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2002, 12-07 Orientation and Governance Coordination SeminarSpokane Valley City Council Orientation and Governance Coordination Seminar December 7, 2002 — 7 AM to 1 PM Redwood Plaza - Second Floor Conference Room Seminar Overview Stan McNutt Open to the Public 7:00 AM Call to Order and Welcome Mayor Mike DeVleming Local Government Realities Stan McNutt Council /Manager Government Stanley Schwartz, Esq., and Greg Prothman 9:00 Break 9:15 Building an Effective Team Stan McNutt Working as an Effective Team Stan McNutt The "Out of Body" Experience Stan McNutt The Governance Coordination Manual Stan McNutt 1 Break Budgeting Basics Greg Prothman Final Sage Advice Lee Walton and Stan McNutt 1:00 PM Adjournment Mayor Mike DeVleming City of Spokane Valley 7:00)-■m ' Call to Order and Welcome Mayor Mike .DeVleming 6:m161/Manager Government : Understanding the system ` Stan Schwartz. & .Greg ; Seminar O•ervieVv' Stan • Local Government Realities 4.11 of them fences! • Stan : - ... 9:00 Break 9:15 Building an Effective team Policy makers are the key! Stan Working as an Effective ,team The do's and don'ts of "Best Practices Stan The "Out of Body" Experience Twilight Zone anyone? Stan The Governance Coordination Manual Documenting Success! S'tati 11:00 Break Budgeting Basics Greg • Final Sage Advice Lee and Stan 1:00PM Adjournment Mayor !dike De V7eming Prothman C O .M P A N Y Seminar Agenda 7:00 AM 1:00 PM Dec. 7, 2002 7.71e foundation forgood policy �Ivoiding th.e pit falls Page 2 CITY OF SEQL11M RLSOLLTFION NO. 2001-003 REVISED CODE of WASHINGTON Title 35A RCW OPTIONAL MUNICIPAL CODE Chapter 35A.13 RCW COUNCIL- MANAGER PLAN OF GOVERNMENT Cha ltcr RCW COUNCIL - MANAGER PLAT` OF GOVERNMENT 35A.13 .010 City ofcers --Size of council. 35A.1 Election of councilmen—Eligibility—Terms—Vacancies—Forfeiture of office—Council chairman. 35A.13.030 Mayor—Election—Chairman to be mayor—Duties. 35A.13.033 Election on proposition to designate person elected to position one as chairman -- Subsequent holders of position one to be chairman. 35A_13.035 Mayor pro tempore or deputy mayor. 35A.13.040 Compensation of councilmen -- Expenses. 35A.13.050 City manager -- Qualifications. 35A.13.060 City manager may serve two or more cities. 35A.13.070 City manager —Bond and oath. 35A13.080 City manager--Powers and duties. 35A.13.090 Crmtion of departments, offices, and employment -- Compensation, 35A.13.100 City manager—Department heads -- Authority. 35A.13.110 City manager -- Appointment of subordinates -- Qualifications -- Terms. 35A.13.120 City manager -- Interference by council members. 35A.13.130 City manager -- Removal -- Resolution and notice. 35A.1.3,140 City manager -- Removal- -Reply and hearing. 3 5A 13.150 City manager— Substitute. 35A13.160 Oath and bond of officers. 35A.13.170 Council meetings— Quorum— Rules -- Voting. 35A 13.180 Adoption of codes by reference. 38 CITY OF SEQUIN' RESOLUTION NO. 2001-003 35A.13.190 Ordinances—Style—Requisites—Veto. 35A.13.200 Authentication, rewording and publicatian of ordinances. 35A.13.210 Audit and allowance of demands against city. 35A. Optional division of city into wards_ 35A.13.230 Powers of council. RCW 35..13.010 City officers-Size of council. The council members shall be the only elective officers of a code city electing to adopt the council- manager plan of government authorized by this chapter, except where statutes provide for an elective municipal judge. The council shall appoint an officer whose title shall be "city manager" who shall be the chief executive officer and head of the administrative branch of the city government. The city manager shall be responsible to the council for the proper administration of all affairs of the code city. The council of a noncharter code city having less than twenty-five hundred inhabitants shall consist of five members; when there are twenty-five hundred or more inhabitants the council shall consist of seven members: PROVIDED, That if the population of a city after having become a code city decreases from twenty -five hundred or more to less than twenty -five hundred, it shall continue to have a seven member council. If, after a city has become a council - manager code city its population increases to twenty -five hundred or more inhabitants, the number of councilmanic offices in such city may increase from five to seven members upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the existing council to increase the number of councilmanic offices in the city. When the population of a council- manager code city having five councilmanic offices increases to five thousand or more inhabitants, the number of councilmanic offices in the city shall increase from five to seven members. In the event of an increase in the number of councilmanic offices, the city council shall, by majority vote, pursuant to RCW 35A.13,020, appoint two persons to serve in these offices until the next municipal general election, at which election one person shall be elected for a two -year term and one person shall be elected for a four -year term. The number of inhabitants shall be determined by the most recent official state 'or federal census or determination by the state office of financial management. A charter adopted under the provisions of this title, incorporating the council- manager plan of government set forth in this chapter may provide for an uneven number of councilmembers not exceeding eleven. A noncharter code city of less than five thousand inhabitants which has elected the council- manager plan of government and which has seven councilmanic offices may establish a five - member council in accordance with the following procedure. At least six months prior to a municipal general election, the city council shall adopt an ordinance providing for reduction in the number of councilmanic offices to five. The ordinance shall specify which two councilmanic offices, the terms of which expire at the next general election, are to be terminated. The ordinance shall provide for the renumbering of council positions and shall also provide for a two -year extension of the term of office of a retained councilmanic office, if necessary, in order to comply with RCW 35A,12.040. 39 CITY OF sEQLJrM RESOL IJ 1ON NO. 2001-003 However, a noncharter code city that has retained its old council- manager plan of government, as provided in RCW 35A.02.130, is subject to the laws applicable to that old plan of government. [1994 c 223 § 35; 1994 c 81 § 72; 1987 c 3 § 16; 1985 c 106 § 2; 1983 c 128 § 2; 1979 ex.s. c 18 § 24; 1979 c 151 § 34; 1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.010.] Notes: Severability -1987 c 3: See note following RCW 3.46 020. Severability -1979 ex.s. c 18: Sec note following RCW 35A.01.070. Population determinations, office offinancial management Chapter 43.62 RCW. RCW 35A.13.020 Election of councilmen — Eligibility — Terms— Vacancies— Forfeiture of office — Council chairman. In council- manager code cities, eligibility for election to the council, the manner of electing councilmen, the numbering of council positions, the terms of councilmen, the occurrence and the filling of vacancies, the grounds for forfeiture of office, and appointment of a mayor pro tempore or deputy, mayor or councilman pro tempore shall be governed by the corresponding provisions of RCW 35A.12.030, 35A.12.040, 35A.12.050, 35A.12,060, and 35A 12.065 relating to the council of a code city organized under the mayor- council plan, except that in council- manager cities where all council positions are at -large positions, the city council may, pursuant to RCW 35A.1.3.033, provide that the person elected to council position one shall be the council chairman and shall carry out the duties prescribed by RCW 35A.13.030. [1994 c 223 § 36; 1975 1st ex.s. c 155 § 1; 1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.020.] RCW 35A.13.030 Mayor— Election — Chairman to be mayor—Duties. Biennially at the first meeting of the new council the members thereof shall choose a chairman from among their number unless the chairman is elected pursuant to RCW 35A.13.033. The chairman of the council shall have the title of mayor and shall preside at meetings of the council. In addition to the powers conferred upon him as mayor, he shall continue to have all the rights, privileges, and immunities of a member of the council. The mayor shall be recognized as the head of the city for ceremonial purposes and by the governor for purposes of military law. He shall have no regular administrative duties, but in time of public danger or emergency, if so authorized by ordinance, shall take command of the police, maintain law, and enforce order. [ 1975 1st ex.s. c 155 § 2; 1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.030.] RCW 35A.13.033 Election on proposition to designate person elected to position one as chairman — Subsequent holders of position one to be chairman. The city council of a council- manager city may by resolution place before the voters of the city, a proposition to designate the person elected to council position one as the chairman of the council with the powers and duties set forth in RCW 35A.13.030. If a majority of those voting on the proposition cast a positive vote, then at all subsequent general elections at which position one is on the ballot, the person who is elected to position one shall become the chairman upon 40 CITY OF SEQUIM taking office. [1975 1st ex.s. c 155 § 3.) RESOLUTION NO. 2001-003 RCW 35A.13.035 Mayor pro tempore or deputy mayor. Biennially at the first meeting of a new council, or periodically, the members thereof, by majority vote, may designate one of their number as mayor pro tempore or deputy mayor for such period as the council may speci to serve in the absence or temporary disability of the mayor; or, in lieu thereof, the council may, as the need may arise, appoint any qualified person to serve as mayor pro tempore in the absence or temporary disability of the mayor. In the event of the extended excused absence or disability of a councilman, the remaining members by majority vote may appoint a councilman pro tempore to serve during the absence or disability. [1969 exs. c 81 §1.) Notes: Effective date --1969 ex.s. c 81: "This 1969 amendatory act shall take effect July 1, 1969." [1969 ex.s. c 81 § 7.) RCW 35.A.13.010 Compensation of councilmen — Expenses. The salaries of the councilmen, including the mayor, shall be fixed by ordinance and may be revised from time to time by ordinance, but any increase or reduction in the compensation attaching to an office shall not become effective until the expiration of the term then being served by the incumbent: PROVIDED, That compensation of councilmen may not be increased or diminished after their election nor may the compensation of the mayor be increased or diminished after the mayor has been chosen by the council. Until councilmen of a newly- organized council- manager code city may lawfully be paid as provided by salary ordinance, such councilmen shall be entitled to compensation in the same manner and in the same amount as councilmen of such city prior to the adoption of this council- manager plan. Until a salary ordinance can be passed and become effective as to elective officers of a newly incorporated code city, the first councilmen shall be entitled to compensation as follows: In cities having less than five thousand inhabitants -- twenty dollars per meeting for not more than two meetings per month; in cities having more than five thousand but less than fifteen thousand inhabitants - -a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars per calendar month; in cities having more than fifteen thousand inhabitants - -a salary of four hundred dollars per calendar month. A councilman who is occupying the position of mayor, in addition to his salary as a councilman, shall be entitled, while serving as mayor, to an additional amount per calendar month, or portion thereof, equal to twenty -five percent of the councilmanic salary: PROVIDED, That such interim compensation shall remain in effect only until a salary ordinance is passed and becomes effective as to such officers, and the compensation provided herein shall not be construed as fixing the usual compensation of such officers. Councilmen shall receive reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of their office, or the council by ordinance may provide far a per diem allowance. Procedure for approval of claims for expenses shall be as provided by ordinance. [1979 ex.s. c 18 § 25; 1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.040.] Notes: 41 CITV OF SEQUIM Severability -1979 ex.s. c 18: See note following RCW 35A.01070. RESOLUTION NO. 2001-003 RCW 35A.13.050 City manager — Qualifications. The city manager need not be a resident at the tirne of his appointment, but shall reside in the code city after his appointment unless such residence is waived by the council. He shall be chosen by the council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his actual experience in, or his knowledge of accepted practice in respect to the duties of his office. No person elected to membership on the council shall be eligible for appointment as city manager until one year has elapsed following the expiration of the term for which he was elected. [1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.050.] RCW 35A.13.060 City manager may serve two or more cities. Whether the city manager shall devote his full time to the affairs of one code city shall be determined by the council. A city manager may serve two or more cities in that capacity at the same time. [1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.060.] RCW 35A.13.070 City manager —Bond and oath. Before entering upon the duties of his office the city manager shall take an oath or affirmation for the faithful performance of his duties and shall execute and file with the clerk of the council a bond in Favor of the code city in such sum as may be fixed by the council. The premium on such bond shall be paid by the city. [1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.070.] RCW 35A.13.080 City manager — Powers and duties. The powers and duties of the city manager shall be: (1) To have general supervision over the administrative affairs of the code city; (2) To appoint and remove at any time all department heads, officers, and employees of the code city, except members of the council, and subject to the provisions of any applicable law, rule, or regulation relating to civil service: PROVIDED, That the council may provide for the appointment by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the council, of a city planning commission, and other advisory citizens' committees, commissions, and boards advisory to the city council: PROVIDED FURTHER, That if the municipal judge of the code city is appointed, such appointment shall be made by the city manager subject to confirmation by the council, for a four year term. The council may cause an audit to be made of any department or office of the code city government and may select the persons to make it, without the advice or consent of the city manager; (3) To atte> i, all meetings of the council at which his attendance may be required by that 42 CITY OF SEQUA KESOLUTION NO. 2001-003 body; (4) To see that all laws and ordinances are faithfully executed, subject to the authority which the council may grant the mayor to maintain law and order in times of emergency; (5) To recommend for adoption by the council such measures as he may deem necessary or expedient; (6) To prepare and submit to the council such reports as may be required by that body or as he may deem it advisable to submit; (7) To keep the council fully advised of the financial condition of the code city and its future needs; (8) To prepare and submit to the council a proposed budget for the fiscal year, as required by chapter 35A.33 RCW, and to be responsible for its administration upon adoption; (9) To perform such other duties as the council may determine by ordinance or resolution. [1987 c 3 § 17; 1967 ex.s. c 1 19 § 35A.13.080.] Notes: Severability -1987 c 3: See note following RCW 3. 46,020. RCW 35A.13.090 Creation of departments, offices, and employment — Compensation. On recommendation of the city manager or upon its own action, the council may create such departments, offices, and employments as it may find necessary or advisable and may determine the powers and duties of each department or office. Compensation of appointive officers and employees may be fixed by ordinance after recommendations are made by the city manager. The appointive officers shall include a city clerk and a chief of police or other law enforcement officer. Pursuant to recommendation of the city manager, the council shall make provision for obtaining legal counsel for the city, either by appointment of a city attorney on a full time or part time basis, or by any reasonable contractual arrangement for such professional services. [1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A.13.090.] RCW 35A.13.100 City manager — Department heads — Authority. The city manager may authorize the head of a department or office responsible to him to appoint and remove subordinates in such department or office. Any officer or employee who may be appointed by the city manager, or by the head of a department or office, except one who holds his position subject to civil service, may be removed by the manager or other such appointing officer at any time subject to any applicable law, rule, or regulation relating to civil service. Subject to the provisions of RCW 35A.1.3.080 and any applicable civil service provisions, the decision of the manager or other appointing officer, shall be final and there shall 43 CITY ON SEQUEM be no appeal therefrom to any other office, body, or court whatsoever. [1967 ex_5.. c 119 §35A.13.100.1 RCW 354.1 City manager — Appointment of subordinates— ualincations -- Terns. RESOLUTION 2013 -603 Appointments made by or under the authority of the city manager shall be on the basis of ability and training or experience of the appointees in the duties which they are to perform, and shall be in compliance with provisions of any merit system applicable to such city. Residence within the code city shall not be a requirement. All such appointments shall be without definite term. [i9 7ex_s_c §.35A.13.110,J RCW 35.A.13.120 City manager— Interference by council members. Neither the council, nor any outs committees or members, shall direct the appointoienl of any person to, or his removal from, office by the city manager or any of his subordinates. