Dear CDPS members,
As 2017 draws to a close, I'd like to thank you for all that you have done to make Colorado a safer and more resilient state.
I hope you all received and enjoyed the video "greeting cards" I sent out to your offices. This was something new that we thought we'd try, and I welcome your feedback.
In January, we will release an online Year in Review to celebrate your hard work and accomplishments.
I look forward to all that 2018 has to bring. Have a safe and happy New Year.
--Stan Hilkey
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Policy Update
Calendar
- New Year's Holiday* - 1/1
- Swearing in of new CBI Director - 1/3
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday* - 1/15
*
Please remember to request holiday leave in Kronos if you take these days off.
LSI Applications Open in January
In mid-January, CDPS employees will be invited to apply for the third Leadership Strategies Institute (LSI). The deadline to submit applications will be in early February.
The LSI is an ongoing effort initiated and supported by CDPS leadership to engage CDPS employees and create a culture of collaboration, communication and innovation.
The first cohort of the Institute focused on employee engagement and creating alignment of mission, vision and values. The second cohort is delving into employee engagement.
The third year of the Institute will launch in May 2018 with a focus on organizational resiliency.
Keep an eye out for more information in the New Year! In the meantime, you can find out more about the LSI on the
LSI website.
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Update on Travel Cards
CDPS has been examining travel card options and processes in order to reduce financial risk, comply with state fiscal rule, eliminate credit card delinquency, save money, and be accountable to the taxpayers whose hard-earned dollars we are spending.
Commercial Card and Procurement staff have worked diligently to incorporate your input and listen to your concerns and needs. This includes several live meetings, e-mail communications, phone calls, and a
CDPS-wide survey.
OUTCOME: YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR TRAVEL CARD UNTIL 2019
The majority (62%) of CDPS respondents said they would prefer to have a centrally billed travel card; however, a significant minority strongly favors the Individual Travel Card. Therefore, we have decided to offer CDPS employees the choice of one or the other. This choice will go away in 2019, when it is anticipated that the entire State of Colorado government will move to a “One-Card” system.
Employees must notify Procurement by Jan. 16, 2018, if they wish to switch cards.
Procurement sent out an email to all CDPS employees on Dec. 13. If you missed the email, you can
read it here.
For more information, please contact
cdps_commercial_cards@state.co.us.
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Governor Hickenlooper Swears in new Chief of Colorado State Patrol
On Dec. 19, 2017, CDPS Executive Director Stan Hilkey appointed Matthew Packard as Colonel and Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper presided over the swearing in of Chief Packard on the steps of the State Capitol, and then retiring Chief Scott Hernandez formally passed the CSP flag on to Col. Packard. Please join us in congratulating Col. Packard and thanking Col. Hernandez for his 30 years of dedicated service.
Watch Chief Packard's remarks in the video below.
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Help CDPS Meet its Charitable Giving Goal!
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As the year comes to a close, we want to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who made this year's Colorado Combined Campaign a huge success! As of last week, 111 CDPS employees have contributed to the campaign and pledged a grand total of $32,732.
Our goal for the 2017 campaign is to raise $33,000, and we still have a short window of time to meet this goal! We only need five employees to commit to donating $5 per month in order to meet our goal. The campaign doesn't end until December 31, so please consider signing up to
donate online (no registration required) or by filling out a
paper pledge form that you can email to germaine.miera@state.co.us.
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Logistics Teams Tell Their Stories...Using Gingerbread and Creativity!
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On Dec. 21, members of the Logistics Services Section faced off in a friendly competition that built camaraderie, fostered understanding of their roles, and spread holiday cheer...using gingerbread house kits and the creative use of spare parts.
Each Logistics team competed to build the best gingerbread representation of what they do for CDPS and the citizens of Colorado. Workers who typically find themselves under the hood of a patrol car, organizing supplies in a warehouse, and customizing fire trucks for local fire agencies tapped into their creative side to compete in the holiday-themed challenge.
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Colorado Sends Support to Fight California Wildfires
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As fires raged in southern California, DFPC and DHSEM responded to the call for help by mobilizing local resources to aid in the massive response.
On Dec. 5, California submitted a request for assistance through the National Interagency Resource Ordering and Status System (ROSS). Colorado sent 17 fire engines (Type 3 and 6) to Chino, CA, to support the wildfire operations. The engines and staff came from at least 16 different agencies.
DFPC also sent one of its two Multi-Mission Aircraft to provide detection and near-real-time information to ground forces.
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DCJ Analyst Co-Publishes Journal Article on Lessons Learned About Marijuana
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DCJ Researcher and Analyst Jack Reed collaborated with colleagues at CDPHE on an article in the peer-reviewed journal, Preventive Medicine, that was recently published.
"
Lessons learned after three years of legalized, recreational marijuana: The Colorado experience" presents key takeaways gleaned from the first three years following legal sales of recreational marijuana. The lessons pertain to health behaviors and health outcomes, as well as to health policy issues, and are based on research and data analysis.
