When Gary Behler took office as Hamilton County’s Juvenile Court Clerk in 2010, he was literally knee deep in paperwork.
“When I walked into that office, there was paper stacked everywhere,” he said.
The office was required to keep all records, but Behler wanted to streamline recordkeeping and improve customer service by digitizing the files.
Soon after he was elected, Behler attended his first County Officials Orientation Program (COOP) offered by the UT Institute for Public Service’s County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS).
He got a crash course in government service and began networking with other court clerks. He also got acquainted with CTAS and enlisted its experts to help him understand the legalities of digitizing records.
“When you are elected to an office, it’s kind of like drinking from a fire hydrant,” Behler said. “Attending COOP training gave us a good foundation.”
Over the course of 18 months, Behler’s office digitized more than 3 million pages of records. Now, 14 years later, they’ve digitized 9 million pages and lead the state in digitized recordkeeping.
At the same time, Behler—now past president of the Tennessee State Court Clerk Association—set out to improve his office’s overall customer service. He brought in a Chick-fil-A regional manager to share tips about that franchise’s culture of excellent customer service.
Digitized recordkeeping and a renewed emphasis on customer service was “a major paradigm shift,” he said. “But it revolutionized how we do business.”
For years, IPS agencies have offered training opportunities to help state and municipal officials like Behler get off to a strong start and do their jobs better. Among those: COOP and mini-COOP sessions; the Naifeh Center for Effective Leadership (NCEL)’s newly launched training program for Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) employees; and NCEL’s, in partnership with the Howard Baker School of Public Policy, three-day Tennessee Legislative Leaders Academy for newly elected state legislators.
County Officials Orientation Program
By attending COOP and mini-COOP sessions, newly elected and re-elected county officials—including mayors, highway department officials, county commissioners, county clerks, clerks of court, registers of deeds, trustees, county officials and property assessors—learn about county offices and authority, oaths and bonds, personnel issues, ethics, conflicts of interest, open meetings and records.
Morgan County Highway Department Chief Administrative Officer Joe Miller went to his first COOP in 2014, after he was first elected.
“It was a massive help,” he said.
Over the years, Miller has continued to attend training sessions and is pleased to play the role of mentor. He recently worked with CTAS and other agencies to host a statewide Highway Administrative Assistants Training Day in Wartburg.
Erinne Hester became Montgomery County property assessor in 2013 after serving as the county’s director of accounts and budgets.
“As the director of accounts and budgets, I worked with all county offices and departments. However, it was the COOP program that helped educate me as to what functions these offices serve within the local government.
“By educating ourselves and our teams on how other offices fit into the flow of government, we can better serve our public.”
Hester said she’s a huge fan of IPS and the training it offers.
“People are more satisfied when they know their employer values them enough to help them grow. And it’s simply more fun to go to work and know you have the skills to help your customers.”
DCS Caseworker Training
Through the NCEL’s newest training program, 60 child welfare specialists are attending monthly classes in Jackson, Nashville and Knoxville to learn more about topics such as crisis de-escalation, civility, respect and engagement, and teambuilding. Participants also must complete a capstone project aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness in their departments.
Tara Torbett-McNelley, a 20-year DCS employee based in Athens, Tennessee, is part of the Knoxville class that will continue through March 2025.
As team coordinator in the Office of Child Safety Family Protection and Preservation, she supervises seven team leaders who oversee 32 case managers who investigate child abuse and neglect.
Through a self-assessment she took during the training, “I have learned I am more optimistic than I give myself credit for, and I am fierce when it comes to advocating for my employees and the families we serve,” Torbett-McNelley said. “It helped re-enforce some traits I already knew I had and gave me insight on how to harness them to do more.”
Her capstone project will focus on improving case management efficiency by using paperless programs.
“We have been beta testing this program for over a year, and the data has shown marked areas of improvement for the pilot participants,” she said.
Tennessee Legislative Leaders Academy
State Rep. Michael Hale (R-Smithville) was elected to represent the 40th District in Middle Tennessee in November 2022 and attended the Tennessee Legislative Leaders Academy in January 2023. He’s one of more than 100 members of the Tennessee House and Senate who have participated in the academy over the past 16 years.
Academy participants hear from nationally renowned speakers on topics such as transitioning from campaigning to governing, state budgeting, economic development trends, and education and health care financing. Former governors and state legislators share their personal experiences in a roundtable discussion about civility and the importance of positive, working relationships.
“Not knowing what I was truly going into, the academy was a great help,” Hale said. “From previous legislators discussing dos and don’ts to in-depth discussions, the academy was a real help in providing insight into what we were about to undertake.”