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and its members shah deal with the administrative service solely through the manager and neither the counci nor any committee or member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the city manager, either publicly or privately. The provisions of this section do not prohibit the council while in open session, from fully and freely discussing with the city manager anyth"sng. pertaining to appointments and removals of city officers and employees and city affairs- [1967 ex.s. c 119 § 35A_ 13.12.0.1 44 I t is essential for effective local government that municipal officials, particularly mayors, cotincilmembers, and city managers, understand the roles of their respective offices and their inter- relationships with others. Many of the conflicts in city and town governments, as evidenced by the inquiries MRSC receives, are the result of confu- sion as to these roles and the consequent overstep- ping of the boundaries between the respective roles. Although those boundaries may, in some cases, be unclear, there is a basic structure to city and town government, whether of the mayor -coun- cil or council - manager form, from which these roles derive. Though the focus of this article is on the E mayor - council form of government, the basic principles apply equally to the council - manager form. There may be some variation in the powers and duties of mayors and councils between classes of cities; you need to be aware of the specific rules applicable to your class of city. • Like the federal and state governments, a city government's powers are distributed among three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judi- cial. The council is analogous to the state legisla- ture or the Congress; the mayor or manager, like the governor and the President, heads the execu- tive branch; and the municipal court (or the dis- trict court by contract) exercises judicial functions, although in a much more limited v ay than the state or federal courts. Under the "separation of powers doctrine." each of the three branches exer- cises certain defined powers, free from unreason- able interference by the others; yet all three branches interact with each other as part of a "checks and balances" system. The powers of these branches in city . government are" defined for the most' part by state statute. �, The council. being legislative, has the power to enact laws and policies, consistent with state law, regulating local and municipal affairs, usually through the enactment of ordinances and resolu- t solvn`g "aid °P reventing Conflicts Between Mayors and Councils ■• ur Roles by Robert R. Meinig, MRSC Legal Consultant Municipal Resetrch N ws Page 3 tions. In general, the council's authority also in- cludes the specific authority to: ► Enact a city budget. ► Define the powers, functions, and duties of city officers and employees. • Fix the compensation of officers and em- ployees. • Establish the working conditions of officers and employees. ► Maintain retirement and pension systems. • Impose fines and penalties for violation of city ordinances. ► Enter into contracts. • Regulate the acquisition, sale, ownership, and other disposition of real property. ► Provide governmental, recreational, educa- tional. cultural, and social services. • ► Impose taxes, if not prohibited by state law. ► Cause the city to own and operate utilities. ► Approve claims against the city. ► Grant franchises for the use of public ways. ► License, for the purpose of revenue and regulation, most any type of business. In addition, the council is authorized to enact rules governing its procedures. including for public meetings and hearings. (Cvniinued on page 4) De,:eanher 1993 • Enforce contracts. (Continued from page 3) The mayor is the chief executive and adminis- trative officer of the city in charge of carrying out the policies set by the council and of seeing that local laws arc enforced. The mayor, or the manag- er in the council- manager city, is basically in charge of the day -to -day operation of the city, including the supervision of all appointive officers and employees in the performance of their official functions. The mayor is in charge of hiring and firing all appointive officers and employees; sub- ject, where applicable, to laws regarding civil service. Except for those in towns (fourth class municipalities), councils have some authority to require confirmation of the appointment of certain officials; councils may not however, require confirmation of firings by.the mayor. In general, the mayor also has the following authority to: • Bring lawsuits, with council approval. • Preside over council meetings and, in some Classes of cities, exercise some tie - breaking authority with respect to council votes and • veto authority over ordinances. • CaII special meetings of the council. ► Prepare a proposed budget. ► Report to the council on the financial and other affairs and needs of the city. ► Perform as ceremonial head of the city. ► Approve or disapprove all official bonds and contractor's bonds. Consistent with the separation of powers doc- trine, the council is not authorized to interfere with the myor's administration of city govern- ment. Cou><cilmembers may not give orders to department; heads or to other city employees. In council- manager cities, this prohibition is estab- Iished statutorily; the council must deal with the city manager concerning matters of city adminis- tration, except that it may deal directly with Municipal Rese:urh News Page 4 officers and employees under the manager's direc- tion "for the purpose of inquiry." To do its job, the council needs.information on how the city.is operating. The mayor or the manager, either di- rectly or through other city officers or employees, must provide that information and should do so in a timely and useful fashion. Of course, things do not always run smoothly between the council and the city administration, and the line between policy and administration may in some situations be blurred and imprecise.• One area that is a frequent source of conflict is personnel. The council may not like a mayor's appointment to a particular position or it may be dissatisfied with the performance of certain officers or employees. An employee may complain to, and seek relief from the council about some aspect of employment. On the other hand, the mayor may believe that certain personnel policies interfere with his or her supervision of employees and hiring and firing authority. The mayor may direct that all communications with city staff go through the mayor's office. The council, in response, may feel that the mayor is unlawfully restricting its . access to city personnel for information purposes. The remedy for some of these situations may be to review the respective roles of the mayor and • the council and to understand the limitations of their respective authorities. For example, if the council is not happy with a mayoral appointment, there may be nothing the council can do directly -within the bounds of its authority. However, if it has the authority to confirm a particular appoint- ment, it can reject the appointee and force the mayor to choose another. If the council does not have confirmation authority, it can express its dissatisfaction to the mayor, but it can do nothing else with respect to that particular appointment. The council may, however, provide for a detailed personnel system establishing specific qualifications for positions, creating affirmative action policies, requiring publication and public posting of job opening announcements, and the like. Moreover, the mayor, at least in code cities, is required by statute to make appointments "on the basis of ability and training or experience." Similarly, if the council feels 'that an officer or employee is performing poorly and should be disciplined or fired, it can say so to the mayor, but it has no power to do anything else. Although • (Conanuud an page 5) • December I' Knowing ... (Continued from page 4) it controls the salaries paid.to city officers and employees, it may not lower a salary so as to cause and with the purpose of causing the person holding that position to quit. A rule to follow is that the council (and the mayor) may not do indi- rectly what it cannot do directly. On the issue of communication between the council and city officers and employees, the mayor may not prevent councilmembers from gaining . information although he or she could reasonably regulate the inquiry process. If councilmernber inquiries of city employees serve to harass those employees or unreasonably take them away from their duties, it may be necessary for the mayor to require those inquiries tote channeled through the mayor's or a department head's office, if that can be done without unduly encumbering council ac- cess to information. Another area that often proves to be fertile ground for germinating conflicts and that may elude easy resolution is that of finances and bud- gets. For example, the mayor may not take full • advantage of the budget authorized by the council. The council may authorize a certain position at a certain salary, and the mayor may decide either not to fill the position or may do so at half time and half salary. The mayor may cite financial exigencies, such as revenues falling short of pro- jections. and may conclude that the city cannot afford someone filling this position full -time. The council. on . the other hand, may not agree that the conditions warrant such action or may determine that a different cost - saying measure is appropriate and should be instituted. Resolution of this type of issue may prove particularly tricky. Although the mayor may not pay an employee less than that authorized by the • council in the budget or in a separate salary ordi- nance, the mayor, under certain financial circum- stances, may be able to partially fill a position, proportionately reducing the salary for the posi- tion. Legal authority, however, is hazy on such issues. SThe• best strategy would be for the mayor and the i council to work out a mutually agreeable accommodation. There are other issues that will likely arise (and that have arisen in other cities) where it is not clear whether the mayor (or the manager) has the authority to act or whether the council does. In Municinal Research News these situations, the council and the city adminis- tration could draw their respective battle swords and charge; or one or both-sides could first ana- lyze the issue, perhaps .seeking counsel of the city attorney or of the consultants at MRSC. Understanding roles is a necessary step in resolving . many such conflicts. However, when the roles are not clearly defined in a particular situa- tion, compromise may be in order. Statutes and case law may not provide a ready answer. All sides need flexibility to meet the challenges of a functioning. and dynamic city government. If the focus is on providing good government rather than on turf wars. councilmembers, mayors, and man - agers can better fulfill their roles as public ser- vants. • For Further Reading The Authority of the Legislative Body to Regulate Administration of City Business [code cities]," by Susan Rae Sampson, in Legal Notes, Information Bulletin No 467, Municipal Research and Services Center, December 1990. • "Council Duties and Responsibilities," in City of Pullman Council Handbook, December 1985.. Handbook for Councilrnembers, Information Bulle- tin No. 472. Municipal Research & Services Cen- ter, January 1992. Handbook for Councilmembers in Council Manager Cities. 4th Ed. National Civic League Press, 1989. Knowing the Territory, - Basic Legal Guidelines for Washington Municipal Officials, Information Bulle- tin No. 480. Municipal Research & Services Cen- ter, September 1992. ■ Page 5 Decemt+er ;91)3 SO YOU'RE THE NEW COUNCILM:EMBER! C ongratulations! It was quite an election battle. You scored a good number of votes in the primary, but not quite enough to avoid a runoff election. And your opponent at runoff time was a real tiger. But now the dust has settled, and you've received your certificate of election. Soon you'll be ready to be sworn in and get down to work. You have some clear ideas of things you want . to accomplish for your city, and things you want to see change at city hall. The paragraph above is just one of many possible scenarios.. Perhaps it applies to you. Maybe you're the new Mayor. Maybe you're already the incumbent, . you didn't have any real opposition, and you were confirmed by the voters in the primary. Maybe nobody ran against you. Maybe you have been on the council and have just been elected to replace the Mayor who chose not to run again. Or maybe . pick your own scenario:' In any case, the election is now over and— you're it! Welcome aboard! . As governmental entities go, it's at the lower end of the also being the one closest to -. things for you -to be A city or town is a very coniplexorganism. food chain financially,- while the people. There are many Ea concerned about, to. learn . inform your constituents • • random comments on a few don't. concern you now. they will. you're it • That Mayor! . Like it or not you're going to have to get along with her or him. If you don't, and you display your feelings in public, especially at council meetings, those meetings are all going to run very late.. And do you really want youf-council meetings to become known as the Tuesday night fights? Who would that really serve? That doesn`t mean that you and the mayor should always agree._ Even agreeing to' disagree in a polite or sensitive manner is possible if you both work at it. And chances are if you do, the public will,respect you both for it. The mayor has one clear role. In all cases, it is to chair the council meetings. Depending on the organization and classification of your city it may also be to serve as the ceremonial "chief of state", or in mayor - council cities and towns it's to be the chief administrative officer. You need to become knowledgeable about the role of the mayor in your organization. That understanding will help both of you. • Those other Councilmembers! You may like most of them. Or maybe you don't. That's not the issue. The issue is —you have one vote, and each of them also has a vote. You'll have to learn about consensus building. They won't always all agree with you. Your job will be to educate and convince them: And you'll have to do that with the citizens, too. the election . is now over and • By Ron Bartels, MRSC Public Policy Consultant • 'about, and to - be able to about. Following are some of these things. Maybe they Maybe they do. In any case, Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington • 1200 5th Avenue, Suite 1300, Seattle, WA 98101 -1159 • (206) 625 -1300 . n • The Clerk - Treasurer. if yours is a small city or town, this is an especially important person. Often, after the mayor, the clerk - treasurer must operate as the central authority for the, municipality. Many of them are very capable and experienced people. She or he can be a great help to you if you will rely onuthem for information and advice. • The City Administrator. If yours is a mayor - council city or town, you may have one of these. She or he is appointed by the mayor and serves at the mayor's pleasure. The function of the city administrator is to be the primary assistant to the mayor who is the chief administrative officer. In some instances, the mayor may have assigned considerable authority to the administrator. Again, this is a key person. As a councilmember, you need to be aware of the lines of authority involving this position in your city or town. • The City Manager. There are now 46 of these in Washington state. If your city is one of the council - manager cities, you know about it. If there's a vacancy in the manager position, you will have an equal say with the other councilmembers in the.selection for the position. Managers are selected on the basis of their experience and training, and should be a "fit" for your city. Unlike the city administrator, this person works for the whole council and serves at the council's pleasure. He or she is the chief administrative officer of the city, and usually has oversight of the power to hire and fire , personnel. The mayor's role is that of being ceremonial head of the city, of chairing council meetings, and being the policy leader. If you have a vacancy in the manager position, Municipal Research (see below under resources) keeps a list of potential interim managers/administrators. • The City or Town Attorney. You need one, and you need to rely on her or him. The ,statutes granting authority to cities and towns in Washington'are extensive and explicit. The actions you take as a councilmember must comply with those statutes. Like it or not, cities and towns in Washington derive their power from the state. And you don't have a totally blank slate. There are federal and state mandates that apply to you. In some cases, those mandates have been imposed without thought to how you will finance them That becomes your responsibility. Your city attorney can be a major help in leading you through that potential minefield. They'll also help keep youout of jail if you listen . to them: • Taxes. You want them to be lower. Don't we all? However, chances are you'll have to get to know a lot about how they ryork in your city or town before you can just lower them. Taxes are just - one source of revenue you'll have to rely upon to have well- rounded operations and meet citizen needs and desires. In fact, you'll need to know about all the sources of revenue available th your city or town. -You'll learn that you need to look at the big picture of all sources of funds and all services before doing a lot of adjusting. Sometimes what might look like a small "tweak" in a limited area can have impacts on other parts of your operation. And neither you nor the citizens will like the result. You need to be a real student of taxes and all other financial matters. • Police. You're still mad at that cop who gave your teenager a ticket a block from your house last year. You'd like to see that he or she gets fired. But wait! If your city or town has three or more officers, including the chief you will be operating under a civil service system. The police have.civil service rights. You can't just fire one of them You have to have a substantiated reason. And you're not the "appointing authority ", which means you don't control hiring and firing of them. Either the mayor does or the city manager does. And perhaps your.teenager really was speeding, or did go through that stop intersection without even slowing down. Be cautious. Police officers sometimes have a very tough job. It would behoove you to get to lmow more about it. They're always glad to help you learn about it. And you'll know much more about your city or town if you take time to learn. • Fire. You want to check and see if those firefighters are,really busy, or whether they just play cards and dominos and watch television when they're not out fighting fires. In the vast majority of cities and towns they are very dedicated to fire safety. In times when they aren't answering an alarm, they're training, maintaining equipment, and doing fire inspections and pre -fire planning. In most places, 80% or more of fire department calls are not about fire. They're about medical emergencies or accidents. Get acquainted with what they're really doing before you launch an attack. And in the smaller places, they're probably volunteer firefighters. They're working their regular job, and the fire business is something they do out of dedication to the safety of the place. If you find that this is not the case, then perhaps you'll want to talk with the other councilmembers to establish policies that will upgrade the-professional nature of what your fire folk do. Or is it already very good, and the participants need to,be recognized for how good they really are? • Water. You can't just assume that when you turn on your faucet clean water will flow. And how clean is your city's or town's water supply? Are the mandates of the clean water act being met? Do you think some of the requirements of the clean water act are unreasonable? Do you know how to get information about this subject or how to register a concern if you have one? Do you have adequate fire flow? How reliable is your source of supply? Do you have adequate water rights if you are the primary supplier for the system? Is your system operated as a proprietary function of the city or town? Are the user rates based on a cost of service model? These are things you'll need to get to know, or at least want to ask. And in some cases the answers may not be clear. Water supply is a basic service, and as a councilmember you'll need to be able to answer citizen questions. City or town staff is your source of information. • Sewer and sewage treatment. Flush! What happens? Did you ever think about that? If your city. or town controls the treatment facility, are you meeting the discharge requirements? Are you polluting something you shouldn't be? Is the plant in deplorable condition? Are your operators able to meet their certification requirements according to their respective function? Is city hall getting complaints about odor? You should probably ask for a tour of the treatment plant if your city or town has one the operation run as a proprietary function? Are the rates based on a cost of service model? Is the system being ubsidized by the general fund? Why? Are there lots of septic tanks that are beginning to pollute the water supply? Again, a whole field with which to become familiar. • Streets. • That means potholes. You'll get to know about them, about how they need to be repaired and how much it costs to repair them. As the newly- elected councilmember, you may already be getting phone calls from citizens about them? Or • . . . the state highway goes through . your city or town. During the campaign it was clear that a lot of people who live along it really want to have the speed limit decreased to slow down the traffic. So now that you'll be on the council, you'll just bring in an ordinance, get it adopted, and fix the problem. Right? Wrong! You don't have that authority. §46.61.415 Revised Code of Washington (RCW) specifies how and within what - limitations you can change speed limits. Talk with your city attorney and your public works person before you offer to change a speed, limit. It can be done, but it has to be done properly. • Planning and land use. You want your city or town to do its best to be and remain a nice, livable place. How to do that? For one thing, you don't want that new pig farm to locate right next to the nicest neighborhood in town. Or you want ,nice commercial enterprises to be built in °a sound 3 development rather than just in strips along both sides of that new stretch of state highway that's under construction. That's where planning and zoning come in. And those things can be very controversial. You'll probably find that after you're on the.council, you'll be spending as much as a third of your council time dealing with land use issues. Educate yourself about them. Learn what the state laws authorize and require. Talk with experienced councilmembers in nearby cities or towns and learn about their good and bad experiences. And give some thought to how those examples could impact you if applied to your city or town. • Garbage! No, you can't just dump it in the nearest ravine. In fact, you can't just dump it. Trash and recycling come under this heading, too. Terms like "PRP" come to mind. That means potentially responsible party. Its a term that comes from the federal superfund literature. The federal (and state) superfund are sources of money to finance cleanup of contaminated waste sites. What isn't popularly understood is that if superfund monies are used perform a cleanup, an effort is then made to collect back the costs. If your city or town was operating a garbage collection system or contracted with a private company to provide the service, and it can be ascertained that the city or town or the private provider used a now contaminated site for disposal, the city or town almost certainly will be a PRP. Nationally, the costs of cleanup of a contaminated site remediated using superfund methods have been