from the Chicago Dispatcher
September 2009
As of July 1, Mr. Javier Ortiz became the Deputy Commissioner of Public Vehicles, taking the place of Shellie Riedle who was promoted to First Deputy of the newly formed Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (DBACP). The DBACP is a combination of the former Department of Consumer Services and the Department of Business Affairs & Licensing. Commissioner Norma Reyes who was the commissioner of Consumer Services is the commissioner of the DBACP.
Mr. Ortiz has worked for the city of Chicago since 1990, starting with the Health Department as a sanitary and health inspector. He was with the Health Department until December 1994 when he took a position as Consumer Investigator with the Department of Consumer Services.
According to Mr. Ortiz, Commissioner Reyes asked him to help run Public Vehicles a few months ago after the merger between Consumer Services and Business Affairs & Licensing. Mr. Ortiz said, “The restructuring allowed me to take this role. It has been a learning experience but I like the challenges so far. I think it will work out well.”
Commissioner Reyes said Mr. Ortiz was the right person for the position because he has a strong operations background and is proactive in making positive changes.
Mr. Ortiz said the biggest challenge he faces is the nature of the operational demands in trying to “be fair and responsible to all parties involved” and to “try to find that balance.” It's especially challenging with the current struggling economy. Mr. Ortiz is aware of the hardships out there. A few members of his own family have lost their jobs.
Like any other working group, Mr. Ortiz understands that drivers have to support families. At the same time, the city has rules they have to follow. As an example, Mr. Ortiz said that “a few drivers are asking for extensions.” But the city also has to consider the condition of the vehicle for safety purposes. “You have to be fair but you have to balance that with the laws.”
But now, largely because of the economy, Mr. Ortiz said a lot of drivers are falling behind with money they owe to the city for things like parking tickets or water bills. Mr. Ortiz said, “It's hard. We do what we can to help.” For example, Mr. Ortiz said they've helped put some drivers on payment plans. Mr. Ortiz is aware that he's making decisions that affect people's livelihoods and says that Commissioner Reyes and Shellie Riedle will be involved and “hopefully we will do the right thing.”
One of Mr. Ortiz's goals is to make the Ogden facility more customer friendly. To develop an intimate understanding of the operations of the facility, he is learning the functions of each job in his department by spending time performing these jobs himself. Drivers might discover Mr. Ortiz working behind the counter one day or checking in drivers in the reception area the next. Mr. Ortiz doesn't want “to tell someone how to do their job if I don't know how to do the job.”
As he works each station, Mr. Ortiz will evaluate the processes and if he thinks an improvement can be made he will ask “why do we do it this way?” In some cases there might be a valid reason a process is done a certain way and in other cases there may room for improvement.
Mr. Ortiz will also evaluate processes from a driver's perspective right down to the test people take to become taxi drivers. He plans to evaluate the test to become a taxi driver by taking it himself. If drivers aren't passing, Mr. Ortiz wants to know why. Is the test fair? Are there cultural reasons some may not be passing?
About Mr. Javier Ortiz
Mr. Ortiz was born in Mexico and lived in Jalisco, Encarnacion De Diaz (La Chona) until 1971 when he was six years old, at which time he moved with his family to Chicago. He was graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988. He and his wife Xochitl have two children, Sebastian and Ariel.