The publication aims to share these lessons with other states as they face the prospect of recreational marijuana legalization.
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DHSEM Partners with Uber on Holiday Safety Campaign
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Uber and the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC) are partnering this holiday season for community safety. Uber created a program that is growing across the U.S. The program involves Uber providing their Uber drivers with information about how to report suspicious activity to the state fusion center during peak holiday travel times. The Colorado program will run from December 26-31, 2017.
Uber creates a contact card for Denver Uber drivers that includes both the phone number and email that DHSEM publically pushes for suspicious reporting in Colorado:
http://report.ciac.co.gov/ and 877-509-2422. Reports submitted online or via the phone number go to the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC).
Uber is currently partnering with other fusion centers including Las Vegas.
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Center of Excellence Helps CDOT Establish Unmanned Aerial Systems Program
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Members of DFPC's Center of Excellence (CoE) are providing expert advice, hands-on demos, and usage ideas to help CDOT establish an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) program.
DFPC's Bob Gann and Garrett Seddon provided CDOT program representatives with an unbiased assessment of whether integrating UAS into CDOT operations would add value. CoE staff also conducted a ride-along with a CDOT maintenance crew out of Grand Junction to identify ways the technology could increase safety and efficiency with daily tasks. They used the UAS to map areas, conduct inspections, and provide situational awareness. They also conducted a December ride-along with a CDOT Fiber team in Golden.
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25 Members to Represent CDPS in Colorado Talent Challenge
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You may know that CDPS has a “Green Team” focused on reducing environmental impacts and increasing energy efficiency, and soon the Department will also have a “Lean Team” focused on reducing procedural waste and increasing organizational efficiency through the application of Lean methodology.
Lean is a process improvement tool that increases the value to the customer by reducing waste. According to the Lean Enterprise Institute, “a lean organization understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it.”
In 2018, approximately 25 CDPS employees from all divisions will participate in the Colorado Talent Challenge and will gain skills in Lean and other process improvement strategies.
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CDPS Shines in Better-Government Effort to Cut Red Tape
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Governor Hickenlooper's administration has prioritized good customer service, including identifying and eliminating regulatory inefficiencies in state government. Thanks to efforts like "
Pits & Peeves"
and "
Cut the Burden," agencies have reviewed over 24,000 state regulatory rules -- 92 percent of all state agency rules! Of those, more than 6,500 have been modified and more than 4,500 have been eliminated.
CDPS has participated in these good-government efforts to great success. In fact, the State Patrol's decision to repeal surge brakes rules and incorporate them into the overall commercial motor vehicle rules was highlighted
as the No. 1 burden-cutting rule repeal or amendment! (See page 17 of the
Pits and Peeves report)
DFPC also garnered recognition for reducing the average time it takes to certify firefighters by 100 days.
Current CDPS regulatory reform projects include:
- 2017 - DFPC is using their records management system to automate the registration and certification process for fire suppression contractors and sprinkler fitters.
- 2018 - CSP is evaluating ways to put application and/or registration forms online.
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State Patrol Honored by Colorado Peers for Social Media Excellence
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The Emergency Services Public Information Officers of Colorado (ESPIOC), a statewide association of PIOs, honored the Colorado State Patrol on Dec. 14 for excellence in the use of Social Media.
The State Patrol's Public Affairs team won the 2017 award for Best Use of Digital Media by a PIO/Organization. Trooper Josh Lewis accepted the award.
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Snapshots: Holiday Spirit
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Deputy Director Bec Spiess and EDO leadership team members hand-crafted a lovely holiday village featuring personalized wooden people representing all of the employees of the EDO. The gesture spread holiday cheer "from our family to yours."
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Members of the Colorado State Patrol helped raise funds and delivered toys to children spending their holidays at Children's Hospital. This is the 8th year that Daniel Alvarado has organized a charitable drive in honor of his brother.
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All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Less Effective Employee
Various experts on organizational excellence and efficiency recognize that, while we must focus on results in order to achieve them, there's also an enormous benefit to making room for play.
What do we mean by play?
Edward M. Hollowell in "Shine" defines it as "...any activity in which the imagination gets involved. So defined, it constitutes the most advanced, productive activity the human brain can engage in." He goes on to add: "When workers seem dull or apathetic, it is usually not because they are innately dull or apathetic. It is usually because play is missing from their work and they are not engaged in creative problem solving."
This month's issue contains several examples of moments where CDPS members took a moment to play -- from
building gingerbread houses that represent their units, to crafting a CDPS village, to sharing safety messages in a unique way on Facebook.
Heading into the new year, think about ways you can build in opportunities for creative thinking for you and your team. It could be a fun, team-building activity; a challenge to approach problems in a new way; or setting aside a couple of hours to work on a creative project.
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Do you have ideas for news stories, events, "People on the Move", or other content to share with all CDPS employees? Submit your story ideas, details and photos by the 10th of the month to your Division PIO or to
Patricia.Billinger@state.co.us
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LIKE US ON FACEBOOK: FACEBOOK.COM/COPUBLICSAFETY
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