running something like 35% higher than costs of cleanup done without superfund. The moral of the story is that you need to become informed, and you need to tread softly among the garbage. It's not a simple matter. After all, you definitely won't want contamination from the dump to flow underground into your primary well field that supplies most of the city's or town's water. • Referendum 48, or Initiative 164. This one will have been concluded (for now) at the same election that put you into office. There are obviously very strong feelings on both sides of the issue: Chances are neither side was totally accurate in its pronouncements leading up to the election. It failed, and according to the post election comments, you've been given fair warning that you'll likely have to change the way your city does business in the land use area. The election won't be the last time you hear about the issue. And again, you'll have to get informed and interested very quickly. Very likely you won't find walking the tightrope between the advocates and the opponents of land use controls much fun. • Adult Not in my town! Well, maybe and maybe not. Where does constitutional free expression, and sometling you wouldn't want in your neighborhood cross, begin or end? The courts are full of questionslike that. And it certainly keeps the legal profession busy. Don`t venture into this arena without a chance to hold hands with your city or town attorney first. He . or -- she should be able to advise you what has been upheld in the courts in a number of Washington cities and towns. And you should also learn what the courts have definitely said is beyond what you can enforce. If you don't listen and carefully think first, your city or town could become the basis for several lawyers' private social security and retirement programs. The public probably won't like to fiend things like that with their taxes. • Dogs and cats. People's pets are often more important to them than their kids. Or at least that appears to be the case. Just try to abruptly enforce a very stern leash law with large penalties and you'll find out. Or tryto institute aserious "pooper scooper" law and enforce it vigorously without any backing from citizens with pets; especially if there's been no such law and no enforcement in the past. This is an area where "deliberate" and "in response to citizen requests" really begin to be . demonstrated. This is also an area where the mayor and council need to be unified with a public support group. Then perhaps there won't be a war. 4 • Parks and recreation. This can be a very pleasurable area of your new responsibility. Or it can be a nightmare! Some cities do their recreational space development in conjunction with the schools. In some instances, that will get more bang for the buck. Now assume that your city or town has had a highly developed little league baseball program for many years. In fact, all during the season, the ball fields are in constant use. Good! Right? But recently, there's a real movement in the city or town to also get deeply into soccer. .The fields are taken up with baseball. There simply isn't daylight field time available for the proposed new soccer league. What can you do about it? Chances are there simply isn't money to acquire and build a new field for soccer, let alone maintain it properly so it'll support hard use. This is a good example of a situation that requires all the interested parties to get around a table and put all the facts, desires, finances, and possibilities out for all to see. Often a way can be found through . such a thicket But everyone at thetable will need to be open and honest. This one will provide you a- chance to exercise your leadership responsibility. Hopefully it can be done without your having to wear a hard hat and flack vest all the time. • Intergovernmental .relations. You might not even like the term. But in these days of scarce dollars for services, you may not have a choice. There are lots of examples out there of cities and towns that routinely do something in concert with another government, be it a special district, city or town, county, or whatever. Or it's done jointly with a private organization, all correctly documented and contracted. The result can be a better service for less money, or one that provides better service for the same amount. Those kinds of success stories reflect very positively on elected people. And now you're going to be one of them. In some instances, federal and state mandates are approved by higher level legislative bodies that require you to do things in concert with others: In those cases you won't have any choice about being involved in intergovernmental relations. It's probably best if you can view the subject as a potential opportunity. • Appearance of fairness. What this means is that if it even appears to be not quite right, you'll hear about it! Washington has a strong law on this subject.. It's known as "The Appearance of Fairness Doctrine" and is contained in Chapter 42.36 RCW. .It applies only to local quasi land use actions. Briefly, it requires that you disclose publicly any personal interest you might have in a matter coming before you. .Or if you have a real personal interest—such as you own the property in question —you can't vote on it. You shouldn't even be at the council table or in the council chamber when the matter is heard. It requires that you not prejudge issues that might be presented in a public hearing coming before you. That means you shouldn't have gone out to look at the situation and perhaps talked with someone first. . You have to be impartial. Your city or town attorney should be anxious to have you understand all about it. And if you attend one of the sessions for new councilmembers, you're bound to learn about it. • Ethics! Yes! And they're requited by law in all cities and towns in Washington. Hopefully your city or town attorney or perhaps another of your city officials will talk with you about the subject. It's covered in Chapter 42.23 RCW. The title of that chapter is, "Code of Ethics for Municipal Officers — Contract Interests." You need to get familiar with it. If you get involved in one of the orientation sessions mentioned below, you should hear something about it. • Orientation. As a new (or old) councilmember or mayor, you will have the opportunity to go to one or more sessions designed to orient and train you for your new role. It's not a session designed to brainwash you with the way ifs "always been done ", or with the "good old boy" (or girl) network. It should help you to hit the ground running. It will be an opportunity to meet others from other cities and towns who are in the same boat as you. You'll also get to meet experienced 5 councilmembers. If possible you should attend one of the sessions. You'll find it very helpful. It's likely that the staff of the city you're about to serve will give you a tour of facilities and help familiarize you with how things have been done in the past. That doesn't mean that the staff is unwilling to listen to your- ideas. It will be good to learn as much as you can so you have a background to at least talk the same language. And it should certainly be helpful to know names and faces of those who work for the city or town. • Resources. Two major ones outside your own city hall are available to you. They are the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and Municipal Research & Services'Center of Washington (MRSC). AWC, in Olympia, is the lobbying and coordinating organization serving Washington cities. It holds many meetings of city officials at various places around the state each year. AWC keeps your city or town posted on what's happening for you and to you based on what's going on in the legislature and in some of the state's departments. Nearly every city in Washington is a member and pays dues for that membership. AWC's phone number is (360) 753 -4137. MRSC, in Seattle, has a large specialized library of municipal materials and nine consultants and other staff to serve you. They will "talk through" a question with you, or research your question, and, in many cases, send you sample materials. MRSC services are delivered primarily by phone, FAX, E -mail, UPS, or mail. In essence your city or town has already paid for the service. You can also post questions to MRSC staff; as well as receive valuable city information via MRSC Online, MRSC's Bulletin Board Service. For information on how to access MRSC Online, contact the receptionist at Municipal Research. MRSC can be reached at (206) 625 -1300 in the Seattle area, or at 1 (800) 933 -MRSC or 1 (800) 933 -6772. Now it's time to go to it. Hopefully, you won't regret that you ran for the council seat you're about to assume. And hopefully, you'll like doing your bit for the city or town where you live. Just remember. You don't have to become an expert in everything instantly. You owe it to yourself to become educated. And you owe it to the people who elected you to be able to teach them that being a councilmember isn't always easy, and that many issues are complex. You need the necessary background information to make knowledgeable and wise decisions. Enjoy!!! December 1995 h 0 ..��4. t °ro s co. i:�'S'i -•.,, o34 �p �'�.ai¢ o ?l s' a e 3 f 3 �;. b¢ . r'� . Th�c °allele was �vritten�bS�Ron Bartels cvho lsas bex °a�l'ubLc P�olrcy x Gcnsulrantwtth MRaSC'smce �In1e 1994 �Ht bas dirty }earsx eapenence :saving in *local¢gotiemment in j seven< cites+, including '. o- management'postuons�in {five drf c-cx nt cities in t ree stales, and m a� fa.S:�h k \Yrtir'% y' f , a t 'v 9 4 £- " & ,✓ s f �,\ 6 a R'"C/ Aserv�ng as a ecnsultant to an state, thi ee cubes, one state league of cities w a r and n Ra}al commt�szon ur`azr o� eiseas country 14e has ��or}.ed directly" afor`ttiee tna�pr; and 5�`councilmetnbera durum lus carccr locali? go�earmettt wagaganmt nThe ar ucic. Es hvggtiteucal and ts3ba an obsrrvat�on. & er��lhvs +v t s �� n�* aPpsrcnt�depict�on> tnth tdda3 or a r e ♦ st circumstance is purel} a cowcid°nce 4 fi � ... 'tr .i N �...6y.W.vO.r ♦L :�i 4. �.�.:.u.. 6 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN "BEST PRACTICE" CITIES The history of successful Council /Manager relations is founded in the notion that policy development and adoption is the City Council's responsibility and policy implementation and administration is the City Manager's task. Flourishing cities, however, do not draw the line so simply and clearly. Successful policy development is the result of both Council and Staff participating in policy development with the clear understanding the City Council is the final decision - maker. Similarly successful policy implementation and general administration is the result of good ideas and suggestions coming from all parties with the clear understanding that the City Manager is responsible for implementation and managing the daily operations of the City. The best Cities are the ones who recognize that Council and Stars roles overlap and that a successful working relationship is founded in mutual trust between Council and Staff and an understanding of how each adds value to providing local government services. CITY COUNCIL • Establishes City policies through ordinances, resolutions and motions ♦ Adopts the Comprehensive Plan ♦ Develops annual city wide goals • Adopts City budget • Acts "corporately" as the full City Council... (Council Members have no individual authority) ♦ Relies upon the City Manager and City Staff to carry out Council policy direction ♦ Avoids "Administrative interference" as outlined in the RCW ♦ 1 -fires City Manager and provides six month "facilitated" performance reviews ♦ Adopts a "Council Rules of Procedures" MAYOR ♦ Is the Ceremonial Leader of the City ♦ Approves the City Council agenda, prepared with the assistance of the City Manager and City Clerk ♦ Chairs the City Council meetings, appoints most committees. • Insists on "following the rules"! • Helps facilitate Council consensus, keeps meetings on track CITY MANAGER • Reports to the City Council ♦ Sets administrative policy • Develops a proposed balanced budget for Councils review, revisions and adoption • Provides daily supervision of the department directors • Is responsible for carrying out of City Council policies and direction • Avoids political involvement of any kind ♦ Hires/Fires City Staff • Signs all contracts (or delegates as needed) • Assists the Council with policy development recognizing that the Council is the final authority DEPARTMENT MANAGERS ♦ Reports to the City Manager • Is responsibly for implementation of City Manager's policies ♦ Provides day to day city services ♦ Provides supervision of city staff ♦ Assists Council with information requests (usually through the Manager) TRAITS OF OUTSTANDING CITY COUNCILS & CITY MANAGERS ♦ Have developed clear roles and responsibilities for each party • Frequently communicates ♦ Respect the Doctrine of No Surprises ♦ Routinely uses the "three touch rule" ♦ Has the ability to be "Respectfully Disagree" during debates ♦ Insists that all information be shared equally ♦ The Council provides direction as a corporate body only ♦ Staff provides information, but does not try to create policy ♦ Value the individual's contribution ♦ Dedication to good government ♦ Develops trust between Council and Staff ♦ Treat everyone with respect even though you may not like what he or she is saying City Management Code of Ethics THE PURPOSE of the International City Management Association is to increase the proficiency of city managers, county managers, and other municipal administrators and to strengthen the quality of urban government through professional management. To further these objectives, certain ethical principles shall govern the conduct of every member- of the International City Management Association, who shall: 1 Be dedicated to the concepts of effective and democratic local government by responsible elected officials and believe that professional gen- eral management is essential to the achievement of this objective. 2 Affirm the dignity and worth of the services rendered by government and maintain a con- structive, creative, and practical attitude toward urban affairs and a deep sense of social respon- bility as a trusted public servant. 3 Be dedicated to the highest ideals.of honor and integrity in all public and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the respect and confidence of the elected officials, of other officials and employees, and of the public. Recognize that the chief function of local gov- ernment at all times is to serve the best interests of all of the people. 5 Submit policy proposals to elected officials, pro- vide them with facts. and advice on matters of policy as a basis for making decisions and setting community goals, and uphold and implement mu- nicipal policies adopted by elected officials. 6 Recognize that elected representatives of the people are entitled to the credit for the estab- lishment of municipal policies; responsibility for policy execution rests with the members. International City Man3gcment A;,sociation 7 Refrain from participation in the election of the members of the employing legislative body, and from all partisan political activities which would impair performance as a professional ad- ministrator. 8 Make it a duty continually to improve the mem -. ber's professional ability and to develop the com- petence of associates in the use of management' techniques. 9 Keep the community informed on municipal affairs; encourage communication between the citizens and all municipal officers; emphasize friendly and courteous service to the public; and seek to improve the quality and image of public service. 10 exHiesir Resist any encroachment on professional re- sponsibilities, believing the member should . be free to carry out official policies without in- . terference, and handle each problem without dis- crimination on the basis of principle and justice. 1 1 Handle all matters of personnel on the basis 1 of merit so that fairness and impartiality gov- ern a member's decisions, pertaining to appoint- ments, pay adjustments, promotions, and discipline. 1 2 Seek no favor; believe that personal aggran- dizement or profit secured by confidential information or by misuse of public time is dishonest. Tlti. Cole wns urtkinully attup■nt In 11N by tltc tnrmhcri rtt the luo•rrtatuwul IJ1y '.1.rnui:rtnrnt A..uctau4i11 Jnd has %uu:e'wru arnendr.l hs 1918, 1 ';s:, 1709, 1972, um! 1970, Thou shalt have but one object in life —to please thy ta\payers arid• to - serve- them•.honestl and to the best of thy ab111ty` k Y }` du: must a vision of , j Municipal efficiency whicli'.will • stir iulate the interest of and" appeal to` people :for without this --thy of forts 111, be Iii; vain: 7 L Oil-Shalt not bow' down thyself to any of thy canstituehts or conniver • with any individuals or cliques; else others ‘,/r11 cause complaint to be made of thee and wilt lose more than thou' galnest by such` a ' ``r,, e City Manager's mmandments • Honor thy five commissioners t hat thy, days: m ay: be long in the service thoi has chosen a`s a livelihood • ou shalt guard thy people's_health • and welfare " • • Thou shalt clean t streets an collect their garbage. by C. M. Osborn, East Cleveland, Ohio City Manager Ihrlleti,, Volume 1, Number I — January 1919 Six d thou labor and do all this and the se }tenth day: thou"shalt riot' labor, except' thy policemen and fire"meri; for in six days thou ha'st o <j` plowed sn from the sidewalks 'cleaned' ow, th`e streets collected the garbage { and rubbish;' and done e that ' thou couldest do for the"comfort •of thy :. p therefor; `thou' art' entitled to ' ':resf • the seventh' dav"*and spend it \ ;` ypith tli '_• Thou s not' talk back to thy tax -. payer; n or;t hy taxpayers: wife; n or !J his mari servant; nor his maid =scr :'vast (iio his. dog).:'w h en they, •mak "e"• complaints to thee ..regarding the service;. of the.. fates D epartment ; the Police De partment ;th A'sh.Collec`t o the .Garbage Collector or ' any •othe matter ori. which they may complain, but rimust ai ways be.diplomatic, in thy reply, treating. them civilly and rendering unto them the •` best service •possible -' • • Thou 'shalt: re unto thy t'ax payer a strict a of all thy L V acts; and shalt: take him into thy. . :confidence; so that he may know what • thou art doing with the trust he has placed upon thee ('ulrlic Managernem /OLiOber 1983 10. Personal learning!!! 10 HABITS OF HIGHLY - EFFECTIVE GOVERNING BODIES 1. Think - act strategically Understand & demonstrate elements of team & teamwork Master srriall group decision making 4. Have clearly defined roles &. relationships Honor the governing body - staff partnership 6. Conduct systematic evaluations of policy implementation Allocate governing body time & energy ' appropriately 8. Have clear rules •& procedures 9. Get. a valid as of public's concerns & evaluation o f the board's performance HUMO wr uu9:c; J7•• • 10 Habits Of Highly Effective Councils 4 Carl H. Neu, C O V E R S T O R Y ocal government operations directly affect our daily exis- tence and experiences and the quality of life that we per- ceive we have within our communities. No local govern- ment deserves, nor should its citizens tolerate, a council or governing body that isn't extraordi- narily effective and competent in leading. the community. Thomas Cronin, a recognized authority on public policy, . defines leadership as "making things happen - that : might not otherwise happen and preventing things from happening that ordinarily might happen. It is a process of getting peo- ple together to achieve common goals and aspirations. Lead- ership is process that helps people transform intentions into positive action, visions into reality." The quality of leadership effectiveness demonstrated by a governing body and its ability to be a highly effective council are not attributes bestowed upon it by a swearing -in cere- mony. They are the results of disciplined adherence to a set of fundamental principles and skills that characterize highly effective governing bodies. Here, then, are 10 "habits" of highly effective councils, based upon the author's observa- tions of hundreds of governing bodies over the past 20 years. 