each case was reviewed by a single person, causing a bottleneck in the rate demolition and auction decisions.
To develop a solution, Poche devised a system in which each property is scored on 10 criteria, such as the severity of blight, the historical character of the home and the strength of the real estate market where the property is located. Code enforcement staffers scored each property on the 10 criteria and recommended whether the structure should be demolished or auctioned.
Knaggs worked to find an algorithm that would accurately predict the staffers’ recommendations based on how they scored the property on the criteria. Based on how the staffers scored a property, the ranking of the criteria would create a recommendation to a senior decision maker to either demolish or auction a blighted property. The analytics company Enigma provided valuable pro bono technical assistance in the development of the algorithm.
Within three months, the tool allowed the City to eliminate the backlog of blighted properties, all while enhancing the rigor, consistency and transparency of those decisions. The Bureau recognized this as an innovative model by which other offices should use to improve their efficiency and consistency in government.
The Code Enforcement Abatement Tool project is an example of the City’s NOLAlytics initiative, which aims to apply the tools of data science and data analytics to make New Orleans public services more strategic and effective, BGR reps said.
Since 2013, Rogers has served as the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Operations. In her role, Rogers oversees the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, Department of Safety and Permits, Taxicab & For Hire Bureau, Historic Landmarks Commission, Vieux Carre Commission, Department of Sanitation, Department of Parks and Parkways, One Stop Shop for Licenses and Permits and Department of Code Enforcement.
Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin said, “Not only has Ava brought integrity and credibility to the City’s Chief Administrative Office, but she has produced tremendous results in her work with advancing blight reduction in the city and working with the Office of Performance and Accountability to increase transparency. I am happy to congratulate Ava on her award.”
In his role as Senior Performance Manager for the Office of Performance and Accountability, Poche was responsible for leading the tool’s development for the City. Poche is currently the Deputy Director for Strategy and Planning of Code Enforcement for the City.
In his role as performance analyst for the Office of Performance and Accountability, Knaggs worked with Poche in the analyzation of the Code Enforcement Abatement Tool. He no longer works for the City.
Oliver Wise, Director of the Office of Performance and Accountability, said, “I am proud to congratulate Snapper and Dylan on their work. Snapper and Dylan applied modern analytics to solve a problem that will result in improved quality of life for New Orleanians. Their innovation in the development of the Code Enforcement Abatement Tool is remarkable and can be a model for other cities.
For more information about the City’s Office of Performance and Accountability click here.