22 NOVEMBER 1997 Think and Act Strategically R A council's primary re- sponsibility is not just to make policy or to do its "Roman emperor" routine (thumbs down or thumbs up) on agenda items at public meetings. It is to determine and achieve the citizens' desires for the community's future. Councils and their administrative teams must accept responsibility for shaping the future of their communi- ties by expanding their mental hori- zons to identify and meet the chal- lenges that must be addressed through decisive leadership and through shared goals for the attainment of that future.. A strategic leader always. comes from the future and takes you "back to the future" from the present. This leadership adventure starts with a vi- sion and evolves into a definition of the strategic.issues that must be mas- tered to achieve the vision. The next step is the development of long -range goals that address these strategic is sues and that provide a decision -mak- ing and budgetary basis for the suc- cessful implementation of these goals. Living from one annual budget to an- other and from one council meeting • to the next condemns your commu- nity and its future to happenstance and to the type of thinking that often befuddles national governance and policy. For this reason, polls show that an overwhelming majority of citizens , want important issues affecting their lives to be,decided at the local, home town level.' Here, they expect leader- ship, sound thinking, and decisive ac- tion. in spite of this citizen expecta- tion, a 1996 survey conducted by the International City /County Manage- ment Association (ICMA), "Survey of Current Practice in Council - ,Manager Governments," indicates that fewer than 40 percent of all councils set long - term strategic goals to guide their semimonthly forays into decision making. PUBLIC MANAGEMENT Understand and Demonstrate the Elements of Teams and Teamwork By law, councils exist and have authority only when their members convene as bodies to do business. They also are components of corporate beings that must speak, act, and fulfill their commit- ments with one voice and in a mature, effective, and reliable manner. Councils are collections of diverse individuals who come together to constitute and act as an entity, and only when operating as an entity can they exercise authority and perform in fulfillment of their purpose. • This is a classic definition of "team." Carl Larson and Frank LaFasto, two pre- eminent authorities on teams and team- work, define a team as an entity com- prising two or more people working together to accomplish a specific pur- pose that can be attained only through coordinated activity among the team members. In short, a team exists to ful- fill a specific function or purpose and is made up of disparate, interdependent •people.who collectively achieve a capac- ity that none of its members could demonstrate individually.' : • Teams always have rwo components that we might call their 5 components: systernicness and synergy. All teams are systemic by definition, being made up of interdependent parts (people) who af- fect each' other's performance and that of the team. Synergy is the ability to achieve an effect,. when working to- gether as a team, that is More than the sum of the team members' individual ef- forts. While all teams are systemic, rela- tively few arc genuinely synergistic un- less their members understand, master, and demonstrate the fundamentals of teamwork, which arc: ▪ A clear sense of purpose. • A clear definition of the roles and re- lationships that unite individual tal- ents and capacities to achieve tram performance. n4 Integration of members who have basic technical, interpersonal, and decision - making competence. A commitment to team success and performance excellence. • A climate of trust, openness, and mu- tual respect. • Clear standards of success and per - formancc excellence. • The support, resources, and recogni- tion to achieve success. Principled and disciplined leader- ship. Highly effective councils spend time building their sense of being a team and enhancing their skills in productive teamwork Master Small- . Group Decision it Making Most councils are classic small groups, with fewer than a dozen people. Smalls.__ . groups demonstrate certain skills and' - behaviors that link their 'Members, to- gether. Thev_also have knowledge of the processes they must follow to make de- cisions in fulfillment of Their purpose. Figure I summarizes the skill sets essen- tial to small-group effectiveness. Clearly Define Roles and Relationships Each team member, whether mayor or councilmember; makes a contribution to and has a relationship with the team. Contributions and relationships must be defined in terms of the role to be as sumed and how that role is to be carried out through the behavior of the person in the role. A role has two elements: `unction, the specific responsibilities of that role, re- gardless of incumbency; and perfor- mance, the behavior of the person occu- pying the role in fulfilling his or her • responsibilities. Councils, through char=- ter, statute, or ordinance, have a clear definition of their function. The perfor- 5 Figure 1. Effective Small -Group Decision Making Intcrpersonai Skills The ability to work with others • • Listenine to and understanding the views of others • Constructively confronting and resolving differences • Supporting others and showing respect for their ideas , • Partidpating actively in discussions • Taking "thee outs' to discuss how well grout; members • interact •e component must be defined the team through discussion and .ual definition of those behaviors and practices expected of the mayor and counciimembers in the conduct of their duties and interactions. Vince Lombardi, when asked what made a winning team, replied, "Start with the fundamentals_ A player's got to know the basics of the game and how to play his (hers position. The players have to play as a team, not a bunch of indi- viduals. The difference between medi- ocrity and greatness is the feeling the players have for each other," that is, their relationships. Teams talk about and de- fine expected roles and relationships and give constructive feedback to their members on the degree' to which they are fulfilling these expectations. 5 Establish and Abide by a Council -Staff 11 Partnership k ;:•-- ve all heard the saving "Council r policy, staff implements policy." , this is a total misconception of re- a,ty. Policy making and policy imple- mentation are not distinct and separate An EFFECTIVE Small Group Task Skills Knowledge to du u job • Knowing the form and role of the organization • Knowing law, policies, and procedures • Showing civility and good manners • Using professional and technical knowledge functions. Policy making/implementa - tion is a continuum of thought and rela- tions that transforms ideas and abstrac- tions (visions, policies, goals, and plans) into defined, observable ends or out- comes (results, programs, buildings, streets, deliverable services). Council and staff share this continuum as part- ners ensuring each other's success. Each person plays an important role in mak- ing sound policies and in ensuring their effective implementation through reli- able administrative practices and perfor-, mance. Figure 2 depicts this partnership and continuum. John Carver, a widely acclaimed au- thor who writes about boards that make a difference, discusses this partnership as one in which councils define the needs to be met and the outcomes to be achieved. He believes that councils should allow staff, within council- estab- lished limits, to define the means for achieving these ends. He sees a council - statT linkage that empowers staff to do its tasks and to be evaluated on the re- sults produced. Councils that accept and abide bv'this partnership focus their energy on estab- lishing vision, goals, and good policy and Rational Skills Ability to deal with issues and problems rationally Selecting and prioritizing the issues to be addressed Analyzing issues and related facts Identifying objectives and outcomes Considering alternative strategies and courses of action • Assessing obstacles and consequences • Reaching consensus decisions • Evaluating and following up on empowering effective staff perfor- mance. Councils that do not do this will frequently fail into mitiomanaging, that is, they will perceive a need to become involved in, or retain approval over, even minor staff activity and plans. • A critical element and important council task in this parmership is evalu- ation of the manager or administrator, based upon clearly defined goals, poli- cies, and established guidelines on exec- utive performance. According to the 1996 ICMIA survey, only about 45 per- cent of all councils formally evaluate their managers' performance. 6 Make a Systematic Evaluation of Policy a Implementation - Councils, like most legislative bodies, frequently exhibit the Jean Luc Picard syndrome (Star Trek ill and simply tell their staffs_ "ytake it so" They assume that council action equates to policy and program implementation. The next time the council hears about policy is when a problem or crisis arises. In contrast, highly effective councils 6 NOVEMBER 1997 • 5 ; . tn v) .. 0 7' I C7Oa ; 'rbwv I-4 tr.) . ri: .. 0 Z 5¢z gi4 z • Community • Political factors • values • Gratification Figure 2. Council-Staff Partnership (Tb What Degree Is This Partnership Understood, Discussed, and Respected by Councilmembers?) COUNCIL'S SPHERE P 0 L I C Y expect periodic feedback on policy re- sults and on possible policy amend- ments that may be required. This feed- back can be provided through progress reports, status memos or newsletters, and policy reviews. 7 Allocate Council Time and Energy in Appropriately Councils, like other teams, play in a number of settings or arenas to achieve overall, peak performance. There are four council -staff arenas, and each must be appreciated for its purpose and for its contribution to a council's effectiveness: • Goal setting (retreats or "advances "). • Exploration and analysis (study sessions). • Disposition /legislation (regular pub- lic meetings). • Community relations (interactions with constituents and with other agencies). PUBLIC MANAGEMENT GOVERNANCE /POLICY PROCESS A continuum /interaction - Figure 3 shows the purpose, typical • setting,. focus, and key characteristics of each arena. All four arenas are essential to highly effective councils' fulfillment of their leadership, policy - making, goal - setting, and empowering responsibilities. A highly effective council will hold at least one goal- setting retreat or "ad- vance" annually. It also will hold two study sessions monthly, usually between regularly scheduled public hearings. Here, councilmembers will confer with staff and other experts on significant items under consideration that will eventually require official actions. While these meetings should be open to the public as observers, the public should not participate in the council - staff dialogue. Many councils short- change this arena. pushing the opportu- nity for learning into the formal public hearing. which is not desitned to pro- mote much in -depth analysis of complex issues. The arena of Ilispositiott /legi_ haiar is designed to get to a vote, not to pro- mote careful analysis of complex issues. A D M N A D M I - N .I S T .R • A T '-• O N ADMINISTRATOR/ MANAGER'S SPHERE • Staff and implementation • Performance issues • Values and expertise • Gratification / The fourth arena, communir/ rela- tions, is becoming more important. It is rapidly transforming the role of the council and how it spends its time. Communities today are more dependent upon sophisticated alliances and part - nerships among groups, both public and private entities. Jurisdictions are subject .to multiple, profound changes in how .public officials operate. Today, the com- munity arena requires more time spent in interactions outside city hall and puts greater time pressure on mayors and councilmembers. Set Clear Rules and Procedures for Council Meetings Council meetings exist for the purpose of doing the council's business. Liter:if' Lure on how to conduct effective .- productive meetings specifies_ the neec. . for an adherence to clearly delincd rubs and procedures. 7 Arena • �__)trposes 8 Figure 3. Arenas for Governing Body and Staff Performance Typical Setting Focuses —,� Characteristics Goal Setting • Establish vision • Explore potentials • Sec goals • Sec direction/ priorities -Community - Services -Staff action - Budgets Retreat or advance — informal off site worksaoo • Future of community • Evaluation of -Needs - Trends - - Strategic issues • Connmanity desires and values • Leadership • Informality • Sharing of options • Open dialogue . • • . • • Creative thinking • • • Humor and adventure..,'Isk • Face- to-face/group interaction '•`` Many councils, however, drift from these rules and procedures in pursuit of informality, collegiality, and "just being nice." They let their meetings drone on with a lack of focus, redundant com- ments, and endless discussion. Rules and procedures do not pre- clude citizen input, courtesy, or sensi- tivity to public concerns and view- points. They respect all these elements '? :r necessity to conduct business in =leriv, disciplined. and productive ..,antler: • Exploration and Analysis • Understanding the issue (s) • Problem identification • Selecting "best options" • Building commitment Study session — conference room • Developing knowl- dge for decision • making • Sorting of options • Examining- co nsequences • Setting strategies • Making competent and informed decisions Disposition/ Legislation • Taking official action • Voting on items - Resolutions - Ordinances • Gathering public input • Mobilizing support Public— forrnal council Numerous — meeting in chambers diverse formats • Going through the agenda (formality) • Showing authority • Ratifying/adopting • Dealing with political pressures • identifying psychological needs • Starung'council -staff • Meeting formally dialogue • , • • Setting and following • Questioning and test - rules and procedures • Encouraging public - input and involvement Gaining high visibility Dealing with pressure /advocacy from groups • Voting • Interacting as groups consensus building • No voting . • Face- to- face/group - interaction • • 9 Get a Valid Assessment of the Public's MI Concerns and an Evaluation of the Council's Performance Elections are contests among individuals vying to become. members of the coun- cil. They are not-valid. objective assess- ments of the public's feeling about the quality of the council's performance as a governing body and about whether or 26 • Community Relations • Interacting with consti t uen ts/citizens • Building alliances • Doing outreach and liaison • Coordinating with other entities • Communicating . • Problem solving • Collaborating and coordinating • Forming partnership(s) • acting as a conunun.iry • Being ° outside "city hall • Responding to • . -requests • Starting joint v entures Fadlitating interagency activity • Using multiple inter -; ' • action modes and communication • -- techniques not it is addressing issues effectively. • Highly effective councils seek feedba, through a number of market resean tools such as focus groups, surveys, al questionnaires. Typically, the phone ca a councilmember receives or the cor ments made in public hearings 'are n valid or accurate reflections of the end community's sentiments about issues al about the council's performance. "M {arl4 research feedback" should be ongoii and should be included in the annu goal- setting retreat or advance. •• NOVEMBER 19'. • • i 1 • ..1 - Practice Continuous Personal El Learning and Development as a Leader Leaders read, attend workshops, and constantly seek information, under- standing, and insight. Highly effective councils are composed of members who honestly know they don't know it all. They take advantage of the myriad of opportunities to learn and to perfect their skills by reading, going to state and national municipal league workshops, and attending every forum that can ex- pand their skills to lead and govern well. A highly effective council also learns as a council. It works closely with the manager to improve its leadership skills and the council - manager relationship, assessing objectively its performance on each of the 10 habits. This assessment should include the observations of coun- cilmembers, manager,'department heads, and selected members of the community who have occasion to work and interact with councilmembers. The effective council should decide where gains can be made, then set up the opportunity through council workshops to learn the skills needed to make these gains: in 1990, Mayor Margaret Carpenter and City Manager Jack Ethredge of Thornton, Colorado, began a process with Thornton's council to increase the council's leadership skills and effective- ness that incorporated the 10 habits de- scribed in this article. First, the council conducted a careful reexamination of the cirVs mission and the role that it had to assume to ensure fulfillment of that mission. Then, in dis- cussions with the city manager, coun- cilmemhers made a commitment to lead- ership intuit-anon and excellence that focused on lung -term and strategic issues vital to the community's future. The pro - cess involved advances. close attention to community feedback through locus groups and surveys, :mil frequent self - evaluation of both council's and staff's PUBLIC MANAGEMENT The Manager's Role in Building a Highly Effective Council • Focus the council on leadership and achieving a quality future for the community. • Select a time and place to conduct a facilitated discussion about fac- tors affecting the council's effec- tiveness. It is- reconunended that the manager be involved in this discussion.' • • Invite the council to assess can- didly and objectively its perfor- mance relative to the 10 habits of highly effective councils included in this article and other effective- ness indicators that councilrnem- bers fee! are appropriate: • Have the council identify where significant gains in effectiveness are desired. • Develop specific strate and op- portunities with the council to achieve desired goals. • Schedule specific skill- building workshops for the council. Include key staff members when the focus is 011 council -staff relationship issues. • Establish a process with the coun- cil to evaluate gains that have been made and to target new opportu- nities for improvement • Remember: peak performers con- stantly seek to improve their per- formance. They know they are on an endless journey .of growth, performance effectiveness, and achievement. performance and sense of partnership. . Now, the council holds multiple ad- vances each year to define and validate its strategic perspective and policy leader- ship. Skill development workshops ac- company these advances and focus on defined needs that are identified by coun- cilmemhers. Specific "time -outs" are taken to evaluate how the council is func- tioning as a team. :Is well as hu s it litnc Lions %kith staff and with the community. The continuous quest for effectiveness al- ways begins with the question - Is there n1 ttrt more we should be doing to improve our leadership performance and to ensure a quality future for our community ?" As Jack Ethredge observes: "The entire process has helped Thornton's council to identify the issues that are essential to achieving our community's goals and to building collaborative relationships with citizens and with staff to agree about the goals. Thornton now is a community of partnerships, all focusing on a vision and using our combined resources to become the city we want to be in the future. There has been a real breakthrough in the amount of creative energy that is moving Thornton forxard." The last, and probably most impor- tant, point: Keep your sense of humor. Governance is a serious business dealing with the vital issues affecting our munities and the quality of life we expe- rience within them. But humor reduces friction and stress, lets others know tt,' we and they are human, and brings'., pause that refreshes our insight ant commitment. It is essential to forging and maintaining good relationships. Every community deserves nothing less than a highly effective council that embraces accountability for the commu- nity's performance in creating its future and in effectively addressing, in the pre- sent, those challenges vital to attaining that future. That is what is at stake: our communities' future. With few excep- tions, every council can be highly effec- tive and can provide strong leadership, but to become effective will require a good governance model and disciplined adherence to the fundamental habits of. effectiveness. - Carl Neu, fr.. is executive vicc president of Nen and Company, Lakewood. Colorado. ill rights arc reserved to ?"ku and Cam- parry and the Center for the Future of Local Governance, 1997. Contribute to the ICMA Endowment Fund H CaII 202 /962 -3648 9 • linking People, Ideas AW( etwork Resources Association of Washington Cities nib Franklin Street Sf Olympia, WA q o1 -14b (00) 753-4137 AW( Employee Benefit Trust Established in 1970.to provide cities with .comprehensive medical coverage at an affordable price, the" Trust, prograiri - has expanded to include <lentA, life, long-term disabilit }', employee assistance program, long terra' care and - vision benefits. The Trust works directly with its 200 mernbcr cities — providing coverages, handling claim problems and,. I analyzing benefit needs- ` IJ N - A14 Annual Conference 'A statewide meeting held every - unc`[or all municipal officials: You share ideas develop new c ontacits,and catch up with old friends_ The conference features general sessions, workshops and speciaUsocial events. Voting delegates adopt AWC's Statement of Policy and elect new directors and officers during the annual business Meeting. Linking (hies &Legislators ' , Held 'annually in Olympia while, the legislature is in session, AW 's City Legislative,Action Conference (CLA ) puts you in contact with your legislator, and briefs you on . the key issues facing; cities and towns. J The flational(onnemon - As an active member of the National League of I :Cities (NL),.AWC monitors federal issues affecting- local governments_ Several Washington city officials serve on ' NI_C's Board of Directors and committees and play an active role in forming national municipal policy.' I ' , upportnng Small hies and Towns ANC's stuf makes a special effort to provide workshops and ti I :- services for smaller cities and towns_ AWC's Small Cities Advisory Comrnittee • helps AWC develop resources For municipalities with limited staff and dollars- aWf Risk Management Servile Agency An insurance pool_that provides stable long - terra' liability and _ ;'property coverages_ The pool provides an aggressive loss control program that restilts in reduced city expenses It's,in excellent management: tool - for cities that want to control` insurance costs and minimize liability exposures, and still provide' a coverage broad enough for normal municipal operations, Wellness that Worts The AWC - Wellness` Works program encourages city employee's to make healthier lifesty]e,choices. AWC. helps you get' started by•training your city's wellness coordinator, and providing resources like the AW Wel]ness,Pltnner, Municipal Carnes, videos and program kits..In addition 's HealthCheck -Plus provides personal ongoing health and lifestyle all. Trust- insured employees_ Cities also icceive cash incentives for developing an employee wellness firogram- - - Transportation 8 [nr ... , Projects' design standard committees to make, sure city transportation needs are, well- . represented in policy - making decisions_ The project is- funded through DOT. AWC llrings- practical technical assistance to the local' level. ProjeL The Energy Project contracts with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) for market transformation activities, including energy codes The project also with BPA to keep local government - involved in restructuring. The Energy, Project updates elected officials through training, publications and technical assistance_ I iramporiatim Paled. Connects your street project with state and federal dollars, {_ ''and helps You find' -the right Department-of Transportation {DOT) resources for your city. AWG's transportation project works closely with - DOT to identify 'transportation needs in smaller cities_dnd °towns. The., project. also provides . assistance for transportation planning, commute trip reduction and information .-systems management, AWC actively participates on funding, bridge and r t ` 'Salary B.,crncfit Survey I I Indepth comparative data gathered yearly to• help cities and towns set ecluitahte wages and ` benefits for their employees. Approximately ... 80' 4 i of Washington.s 277 cities and towns, and 39 counties,parl'icipate in the survey- 10 11 12 Local' 6overnment Personnel .Institute LGPI keeps you informed of the latest developments in personnel management and labor relations. We work,wilh city officials over she phone' and by letter —reviewing personnel policies; helping. resolve,problerns which ° occur during labor - negotiations; providing sarriplc'policie for, new issue's_ family leave and sexual hdrassrtient, and monitoring Taws and regulations- ' : _ } AWC Drug 8 Alcohol T st!ng ons rtiur Formed in i995 to help cities comply with federal drug and alcohol testing requirements for commercial `drivers_ Services include random selection services, testing through • local collection sites, record keeping, regulation updats, sample policies and -training• , Professional Affiliatians AWC works closely with various professional group's representing city., managers, clerks, personnel directors, planners, engineers, public works directors,` attorneys and A finance officers. Several of AWC's staff are active members/ officers in these - organizations. 1 Liaison with StaftAgndi-T • AWC(stays in close con tract with -state- agencies which affect local governments, making it easier for AWC to communicate . city interests on .regulatory isues, and help structure grant loan and - technical assistance programs offered through the II agencies 1 1°./1/;"°' concerns. Training - Technical Assistance AWes'staff focus its work in five service areas: • Legislative Services- • Technical Assistance' Training, • Publications ., • Insurance Services - AWC's extensive training program keeps you up- to-dale on the hottest topics in municipal,' government. Workshop 'topics covet a. range of interests, from basic budgeting techniques to setting Founded' in 1933, -dhc Association of Washington Cities is a - hon- profit, 'non- partisan organization funded primarily through sea-vice fees -paid by its member cities; A 23- member board of directors oversees the association's activities- - llaric ,AWC is a highly visible force.for cities during the_state legislative session, Bills afle :ting,cities are carefully tracked and analyzed at ,each step of the legislative process_ AWC updates cities on the bills' status through AWC's weekly Legislative Bulletin during session. The Bulletin is published 'monthly during the off- session. • AWC : s lobbyists work` closely with your, state,legislators and their staffs, providing them with informEttion and outlining city you'll receive one-,on-one technical assistance when AWC _ slab' visit your city hall to Help you with planning, transportation, personnel, finance, risk management; wellness and energy issues: -Or if you need ,help. right away, call us, AWC staff works with you to answer inquiries or provide . inforrnatiori on specific topics PubIka oni up effective permitting centers.' During AWC's regional meetings, you -, , network with your pegs and discuss mutual problems and issues. Elected municipal officials can also receive accreditation through AW's Certified Municipal Leadership program, AWC publishes over 9. different newsletters, on topics ranging 'from- personnel 'and labor relations to land use -and the environrnent.,hen critical issues,emerge, AWC informs you with fact sheets; briefings and action calls. AWC publishes its survey and research results in publications like the Tax and User Fee Survey and the State Financial Assistance 'Catalog. - In addition to receiving materials at city hall, you can also download AW's materials from the Municipal Research and Service Center's web site.- BeatofW( The best way to benefit from AWC's services -is to get involved. Attend workshops. Read our. publications. Volunteer to serve.an committees. Call us when you want to share'arh idea. And let us know, when you need help- lt's' important for and towns of all sixes' to work together through AWC. Your combined efforts help us`produoe policies and legislation, and services and products that reflect your community's needs., Aswadation orWaihington ati s 1016 f ranM1In Sti ttt SE Olympia; WA Os 4G WA) 1 - 4 1 31 1-800 -s & -898` - A governance revolution is taking place in this country. This revolution affects the future of government at all levels, particularly local government. LOCAL GOVERNMENT: A NEW WORKING ORDER "From representative government to participatory democracy', John Naisbitt, in his best - selling book, Megatrends, clearly identified this key social trend and predicted it would revolutionize local government throughout America. It has; and in the process, it has also altered the role of elected bodies such as city councils and county commissions. They are no longer primarily "representatives" and decision- makers; they have become catalysts for building consensus, coalitions for change, and facilitations for citizen involvement. Representative government, in which key decisions affecting communities' future are made solely by elected leaders, is becoming .a myth. Representative bodies were chosen to represent electors; decide crucial issues; and set the rules, policies, and laws that guided a community. Today, people who are affected by a decision are becoming progressively more intolerant of not being a direct part of the decision- making process. The new working order represents a partnership between government officials and citizens that emphasizes education and communication as a forerunner to partnership and action. The resurging emphasis on communication by mayors and councils in many cities is symptomatic of this phenomenon. City -wide and ward communication meetings; neighborhood referral processes; and "town meeting" discussions on critical issues such as housing density, land use, community goals, tax rates, etc., all reflect consciousness of this trend and its effect on vital community decision - making processes. The process of change affecting all communities that raises many strategic issues: land use, tax increases, safety, education, transportation, economic vitality, and various other programs of interest to citizens. These issues, more and more are being resolved with high levels of citizen involvement, if not by the citizens themselves at the grassroots level. Copyright: Carl H. Neu, Jr., 1997. Revised from an original article published in 1988. Ph. iv P rmJaS %ON ( -17-4g Sn3A/ />,(44u1r 76 The role of the public officials in the new working order is to: • Identify and focus issues that need to be addressed • Facilitate sharing of information, communication, and education of citizens on relevant issues • Develop consensus on appropriate actions • Ratify the emergent consensus through legislative action • Implement programs, policies, and projects created by the legislative action • Maintain support for the action taken If the historical representative govemment process imposes a decision upon citizens prematurely, it can cause unnecessary confrontations and polarization. The citizen resorts to initiative, referenda, judicial action, or recall in order to impose his or her will upon the elected body. If this body persists in forcing the issue, electors can, and do, force elections to modify charters or change the form of government. This revolution in public decision - making literally is transforming the traditional governing process. The effect: 1. It has served to make the goveming process more democratic and inclusive. 2. Citizens have teamed to circumvent the goveming process, if need be, and • decide issues directly. 3. Public officials now must focus their energies on sensing vital issues, gaining citizen involvement, formulating informed consensus, and enabling implementation of that consensus. 4. The power of theyopulace to make crucial decisions directly will continue to increase, and the,e will be a concurrent decrease in the power of goveming bodies. The public official - citizen partnership will become more commonplace. 5. Citizens will display more caution and skepticism over issues involving major capital commitments and quality of life. This caution and skepticism will be misread, by some elected public officials, as resistance rather than a natural consequence of the new working order. 6. Effectiveness as public officials will depend on skills that advance the new working order in the true interest of the citizens and community. 77 Public officials wilt spend most of their time outside the city hall in forums that stimulate communication, consensus- building and citizen involvement. The new leader is a courageous, insightful facilitator that helps his or her followers discover avenues that advance their true long -term interest and opportunity to participate. 78 AWC Legislative Contacts During the legislative session. AWCs lobbyists often are unable to return your phone calls Immediately. When you call us with a legislative or specific Issue question, please request AWC's analyst staff, or send them an email directly. Stan Finkelstein Vacant AWC Executive Director Municipal Policy Associate ResponaibWty: Fiscal Policy-Taxes and Budgets, Transportation Polley and Financing. General Local Government Jim Justin Assistant Director for Intergovernmental Relations ResponaibWtyn Social and Human Services, Criminal Justice. Health Care. Affordable Housing. Personnel and Labor Relations, Insurance Issues. General Local Government. Analysts: Deanna Krell, Carol Greene, Sharon Fasnatht. and Sheila Gall Victoria Lincoln Energy Protect Coordinator Responsibility: Energy, State Building Code Issues, Telecommunications, Municipal 1t t111 tics Analyst: Susan Greenlee Jackie White Transportation Coordinator/ Lobbyist Responsibility: Transportati on Finance and Policy, Public Works Analysts: .11m Seitz ResponaibWty*: Municipal Finance. 'Taxation Issues. State Budget. Solid Waste Analyst: Sheila Gall Dave Williams Municipal Policy Associate Responsibility: Planning and Land Use. Water. and Environment Analyst: Dave Catterson Call Us ... (360) 753 -4137 1- 800.562 -8981 E -mail Us ... Lobbyists: stanf @awrnetorg JlmAawcnetarg vIctorial @awcnet org Jacklcw@awcnet.org davew@awenet.org Analyst Staff: davec aiawenet. org sharonf @awcnet.org shellagra:awcnetorg carolg@awcnet.org sussang @awcnet.org dcannak(a' awcnct. org Jtmsrg:awcnelorg AWC Lea;sinuve Bulletin — Novembel 7, 2002 15 =intfile Page 1 of 7 WELCOME ABOARD!! Congratulations and Welcome to City Hall! By Ron Bartels, MRSC Public Policy and Management Consultant December 1999 Congratulations! The final election results are now certified. You've received your certificate of election. Hopefully, it was interesting and fun to be a candidate. You met a lot of new people you didn't know before. You heard them talk about their concems, hopes, aspirations. Now its time to get sworn in, roll up Selected :MRSC Library Holdings on Newly Elected Official. There are many things for you to be concerned about, to learn about, and to be able to inform your constituents about. You have some clear ideas of things you want to accomplish for your city or town. You have some specific things you hope to see change at city or town hall. A city or town is a very complex organism. And since the voters in their wisdom have now approved Initiative 695 (I - 695), which becomes effective January 1, 2000, it will be even more complex. This is written for cities and towns since by statute they have their elections in odd numbered years. Their elections just happened this past November. Counties have their elections at the same time as presidential elections, which are in even numbered years. However, the contents should be of general interest. Finances. In all likelihood, the city or town budget was getting near completion at the time of the election. The passage of I - 695 and its impacts on local government budgets will be significant. The people have spoken. Its now going to be your challenge. Perhaps you are lucky enough to be serving in a place that has carefully prepared two alternative draft budgets. If not, your work is just beginning. If you were reelected, you already know something about what you're facing. If you're newly elected for the first time, your education in public finance for the entity you've chosen to serve is just about to begin, and it will be a total Immersion course. You personally may have been for or against I - 695. At this point, your personal preference doesn't matter. What does matter Is that as one of the elected officials of your city or town, your responsibility is now to bring your wisdom, experience, leadership, and representative vote to bear on serving on the board of directors of the municipal corporation you call home. Its your responsibility to provide for the needs and - wants of the people who elected you. One very important element of your new responsibility is going to be as a teacher. You will need to help your constituents understand how your city or town is financed, and what can and cannot be afforded in the way of services. And that those services must be paid for. In short, there's no free lunch. As governmental entities go, cities and towns are at the lower end of the public finance food chain, while also being very close and most visible to the people. Your constituents -- those who elected you -- have an expectation that you'll be able to make up for many of the funds that now your entity will not receive from motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) funds. They'll be expecting you to be able to tap the "reserves" held by your entity, and those held by the state, and to keep services somewhere near what they've come to depend upon. You'll quickly be finding out that many of those "reserves" are simply not there, are very limited in amount, or are so restricted in how and for what they can be used that you won't be able to touch them, even if they exist. It's reality time. http: / /mrsc.or /printfile.aspx ?pmtPath =%2 f' Subjects% 2Nlanagement %2fFiles %2 12/4/202 printfile Page 2 of 7 In the past, newly elected officials took office following the adoption of the new budget. Essentially they had more than half a year to get to know how the money flow and the budget processes worked before being faced with the need to build a new budget. If you're newly elected for the first time, you won't have that luxury, but will have to jump in and learn quickly. There are quite a number of uncertainties as to how money coming through the state to cities and towns will flow. You'll have to learn quickly and on the job." More about that later. Following are some random thoughts and comments about a few of the things that you'll be becoming acquainted with: That Mayor! Like it or not, you're going to have to get along with her or him. If you don't, and you display strong feelings in public, especially at council meetings, those meetings are going to run very late. And do you really want your council meetings to become known as the Monday night fights? Is that what you were elected for? Will that really serve a positive municipal purpose? That doesn't mean that you and the mayor should always agree. Even agreeing to disagree in a polite or sensitive manner is possible if you both work at it. And chances are if you do, the public will respect both of you for it. The mayor has one clear role. In all cases, it is to chair the council meetings. Depending on the organization and classification of your city, it may also be to serve as the ceremonial "chief of state "; or in mayor - council cities and towns it's to be the chief administrative officer. You need to become knowledgeable about the role of the mayor in your organization. That understanding will help both of you. Those Councilmembers! You may like most of them. Or maybe you don't. That is not the issue. The issue is -- you have one vote, and each of them has one vote. You'll have to learn about consensus building. They won't always all agree with you, nor will you always agree with them. Your job will be to educate and convince them. And you'll have to do the same with your constituents, too. Those County Commissioners! You simply don't understand how they can so often be so wrong! In quite a number of instances you'll be competing with them for scarce public dollars. It won't get you anywhere to just swear at them. If you're wise, you'll soon find that the "art" of compromise and finding common ground is something that will make your new job possible and help you avoid ulcers and high blood pressure. And despite the apparent differences in the ways each of you see the world or perceive your respective roles, you'll all get to know what objectives drive each other. And when you do, hopefully the city or town and the county can find some common ground to deliver the citizens more bang for the buck. Staff. Whether you're in a city or a town, there's a group of very dedicated appointed people who work for that local government. And if you're newly elected, they can be a great storehouse of information that can be helpful to you. Generally, they'll be glad to give you a tour of their area of responsibility and share their observations. The sooner you can have those tours and those discussions, the better prepared you'll be to vote knowledgeably when called upon to do so. And you'll also be in a much better position to knowledgeably talk with constituents. The Clerk- Treasurer. If yours is a small city or town, this is an especially important person. Often, after the mayor, the clerk - treasurer must operate as the central authority for the municipality. Many of them are very capable and experienced people. She or he can be a great help to you if you will rely on them for information and advice. The City Administrator. If yours is a mayor - council city or town, you may have one of these. She or he is appointed by the mayor and serves at the mayor's pleasure. The function of the city administrator is to be the primary assistant to the mayor, who is the chief administrative officer. In some instances, the mayor may have assigned considerable authority to the administrator. Again, this is a key person. As a councilmember, you need to be aware of the lines of authority involving this position in your city or town. The City Manager. There are now 50 of these in Washington state. If your city is one of the council - manager cities, you know about it. If there's a vacancy in the manager position, you will have an equal say with the other councilmembers in the selection for the position. Managers are selected on the basis of their experience and training, and should be a "flt" for your city. Unlike the city administrator, this person works for the whole council and serves at the council's pleasure. He or she is the chief administrative officer of the city, and usually has responsibility to hire and fire personnel. The mayor's role is that of being ceremonial head of the city, of chairing council meetings, and of being the policy leader. If you have a vacancy in the manager position, Municipal Research, or MRSC, (see below under resources) keeps a list of http:// m.. rsc. org/printfile.aspx ?prntPath =at§u "facts %2fManagement %2fF 1e's %2fCityhall... 12/4/2002 l -) pxintfile Page 3 of 7 potential interim managers /administrators. The City or Town Attorney. You need one, and you need to rely on her or him. The statutes granting authority to cities and towns in Washington are extensive and explicit. The actions you take as a councilmember must comply with those statutes. Cities and towns in Washington derive their power from the state. As a councilmember, you don't have a totally blank slate. There are federal and state mandates that apply to you. In some cases, those mandates have been imposed without thought about how you will finance them. That becomes your responsibility. Your city or town attorney can be a major help in leading you through that potential minefield. They'll also help keep you out of jail if you listen to them. Police. You're still mad at that cop who gave your teenage son or daughter a ticket a block from your house last year. You'd like to see that she or he gets fired. But wait! If your city or town has three or more officers, including the chief, you will be operating under a civil service system. The police have civil service rights. You can't just fire one of them. You have to have a substantiated reason. And you're not the "appointing authority," which means you don't control hiring and firing of them. Either the mayor or the city manager does. And perhaps your teenager really was speeding, or did go through that stop intersection without even slowing down. Be cautious. Police officers sometimes have a very tough job. It would behoove you to get to know more about it. They're always glad to help you learn about it. And you'll know much more about your city or town if you take time to learn. Fire. You want to check to see if those firefighters are really busy, or whether they just play cards and dominos and watch television when they're not out fighting fires. In the vast majority of cities and towns they are very dedicated to fire and general safety. In times when they aren't answering an alarm, they're training, maintaining equipment, and doing fire inspections and pre -fire planning. In most places, 80% or more of fire department calls are not about fire. They're about medical emergencies or accidents. Get acquainted with what they're really doing before you launch an attack. And in the smaller places, they're probably volunteer firefighters. They're working their regular job, and the fire business is something they do out of dedication to the safety of the place. If you find that this is not the case, then perhaps you'll want to talk with the other councilmembers to establish policies that will upgrade the professional nature of what your fire folk do. Or is it already very good, and the participants need to be recognized for how good and dedicated they really are? Water. You can't just assume that when you turn on your faucet clean water will flow. And how clean is your city's or town's water supply? Are the mandates of the clean water act being met? Do you think some of the requirements of the clean water act are unreasonable? Do you know how to get information about this subject or how to register a concern if you have one? Do you have adequate fire flow? How reliable is your source of supply? Do you have adequate water rights if you are the primary supplier for the system? Is your system operated as a proprietary function of the city or town? Are the user rates based on a cost of service model? These are things you'll need to get to know, or at least want to ask. And in some cases the answers may not be clear. Water supply is a basic service, and as a councilmember you'll need to be able to answer citizen questions. City or town staff is your source of information. Sewers and sewage treatment. Flush! What happens? Did you ever think about that? If your city or town controls the treatment facility, are you meeting the discharge requirements? Are you polluting something that you shouldn't be? Is the plant in deplorable condition? Are your operators able to meet their certification requirements according to their respective functions? Is city hall getting complaints about odor? You should probably ask for a tour of the treatment plant if your city or town has one. Is the operation run as a proprietary function? Are the rates based on a cost of service model? Is the system being subsidized by the general fund? Why? Are there lots of septic tanks that are beginning to pollute the water supply? Again, it's a whole field with which to become familiar. And your constituents will expect you to know the answers. Streets. That means potholes. You'll get to know about them, about how they need to be repaired, and how much it costs to repair them. As the newly - elected councilmember, you may already be getting phone calls from citizens about them. Or ... the state highway goes through your city or town. During the campaign it was clear that a lot of people who live along it really want to have the speed limit decreased to slow down the traffic. So now that you'll be on the council, you'll just bring in an ordinance, get it adopted, and fix the problem. Right? Not quite! You don't have that authority. §46.61.415 Revised Code of Washington (RCW) specifies how and within what limitations you can change speed limits. Talk with your city or town attorney and your public works person before you offer to change a speed limit. It can be hltp:// mrsc_ org/ printfile. aspx? prnteath=% 2fSuhjects% 2fManagement %2fFiles %2frityhall... 12/4/2002 printfile Page 4 Qf 7 done, but it has to be done properly. Planning and land use. You want your city or town to do its best to be and remain a nice, livable place. How to do that? For one thing, you don't want that new solid waste transfer station to locate right next to the nicest neighborhood in town. Or you want nice commercial enterprises to be built In a sound development rather than just in strips along both sides of that new stretch of highway that's under construction. That's where planning and zoning come in. And those things can be very controversial. You'll probably find that after you're on the council,.you'II spend as much as a third of your council time dealing with land use issues. Educate yourself about them. Learn what the state laws authorize and require, particularly the state's growth management act (GMA). Talk with experienced councilmembers in nearby cities or towns and learn about their good and bad experiences. And give some thought to how those examples could impact you if applied to your city or town. Garbage! No, you can't just dump it in the nearest ravine. In fact, you can't just dump it. Trash and recycling come under this heading, too. Terms like "PRP" come to mind. That means "potentially responsible party." And if you're hearing that, the city or town is probably already involved in a lawsuit. It's a term that comes from the federal superfund literature. The federal (and state) superfunds are sources of money to finance cleanup of contaminated waste sites. What isn't popularly understood is that if superfund monies are used to perform a cleanup, an effort is then made to collect back the costs. If your city octown"' was operating a garbage collection system or contracted with a private company to provide the service;- - and it can be ascertained that the city or town or the private provider used a now contaminated site for disposal, the city or town almost certainly will be a PRP. Nationally, the costs of cleanup or remediation of a contaminated site using superfund methods have been running something like 35% higher than costs of cleanup done without superfund. The moral of the story is that you need to become informed, and you need to tread softly among the garbage. It's not a simple matter. After all, you definitely won't want contamination from the landfill to flow underground into your primary well field that supplies most of the city's or town's water. Adult entertainment. Not in my town! Well, maybe and maybe riot. Where does constitutional free expression and something you wouldn't want in your neighborhood cross, begin, or end? What Is the "four foot" rule? The courts are full of questions like that. And it certainly keeps the legal profession busy. Don't venture into this arena without a chance to hold hands with your city or town attorney first. He or she should be able to advise you what has been upheld in the courts in a number of Washington cities and towns. And you should also learn what the courts have definitely said is beyond what you can enforce. If you don't listen and carefully think first, your city or town could become the basis for several lawyers' private social security and retirement programs. The public probably won't like to pay for things like that with their taxes and fees. Dogs and cats. People's pets often appear to be more important to them than their children. Just try to abruptly enforce a very stern leash law with large penalties and you'll find out. Or try to institute a serious "pooper scooper" law and enforce it vigorously without any backing from citizens with pets, especially if there's been no such law and no enforcement in the past. This is an area where "deliberate" and "in response to citizen requests" really begin to be demonstrated. This is also an area where the mayor and council need to be unified with a public support group. Then perhaps there won't be a war. Parks and recreation. This can be a very pleasurable area of your new responsibility. Or it can be a nightmare! Some cities and towns do their recreational space development in conjunction with the schools. In some instances, that will make public dollars go further. Now, assume that your city or town has had a highly developed little league baseball program for many years. In fact, all during the season, the ball fields are in constant use. Good! Right? But recently, there's a real movement in the city or town to also get deeply into soccer. The fields are taken up with baseball. There simply isn't daylight field time available for the proposed new soccer league. What can you do about it? Chances are there simply isn't money to acquire and build a new field for soccer, let alone maintain it properly so it'll support hard use. This is a good example of a situation that requires all the interested parties to get around a table and put all the facts, desires, finances, and possibilities out for all to see. Often a way can be found through such a thicket. But everyone at the table will need to be open and honest. This example will provide you a chance to exercise your leadership responsibility. Hopefully it can be done without your having to wear a hard hat and flack vest all the time. Intergovernmental relations. You might not even like the term. But in these days of scarce dollars for http:// mrsc .org /priiitfile.aspx ?pmtPath =%2f ubjects4 fM :anagement %2fFiles%2fcityhall... 12/4/2002 printfile Page 5 of 7 services you may not have a choice. There are lots of examples out there of local governments that routinely do something in concert with another entity, be it a special district, city or town, county, or whatever. Or its done jointly with a private organization, all correctly documented and contracted. The result can be a better service for less money, or one that provides better service for the same amount. Those kinds of success stories reflect very positively on elected people. And now you're going to be one of them. In some instances, federal and state mandates are approved by higher level legislative bodies that require you to do things in concert with others. In those cases you won't have any choice about being involved in intergovernmental relations. It's probably best if you can view the subject as a potential opportunity. Appearance of fairness. What this means is that if it even appears to be not quite right, you'll hear about it! Washington has a strong law on this subject. It's known as "The Appearance of Fairness Doctrine" and is contained in Chapter 42.36 RCW. It applies only to local guasi judicial land use actions. Briefly, it requires that you disclose publicly any personal interest you might have in a matter coming before you. Or If you have a real personal interest -- such as you own the property in question -- you can't even vote on it. You shouldn't even be at the table or in the chamber when the matter is heard. It requires that you not prejudge issues that might be presented in a public hearing coming before you. That means you shouldn't have gone out to look at the situation and perhaps talked with someone first. You must be impartial. Your city or town attorney should be anxious to have you understand all about it. Open meetings. All levels of government in Washington State are specifically required to conduct their business openly. Chapter 42.30 RCW is known as the open public meetings act. RCW 42.30.010 provides: Legislative declaration. The legislature finds and declares that all public commissions, boards, councils, committees, subcommittees, departments, divisions, offices, and all other public agencies of this state and subdivisions thereof exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business. It is the intent of this chapter that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly. The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. That's strong language. There are a number of specific instances in which executiveor closed sessions of a governing body are permitted, and there is a specific process by which those "exceptions" to open meetings are to be employed. These are contained in RCW 42.30.110. The news media covering your meetings will be watching any use of closed sessions very closely and will report on them. Ethics! They're required by law in all cities and towns in Washington. Hopefully your city or town attorney, or perhaps another of your local officials, will talk with you about the subject. It's covered in Chapter 42.23 RCW. The title of that chapter is, "Code of Ethics for Municipal Officers -- Contract Interests." You need to get familiar with it. If you get involved in one of the orientation sessions mentioned below, you should hear something about it. Taxes. They're certainly a major part of financing. And you want them to be lower. Don't we all? However, chances are you'll have to get to know a lot about how they work in your city, town, or county before you can just lower them. Taxes are just one source of revenue you'll have to rely upon to have well- rounded operations and meet citizen needs and desires. In fact, you'll need to know about all the revenue sources available to your local government. You'll leam that you need to look at the big picture of all sources of funds and all services before doing a lot of adjusting.,Sometimes what might look like a small "tweak" in a limited area can have impacts on other parts of your operation. And neither you nor the citizens will like the result. You need to be a real student of all financial matters. And the recent passage of I - 695 will materially impact your thinking on this subject. About I - 695. The voters' approval of this initiative will bring about a definite impact on a significant number of functions. In many cases, tax funds returned to cities, towns, and counties by the state will be substantially cut. In some cases, the change may be very small. The exact amount of change in each won't be known for a while, and will result from revisions to the state budget. Some of the items won't directly impact your budget, but will impact the general economy of your area. Items impacted are: http:// mrsc. org /printfil ?pmtPath =%2f:' Subjects %2f1Management %2f i les %2 fCityhatl 12/4/2002 printfile Page 6 of 7 • City and county criminal justice money. • County public health money. • Distressed county assistance money. • City and county sales tax equalization money. • Capital construction money for the ferry system. • Operating account money for the ferry system. • City and county transportation funding. • City and county road funding. • Funding for the Municipal Research Council (and in turn for the Municipal Research and Services Cente( of Washington, which is a non - profit agency operating under contract to the Municipal Research Council, and serving all of the state's cities, towns, and counties). • Money for public transit. • Money to fund the highway improvement bonds approved by voter passage of Referendum 49 last year. Throughout the election campaign, I - 695 proponents asserted that there is a huge pot of "surplus" money that could be used to cover the costs for which there wont now be funding. A number of those statements were simply not complete, not accurate, or not true. Nearly all state reserve funds are in fact reserves established by past initiatives or past legislation. And by those past actions, their use is very strictly limited. In November 1993, the state's voters passed Initiative 601 (I - 601). It became fully operational July 1, 1995. It established state spending limits. It provided that the state may riot spend from the general fund in any fiscal year moneys in excess of the state expenditure limit. The expenditure limit is the previous year's state expenditure limit, increased by a percentage rate that equals the fiscal growth factor. The fiscal growth factor is the average of the sum of inflation and population change for each of the prior three fiscal years. I - 601 also limited state revenue collection. The legislature could only increase state taxes, without a vote of the people, if the new revenue would not exceed the state expenditure limit and the tax increase was approved by a two- thirds vote in each house. I - 695 proponents throughout the campaign advocated the tapping of the reserves required by I - 601 to supplement lost MVET revenue. In order to do this, I - 601 would have to be modified. A modification of I - 601 will effectively end the spending limitations already imposed by the voters and could make tax increases common again. In addition, any public tax or fee increase will have to be submitted to a vote of the people. In short, not much is available. The money held by the state for local governments for investment purposes is not surplus. Cities, counties, and special districts receive their income annually in an uneven pattern. It isn't based on so much per month as a wage earner can expect. Property taxes, for example, are paid twice each year. So in two months each year there is substantial income. But those funds must be held for expenditure on a more even basis over the whole year. And a responsible local government doesn't just put the money in the checking account at the bank. It invests it to earn interest until it is actually needed for a budgeted expenditure in a month where income is Tess than budgeted expense. The state has made an investment pool available to the local entities because more money invested can bring higher returns than would be available if each invested individually. The local entities are simply exercising responsible stewardship of the funds the public has entrusted to them. Getting started. In this time of transition following the approval of I - 695, you as a local government elected official are in a position to provide a key link with the public. You were elected with hope, both on your part and on that of those who elected you. Your role in teaching your constituents will be a most unique and necessary one. Hopefully, you won't regret that you ran for the city or town office you're about to assume. And also.hopefully, you'll like doing your bit for the city or town where you live. You don't have to become an expert in everything instantly. You owe it to yourself to become educated. And you owe it to http: / /mrsc. org/pri ntfile. aspx?prntPath= %2fSubjects %2fManagement %2fFii es %2fCityhall ... 12/4/2002 ' printfile Page 7 of 7 the people who elected you to be able to teach them that being an elected official isn't always easy, and that many issues are very complex. You need the necessary background information to make knowledgeable and wise decisions. And, HELP IS AVAILABLE! Mayor and Councilmember Orientation. As a new (or old) councilmember or mayor, you will have the opportunity to go to one or more sessions designed to orient and train you for your new role. These are put on by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). It's not a session designed to brainwash you with the way it's "always been done," or with the "good old boy" (or girl) network. It should help you to hit the ground running. It will be an opportunity for you to meet others from other cities and towns who are in the same boat as you. You'll also get to meet experienced mayors and councilmembers. If possible, you should attend one of these sessions. You'll find it very helpful. It's likely that the staff of the city you're about to serve will give you a tour of facilities and help familiarize you with how things have been done in the past. That doesn't mean that the staff is unwilling to listen to your ideas. It will be good to learn as much as you can so you have a background that will enable you at least to talk the same language. And knowing names and faces of those who work for the city or town is certainly helpful. Resources for cities and towns. If you're in a city or town, two major resources outside your own city or town hall are available to you. They are The Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington (MRSC) • and The Association of Washington Cities (AWC). MRSC. The Municipal Research & Services Center of Washington (MRSC) in Seattle is a nonprofit organization that has a large specialized library of local government materials and 12 consultants and other staff to serve you. The organization has served Washington's cities and towns for many years, and beginning in 1997 also started serving Washington's counties. They will "talk through" a question with you, or research your question and, in many cases, can send you sample materials. MRSC services are delivered primarily by phone, fax, e-mail, UPS, or mail. Your city, town or county has already paid for this service. • ' ' www.mrsc.org. The Web Site contains links to ' many other sources of local government information, including AWC. MRSC can be reached at (206) 625- 1300 or at 1 (800) 933 -6772. AWC. The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) in Olympia is the lobbying and coordinating organization. serving Washington cities. It holds many meetings of city officials at various places around the state each year. AWC keeps your city or town posted on what's happening for you and to you based on what's going on in the legislature and in some state departments. Every city in Washington is a member and pays dues for that membership. AWC's phone number is (360) 753 -4137. It's now time to get started. Again, welcome aboard! Good luck!! And enjoy!!! Ron Bartels has been a Public Policy and Management Consultant with MRSC since June 1994. He has more than thirty -five years experience in local government management. He served seven cities, which included management positions in five different cities in three states. He has served as a consultant to one state, three cities, one state league of cities, and a Royal commission in an overseas country. He has worked directly for twelve mayors and fifty -three councilmembers during his career in local government management. This article is hypothetical and is based on his observations over those years. Any apparent depiction of a real individual or a real circumstance is purely a coincidence. http: / /rnrsc. orgfprintfile. aspx ?prntPath =%2fS ubj ects %2114.anagement %2f iles %2fCityhal 1 2/4/2002 RESPONSIVE LOCAL GOVEHNMEN 1 Understanding the Mayor's Office in Council- Manager Cities James H. Svara n November• of odd - numbered years, cities throughout North • Carolina hold elections to'choose their mayor. Nearly a third of them virtually - alI cities with over 5,000 population -use the council- - manager form of government. The office mayor in those cities =that is; manager cities —is prob- . ably the most misunderstood leader- ship position, in government. Some of us may think of a mayor in North Carolina as being comparable with mayors of cities in certain other; • states, who occupy a true'executive office (most visibly, the big-city- Mayors' of the North) Others of us may.dismiss thc mayor as . a 7 , figurehead: North Carolina's nonex - ecutive mayors are commonly perceived either to be doing less than they actually are or to have more power to act than state law and the municipal charter give them. Mayors in council- manager cities arc not mere ribbon - cutters and gavel- pounders. nor are they the driving force in city government. What they are — somewhere between The author is a ntcmher IIf the Atlitirrl Science Dep:tnment taeulty at UNC• Green %beau. Financial support Mr this pnieet wa pmaikkJ h■ the Research Cuunril :u UNC• Green.tvcm. the two stereotypes —is an important leader who can strongly influence _ how well city government performs. It' is difficult for voters to know • how to assess candidates for mayor. Those who seek and hold the office may also need to know more about the position and the realistic poten- tial inherent in it. Mayoral can- didates. borrowing a page from the campaign book of the executive • .• 'Mayor,' often present themselves as • the leader who will take charge of • city government and propose bold solutions to city's pmblems.. Once elected. however. they will • have difficulty in following through. Although he or she has the title of mayor and some of the popular ez- pcctations for leadership associated with the title. thc North Carolina mayor has no powers on which to base true executive leadership and must depend on other officials, elected and appointed. for most of . what he accomplishes. He lacks both the ability to initiate policies on his own and the legal authority to implement those policies. Let's look at the office of council - manager mayor in ordcr to help voters know what qualities to look for in a candidate and to suggest to officeholders and candidates how they can hest fill that post. The nature of the office • . The council- manager mayor is analogous to a company's chairman of the board, important but not crucial to the organization's opera- tion. The government may operate • - adequately with minimal leadership from the mayor,.since the plural ek- ecutive organization provided by the council spreads the responsibili- • ty for policy initiation. In addition, the manager has considerable infor- mal influence, based on expertise - and staff support, over the genera tion of proposals, and he has formal authority. to direct implementation. Still, the "chairman" mayor can have an impact on governmental performance t contributions. to the governing process that. though different from those of the "executive" mayor, are still important. The elements of leadership can be organized. in two categories. One category is a coordinative function in which the mayor is more or less active at pulling together the parts of the system to improve their in- teraction. The parts are the council. manager /staff, and public; the mayor has a special and close rela- tionship with each. virtue of his favored position. the mayor can tap • into various communication net- works among elected officials,' governmental staff, and community leaders. Although they can and do • interact with each other in- dependently, the mayor —if he has done his homework —can transmit messages better than anyone else in the government because of his broad knowledge. He therefore has a unique potential to expand the level of understanding and improve the coordination among the par- ticipants in city government. The second element is guidance in the initiation of policy, which may `done a be as part of the coos- - dinating function or separately. The mayor not only channels com- munication but.may also influence and shape the messages being transmitted. He can also use more dramatic techniques to raise issues and put forth proposals, but these must beused cautiously becausehe= runs the risk of alienating the coup- 61. Whose support he needs to be effective.' • Variety. of roles It is' a testament to the idiffuseness _. of the mayor's job that therc.is such variation in how the job is per cei once one goes beyond for- mal responsibilities.! In a series of .interviews with and about the mayors of North Carolina's five largest cities (Charlotte. Winston - Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh; Durham) the mayors, council members, and community leaders, were asked to describe the mayor's responsibilities and roles in their ci- ty. The responses revealed ten roles, which can be grouped into four dimensions of leadership —i.e., ma- jor areas in which a mayor may contribute to the functioning of city I. David M. Lawrence and Warren J. Wicker. eds.. Municipal Government in Norti, Carolina (Chapel Hill: Institute or Government. 19821. pp. 51.52. IY ::• Promotion Table 1. Dimcnsions and Roles of Mayoral Leadership in Council - Manager Cities — Roles are identified by letters A -J. — Dimensions are indicated by numbers I -IV. I. Ceremony and Presiding: the typically perceived type of leadership A. ' Ceremonial tasks B. Spokesman for council C. Presiding officer 1L' Communication and Facilitation D. • Educator: informational and educational tasks vis -a -vis the council, manager. and/or public. E. Liaison with manager: promotes informal exchange between the council and the manager and staff. Team leader: coalescing the council. building consensus. and enhancing group performance III. Organization' and Guidance G. Goal - setter: setting goals and objectives for council and manager, identifying problems; establishing tone for the council. H: Organizer:, stabilizing relationships; guiding the council to recogni- • • tion of its roles and responsibilities; defining and adjusting the relationship with the manager. ` • • Policy advocate developing programs; lining up support for or . opposition to proposals. Promoter: promoting and defending the city. 'seeking investment; handling external relationships: securing agreement among parties to a project. government. Whether he engages in the roles and how well he handles them are questions that provide the basis, for distinguishing among types of mayoral leadership. which are ad- dressed in the next section. The dimensions and roles of leadership are listed in Table I. Ceremony and presiding. The ceremonial function is the dimen- sion of leadership that observers of city government typically see. The mayor is in heavy demand for ap- pearances at many and various meetings, dinners, and other special occasions. He also serves as spokesman for the council, cnun- elating positions taken, informing the public about coming business, and fielding questions about the ci- ty's policies and intentions. In these two activities, the mayor builds an extensive contact with the public and the media, which can be a valuable resource. In addition, the mayor presides at meetings. In so doing, he sets the tone for meetings and may exert mild influence over outcomes by guiding the debate, by drawing more from somc witnesses and limiting the contributions of others, and by determining the tim- ing of resolution of issues. Councils often face difficult choices and, like Type • Caretaker Symobolic leader. Coordinator Activist/ Reformer. Promoter. Director Table 2. Performance Levels in Various Leadership Functions by Types of- Mayors in Council - Manager Cities Low H igh H igh .High High • High • Low High Low Low . High small groups generally, depend to • some extent on the resolve of the leader either to decide or to delay. • Communication'and facility: tion. Beyond simply transmitting• • council views to the public, the . mayor may also serve as an educator. In his relations with' the council, the public, the media, and /or the manager and staff, the • mayor identifies issues problem's • for consideration. promotes' • awareness of important concerns. and seeks t� expand citywide understanding by providing informa- . ,tion. In, this activity, he is not primarily p idea, as in the activities discussed below, but informing and educating. For exam - plc, the mayorwho systematically 1 speaks to the press and groups' about the increasing imbalance be- tween needs and revenues helps to prepare the public for a tax increase at budget time. As liaison person with the • manager, he links thc two major components of the system —the leg- islative body and administrative apparatus —and can facilitate com- munication and understanding be- tween elected and appointed of- Ceremony f Ceremony Communication Organization and and presiding facilitation • and guidance Promotion Low Low Low Low High Low H igh Low Low Variable Low High High ficials The mayor increases the manager's awareness of council ;"'preferences and can predict how the council will react to administrative proposals. Although the manager must maintain positive relations with each member of the council, . the mayor- manager interaction is an efficient way to exchange informa- . • tion. For the mayor to hold up his end of the relationship, he must be sensitive to the concerns of all council members, accurately convey . their sentiments. and share with them what he learns from the • manager. • Finally, as team - builder the mayor • works to coalesce the council and build consensus. In this regard. he. promotes cohesion without trying to guide the council in any particular direction. Council members do not automatically work well together, and the larger the council the less harmony there is likely to be. The goal here is not agreement or likemindedness, but rather to ap- proach city business as a common enterprise. The mayor as team leader seeks to promote full expres- sion, help the council work through differences czpcditiously, and cn- courage it to face issues and' resolve them decisively. Organization and policy . guidance. In thc roles considered so far, the mayor has stressed com- munication and coordination. whereas the group of roles to be discussed here involves influencing the direction of city government af- fairs and the content of policy. As goal - setter, the mayor. establishes goals and objectives for council and manager, identifies problems. and sets the tone for the council. Some . mayors keep track of a set of key objectives so that the council and the manager orient themselves to accomplishing these priority items. The mayor may also be active•as an organizer and stabilizer of the key relations within city govern- ment. He guides' the council to recognition Of its roles and respon- sibilities. He helps to define the pat tern of interaction between council and . manager, monitors it, and ,makes adjustments. The sharing an separation of responsibilities be-. tween the council and manager in . this form of government is a corn plex relationship.? The mayor is uniquely situated to control it and better able than any other official to correct it, if change is needed. For example, the mayor may advise the . manager to bring more matters to the council or fewer; he may in- tervene with a council member who is intruding into operational mat- ters: or he may seek to alleviate ten- sion between the council and staff before a serious rift develops. The mayor often handles these efforts in organization and stabilization privately. Indeed, his ability to make such adjustments out of thc spotlight is one of his greatest • • advantages.- 2. James H. Sven. - Dichotomy and Duality: Reconccptualizina the Relationship OCtween Policy and Administration in Council•Marogcr Cities. • Public Al/r nistrnjo a Rhin; 45 (January/February 1901. 221.32. Finally, thc mayor may. bc a policy advocate. As an active guide in policy - making, he develops pro- grams and Tines up support or or- ganizes opposition to proposals.. In these activities, the mayor most closely resembles the executive mayor's public persona as the city's problem- solver. The chairman mayor has a potential for policy leadership that is not sufficiently recognized.; Still, thc mayor should be aware that advocating policies must be balanced with the other roles, not pursued to the exclusion of others. He must proceed subtly and more indirectly than the ex- - ecutive mayor, who can launch a new proposal. with a press con • ference and has extensive resources. for building'coalitions. Still, the . chairman mayor can influence the perspectives and decisions of the council and the manager. Especially if he is a mayor elected directly by the voters rather. than a member of .. the council who has been elected to . the mayorship by his council col -' leagues (as some mayors are), the mayor has a vague mandate to lead, but he must take care not to alienate • the council and .isolate himself by • • • . moving too far away from it as an • assertive advocate of new policies_: Promotion: Conceptually distinct from the, functions already . discussed is the mayor's role in pro- moting and defending the city. He may be involved in external rela= • tions and help secure agreement . among partics'to a project. For some mayors, the promoter role is a simple extension of ceremonial' tasks.,Others are active initiators of‘ contacts and help develop possibil- ities for the city. As offrcia; representative, the mayor 525 exten- sive dealings with officials in other Nelson Wikstrom. — The May M a Policy Leader in the Council- Manager Form of Government: A View from thc Field." Public Administration Re iew 39 (May /June 1979). 270 -7Q • governments and may serve as a kcy participant in formulating agree- ments with state or federal officials, developers. and others who.scck joint ventures with city government. The mayor may also take the lead in projecting a favorable image of thc city and seek to "sell others on in- vestment in it. Types of leadership The kind of mayoral leadership an incumbent provides depends on . which roles he performs and how well.. The combinations of activities pursued by individual mayors is varied. certain general types are clear." Mayors develop a leadership type for themselves by the' way_they • combine the four dimensions of leadership. (See Table 2.) ' • • The mayor could inv est so tittle in the office and define its scope so • •narrowly that he is simply a • caretaker —a uniformly , • underdeveloped type of leadership. For most mayors, the presiding and ceremonial tasks are inescapable because they are legally required or inherent parts of the job. Mayors who perform no other roles may be called symbolic heads of their, government. Such narrowly defined leadership wil not meet the needs of the modern governmental system. Although he serves as presiding of ficer. ceremonial head, and spokesman, such a mayor makes no effort to unify the council members. keep them informed, communicate with the public, intervene between. the council and manager, and so forth. As a consequence, the court- cif v.. likely to bc divided, confused, disorganized, and the manager's ir.: ;ucncc will expand:' 4. A review of the literature and typology of rules in mayor - council and council - manager cities is presented in lames H. Svara and tames W. Bohmbach, The Mayoralty and Leadership in Council - Manager Govrnment;' l -oulur Government 42 (Winter 1976). 1 -6. If he does undertake thc unifyin informing, communicating and in.`` -// tervening tasks, thc mayor becomes a coordinator. Pursuing these ac- tivities effectively is essential to a smoothly functioning council - manager government with strong elected leadership. Council members do not always work together well; nor do the council.. manager. and public necessarily in- teract smoothly. The coordinator is a team icadcr; he keeps the manager and council in touch and interacts with the public and outside agencies in order to improve communication. He helps to achieve-high levels of shared information. But since he is weak in policy guidance, he con- tributes little to policy formu ation (at least, no more than an .er . • member of the council.) The coor- dinator is not a "complete" type of leader, since the organizing and guidance roles are not part of his repertoire.. There'are two other incomplete types of leader. One of them has • two variations =the activist and the. . reformer. This type emphasizes policy guidance and advocacy but neglects coordinative activities., especially team- building. The ac- tivist wants to get .things ac • _complished quickly and succeeds by force of his personality and the • presence of a working majority on the council. Although' influential. the activist is viewed by some members of the council i perhaps even his own supporters; as abrasive and exclusionary in his leadership. The tenure of this type of mayor is marked by successful policy in- itiatives along with friction and disgruntlement among the council members. The reformer launches noble campaigns that have little prosPect of success because he has limited support on the council. The reformer is more concerned with enunciating ideas about what the ci- ty should - do than working with thc council and maintaining coordina- tion. As a result, he is likely to bc ineffective as a policy leader 7 because he is isolated from the test of the council. Another incomplete form of leadership found occasionally is the mayor who specializes in promo- tion. The promoter role may be combined with any of the other types and is becoming increasingly important for all mayors. The mayor . who is excessively involved in pro - motion, however, may dcvotc so much time to traveling and selling the city that he gives little anention to othcr aspects of the job. This type of leader may be more suc- cessful at negotiating agreement among developers, financial institu- tions, and government agencies for• a major project than he is at welding a majority within the coun- cil. The specialized promoter leaves a vacuum of responsibility fortasks involving coordin'ation,_organiza- • tion, and policy guidance, and others must try to fill it. . The director is a complete type of mayor who not only contributes to •. smooth functioning but also pro- • vides a general sense of direction. A primary responsibility of the council is to determine the city government's mission and its broad goals.. The director contributes significantly to consideration of broad questions of purpose. One - -• Mayor suggested that "my toughest job was keeping the council's atten- ' tion on the horizon rather than on the potholes." - • This type of mayor stands out as a leader in the eyes of the council, the press, and the public. but he must . use that recognition as a source of • leverage rather than control. He can enhance thc influence of elected of- ficials by unifying the council, .fill- ing the policy vacuum that can exist on the council, and guiding policy toward goals that meet the com- munity's needs. Furthermore, he is actively involved in monitoring and adjusting relationships within city government to maintain balance, cooperation, and high standards. No one else can attack the causes of friction between the council and manager (which may be produccd by failings of either party) or pro- mote the constructive interaction that is needed for effective perfor- mance. This mayor dots not usurp the manager's prerogatives or diminish his leadership. In fact, in the organizer role, the mayor seeks to enhance the manager's ability to function as the chief executive of- ficer. In sum, although the director does not become the driving force as die executive mayor can be, he is the guiding force in city government. Conclusion The council - manager form of ' government needs certain contribu- tions from the mayor in order to function smoothly. Ata minimum. the mayor should accept coot -.' dinator type of leadership in order to facilitate exchange of information among public,.council,,and staff and to help the council operate • more effectively. This attention to - the internal dynamics of city government and relationships with the public is crucial for complete leadership: If a mayor is to shape both the process and the direction of city government, he cannot ig- nore the coordinative dimension; he can achieve victories over the short run but may become an isolated reformer. The mayor who defines the job as simply symbolic leader- ship is ignoring many important roles that are needed for effective . city government. Voters will have difficulty assess- ing whether a candidate has the qualities and intentions needed to be a good mayor for their city. In meetings with candidates, it is im- portant to find out how they con- ceive the office and how they would relate to other officials. Priorities and ideas about policy are impor- tant, because they are likely to be manifested in the intricate details of interaction handled by the mayor. It . is also important to know how the prospective mayor will work with others to accomplish his policy goals. The media should try to find out how thc candidates perform as leaders in small groups. The perfor- mance of incumbents can be as- sessed against the checklist of roles outlined in Table 1. The standards for assessing performance must be grounded in the conditions of that community and in what kind of - mayor the city needs. Given the am- biguous nature of the mayor's of- fice, these efforts by citizens to learn about candidates take on a special importance. In the process, voters not only assess the candidates but also help shape expectations for the office itself. . For candidates and incumbents, ii is time to abandon the notion that the mayor's office is "what one chooses to make of it." This oft- heard statement is misleading in two important respects. First, the ac- tivities of a good mayor are not matters of choice. The increasing demands on city governments mean that these governments need strong leadership from the mayor; at least, as a coordinator and preferably as a . _director. If the mayor does not undertake these activities, a serious • vacuum exists in council- manager government. Therefore; a good mayor.musl perform certain roles. - Second, the statement fosters thc misconception that mayors who seek to define the responsibilities of their post broadly are on an "ego trip." They could, it would seem, just as well "choose" to be the first among cquals on the council rather . than make a big deal of being the mayor. That posit:en is not consis- tent with this study's analysis of leadership in the large North Carolina cities. The nature of the office in council- manager govern- ment requires that the mayor be prepared to accept certain respon- sibilities reflected in the ten roles. He does so not because of inflated self - esteem but because the position calls for assumption of responsibili- ty. indeed, the mayor who provides complete leadership has accepted restraints on his freedom and the obligation to be an invisible leader within the council as well as a public advocate. The same logic ap- plies to similar positions, such as the chairman or chairwoman of the county board of commissioners or the school board. Whoever occupies Reprinted with permission from the Fall 1985 issue of Popular Government maga- zine. published by the Institute of Govern- ment, University of North.Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. © 1985. such offices should be expected to assert leadership across a widc range of roles and should not be faulted for doing so. • In conclusion, the council - manager mayor can contributc substantially to the performance of his government and the betterment of his community. The position is not a pale imitation of the cxecutiv mayor's office in mayor- council cit{ but rather. a unique leadership posi- tion that requires distinctive qualities. Council - manager cities ask the mayor not to run the show but to bring out the, best in council and staff and to foster a common sense of purpose. !' 2 • r. ,2. • . • • Christopher Good , iicatiun .. 2.. •:; , ,...--”,ffe''',. .1.'s -5•V - '-', . . • o _ '...? . • ': ....,1: ••,:i. With k ..i: .:1,,,y- • *.• - 'ff•t• ••••••::, , - ....:•, '14 4 c,en.,.;4 evada; is n)oy :elii zi r ena i ssa n c e e:1ri-, '.4.•,, ■. A •'..... li..:'7: ‘ ' C$Alf' .' r ,". i ' ''•''. 1. - t " °-. ... ''''". ■'" Y. ' ' '. ' t er an n iial urowth=i-iii.. in the RenO/Spar th • WO1 ii big er .•• ' • e tune.: a)or: economic7- evelopment-: • ro)ectsar nijdcnnjgrovth pd 'en evru:in *cor e,br Olviltoi.siiiiralong the banks :Of the. Tkucket: DOVv tdivrit'Arfoivn trrnr. 'a festiV rings ?it orily tounsts tyfesi den es taithe', d own r fn al .64 131cicks of theri.Veh" Llyi_ng 'space is beLngdev :- 2 are fOuretail,..; r estau ran f;. Council 7 • has not al been e den t- Charles iN;fc .1\$ ,eeiy: has helped the c5:, tab pnoriues Ihere had been ethiii;d": in • the dO.stn'tOsVii, . on the . "We needed to • .svork : .• .••• _ . - • electe offici2ls to identify 1 vision for downtown," says. it as my job to take that vision and' craft a plae. • ._-• • Another major issde. he identified . 1 . ,vas to iinprOve the effi:- • 17rus ••• - • • %;.•••; • . • JANUARY 1999. ciency of the city organization. Func!a- mental to both problems, he says, was the need to build a better relationship between the council and staff. Communication Fosters Trust "Across this country, there are elected of- ficials who want to be involved," explains McNeely. This certainly applies to Reno. "There's an image of an entrenched bu- reaucracy. To be successful, you have to work in partnership with the policymak- ers and make sure you're responsive to their needs." Reno's mayor and council are active and involved, but establishing that line between policy and administra- tion has been and still is important. Mayor Jeff Griffin says that line is now clear. "I'm used to running a business," Griffin says. "You have to make it clear whose role is whose. I don't want to be the city manager, and Charles doesn't want to be the mayor. The council sets policy and goals, then backs away and al- lows management to function." Coun- cilmember -at -Large Pierre Hascheff agrees: "Now we have less management at the council table and more account- ability for the city manager." McNeely makes a point of taking councilmembers on an annual retreat to set long -term goals as a team, and he also meets individually with each mem- ber on a regular basis. He says he has worked to avoid a common pitfall: tak- ing sides with some policymakers against others. "I have a responsibility to communicate regularly with every one of them," he says. "I don't take sides or go through one member of the council to get to the whole group" Seven people sit on the council, and McNeely points out that they each have their own issues and concerns. "I meet with them individually to discuss their ideas," he says. "But that's not where we decide on a way to tackle the problem." That comes later, when he can bring is- sues before the entire group. "This council is good about that. We discuss things one on one, But policy questions PUBLIC MANAGEMENT T his burst of energy has been ushered in by an activist city council and a manager who put the council's vision to work. always go before the whole council." Building a Better Reno, Phase 1 When McNeely started in Reno, he asked each councilmember about his or her vision for the city 10 to 15 years down the road. Responses were surpris- ingly similar. Major issues facing the local government included the need to improve customer service, long -range planning, and efficiency. He took councilmembers' comments and resolved them into six priorities for the first year: community and youth ser- vices; strategic plans; redevelopment along the Truckee River corridor; a drop - in social service center; the railroad tracks running through the downtown, to be depressed with the agreement of the Union- Pacific Railroad; and a com- prehensive street rehabilitation program. The council was given a plan, a list of specific items to pursue that had grown from these six priorities. The plan was called. "Building a Better Reno " —a phrase with which most people in Reno are now well familiar. The plan has called for the involvement of all parts of the city organization and the creation of some new responsibilities. An Ombudsman Office of Citizen Assistance was established for citizens who didn't know where to take their questions or problems with local gov- ernment. Annual goal- setting and plan- ning sessions for the council and the management team also were established, and McNeely eats lunch with a group of randomly selected employees once a month. Strategic planning has been made a key part of the city's planning process and includes the training of key people throughout the organization. Building a Better Reno's first phase included the creation of the Permit Place, a one -stop shop for propejty owners and developers to obtain thjeir required permits, as well as to get an- swers to their questions. Staff also estab- lished the River Corridor Action Plan for five blocks along the Truckee River. The city's redevelopment agency put out hede t.ehp"tr,:::::on rJ:e ,Tru. tie:° J tver resulted in Riverwalk in downtown Rena Nevada. 13 a request for proposals from master de- velopers to construct a center of com- merce and culture where vacant build- ings and empty lots formerly existed. "We set goals; we laid out what we wanted from staff," explains Mayor Grif- fin. "We carne back later and said, how did we do? We met them. Now we're set- ting new goals." Lessons Learned in Phase 1 Councilmember Pierre Hascheff says the process has shown the council the importance of sticking to the goals it had set and of allowing staff to take risks. "We still need to improve the way we reward staff for being entrepreneurs," Hascheff says. "If you want to stimulate creative thinking, you have to be willing to reward employees." The city manager says he has learned lessons, too. The biggest problem he sees with the Building a Better Reno program has been one of communication. Getting all of the city departments on board and convincing them that things were actu- ally changing has been a big challenge. Also, bringing the public into the process early is important. "You have to commu- nicate your message, then communicate some more," McNeely says. The redevelopment project has been Reno's future is being guided by the work of in cot.., 14 T he most important , part of establishing trust between a manager and a council is bringing back results. controversial at times, with many mem- bers of the community raising impor- tant issues related to historic preserva- tion of Reno's older buildings. Getting people to participate in the decision - making process can be difficult, but after all, McNeely points out, it is the resi- dents' community, and they deserve to have a voice in determining its future. "It's been a learning process," McNeely says. "And outreach to the public is a big part of the next phase of the program." Building a Better Reno, Phase 11 "Building a Better Reno, Phase II" —also known as Our Town, One Town: Neighbor- hoods to Downtown — represents the coun- cil's direction for staff for the next one to two years and has grown out of a goal -set- ting session. The program entails two campaigns: first, to continue the redevel- 1 opment effort along the Truckee River; and second, to focus on neighborhood services, reaching out to residents through an innovative system of neighborhood ad- visory boards (NABS) that will respond to residents' issues and concerns. The coming months will see staff work on traffic, recreation programs, park services, and public safety issues that are important to residents in neigh- borhoods. Reno has appointed NABs to represent the interests of people who live in neighborhoods in seven sections of the city. Some citizens have been more active than others, and staff support has been stretched thin. In early 1998, how- ever, the community relations division employed two neighborhood services coordinators, who are dedicated entirely to the neighborhood programs. The council has approved $350,000 for the NABs to direct toward their neighbor- hood priorities. Communication and Trust Identifying council priorities and craft ing them into concrete programs chit can be implemented effectively is the role of the city manager, McNeely says. Sitting down with each councilmember, getting a sense of how each member en- visions the future of his or her commu- nity, was invaluable. Talking to residents and listening to their frustrations with or praise for the local government also helped make the mission clear. "Coming in as an outsider, you can do that," Mc- Neely says. "You can bring a different perspective to the issues facing a com- munity and piece together an objective view of what works and what doesn't." But the most important part of estab- lishing trust betweer. a manager and a council is bringing back results. And clarifying the council's vision, giving staff specific responsibilities, and hold- ing councilmembers accountable are other measures that are helping to build a better Reno. Cm Christopher Good is public communica- tion coordinator, Reno, Nevada. JANUARY 1999 DOSS the manager have to be a local resident at the IF time the appointment is made? No Local residence should not be required al applicant; et the time the appointment is matte. Managers are profess;cnals who aright serve several communities during their careers, hringrnq extensive experience coordinatinsg public se.r+'ces and applying management technhouE to a community S i What aaiary does the manager receive? Earnings it managers dope =1d oil theca eduostional background and mtpenerrre, the sire and complexity of the local govern rnents employing them, cried the economic corldttitria of the regions where communities are located. The council sets the manager's salary Detailed information on sallt<ries is compiled annually by ICMA and rs i vetluble on request 0 Can the manager be fired? Managers serve a' lho. pleasure of the council or governing body. They can be fired by a majority of the council, consistent with lo .,,e1 laws, ordinances. or employment agieanterrts they may have with the coirijnetk. Control is always in the hands of the elected representatives of the people. Where do managers get their prior experience? Nearly 73 percent of managers surveyed by ICN A home a muster's or a professional degree Respondents indicated tat they had spent art avert r]f 1 t7 years as a local government man et:te r, Do managers participate in local politics? All managers who belong to ICfvtA are hour.d oy its Code of Ethics, which states that every member of t e +seocieiion shall refrain from all political activities iirui undermine public ;:cnfldenr_e in prolesslcniJl administrators and refrttn from participation In the election of members of file en ptoyrndl legislative body 0 What else does ICMAS Code of Ethics cover? The Cade specifies t 2 ethical princ!p;,res or personal and pro fessionat conduct, including dedication to the caul of grid government ICMA members believe In the effectiveness of representative democracy end the value cif government services provided er u+tabty to citizens within a community. ICMA members also are committed to standards of honesty and integrity more vigorous than those required by the law. Contact ICMA for a copy of the Code of Ethics or 90 to http: ►'f i cm a- or giabo uticma/ethi cs je What is ICMA? In 1914. a group of appointed managers formed a prcfessicsnpl a oCratir]n, eventually ktTr ri (i tfre International City/County Management ment Association (1CM&JJ, to share their expertise and er erienues in local gQ,rr rnrne:ii management Since that time. rC #v1A has been the profe and educational organrratron for administrators and assistant administrators serwig clues. counties, other lord governments• and regional entitles around the world. ICMA membership also Inetiudes directors of stage associations of local governments. other local government employees_ academics, and concerned citJzenar who share the goal of improving local government, The purpose al ICMA 1s 110 create excellence in local governance by developing rind nurturing profesttiknal local government management worldwide To that end. the Association provldes technical assistance grid publications for local government professionals to help there improve their skills seed inmrearse thelr knowledge ICtdW also serve's as a clearinghouse for the dollection, analysis, and dissemination of information and data € bout local government For lerrttrer information on iterna referenced in this brochure, visit ICMA'e form -r. f -g ventrnerit We;., site at littp://lcme.org/ issueinteraectlanefformofgn+vt ogre or sea the conteel informa• tls n listed on the back panel of this brochure. is there another organization that supports council - manager government? Yes, the National Civic League is a nonpartisan cittzene organization founded In T1395. Its purpose is to serve as a clearinghouse for information on methods of irrlpmving state and local government: to encourage citizen participation in state and local govemrnent, and to provide guides. model charters and law` on specific sLiblects. The League's Mods/ Ct Charter now In Its seventh edition, has endorsed cauntil• x°nara er government since. '1915. Far further 1nformaciorns 1'CMA • i l I1 E. ..440l 5116.44 N . 'chi- 50tt ., I t r ptt 1. IBC 20002 -4201 erne orgtrnerieinte3i te rror p : I roof National Civic League !445 Wilke! Street 5040 :3E,10 D rtv ric', 1. riIc i 8C72Og -1 28 1 I3101:223•6O04 err 303 4343 Fax 334/571 4 4[r 4 Waft yore. l ltrp , r' ^Inv wM rrr:I WY .1 fd r rill form r., .1- ir'trnrertt ar.Crtlitarlerr in Alaska, .ilifarlain. Cons "ecticutt. k °ltrn�ri, 111itrrrir.. Ir lulrryt: Iowii, Wine ttiiltir}uurt.l'lux crttr , J491rYli+rrtiur, # Ill iirl; tvtaiiitniotet, Nt NEohlondtr_ 0100, f]uR_}I711 Rlrutke litlf7risl, vt.trnufil ritrtlrir1rfte,rr, :lick V1rH +t- enuurr, r.critrin iirnIcr rot, r ICISJ.9 ,36 Inlrlr I,,: r,1 Nrci core) tn 2O 42-361:F_ rr ,,+ I sld' Il,ereti.or grail 111 dlbErna. Ansel, Arkiiwis CdiitciEk Ddreifiall'e t vfit+rrt if F 11JNi. Ck arch 1 Kr7r LL +.11 :1: 1 r 1 1 I.1■ ' . 14'1t$rtiiitnx h1r• "1.1: k:c t.J -..1 1 3 +J '1t ,•_1_. 1 ti wtiy YYNih rx =.I IP1 i ;yri 111 , i J.. I, ! lkryi,r„ !k perranix 1dx,11 1liri Sotreili , f ,ils�tttJ` T ean rt a r , 1i x,r , til I , .r, +t+ e.1.t it{�rrtia, rP11�11 1�rr Irli� i , 1.1 r r 3} + 95 -,7bI F Idl ar N�11 1. /I'I 1 "I1' . r 0r 202,19r02-`,:.` z):r Answers to Your Questions • . . r , • , + r r' xy r� ry y F a 1 I ■ 'F ' _e 'i F r ,l 'f . 10 "! F ' • 0 , .r t CounC it -Nana Form of G overnm e n y �,+ ry What is the council - manager form, which is used in so many local governments? Ti ie: ceunrilerianager firm is the system of ',poet gevernment that cerrnbinee the atrang politurai leatdersihrp of elected officials in the eosins of a council pr rather governing booty, with the strong rnarlagetra) expert ice of en appointed local government manager The form establlshen a represenestrve system where all power is concentrated in the elected aounclt and where the council hires a professiorlally trained manager to oversee the delivery of pubh services Is it a responsive forth of government? In courrcll- rnarrag i gr ' vernment, the mayor sn +a councilrearthers are the leaders and poitcy reakerrr elected to represent various segments of the community and tip concentrate on policy l sues that are responeve to citizens' needs and wiahea The rrranager es appointed by council ors carry out policy and ensure that the entire community is being served if the manager is not responsive to the council s wishes, the council has nuthorily to termirette the manager at any time, In that sense. a manager s respoinniveness Is test dodge. 0 Are all council- manager governments structured the same way? No. One of its most attractive teatimes is that the council manager form in adaptable to Facet conditions and preferences, For exemple, some c rn nunities ?rave councils that are elected at large while other councils are elected by district er by at combination of an altarge and by-distrIct structure. Some boost governments ha..* mayors who are alectecf by the 'voters m large; others are elected by their colleagues on the council What Is the council) "s function? The council is tine legs -ate •e body, its members are the comrnuiilty's decision m ikere. Power is centralized in the elected council, whlreli approves the budget and :deterrrtlnea; the tare rata, For example. The council also focuses on the community's goals. major prniecte, and such lone-term ccinald- eratiranes as community growth, land use development. capital ernpiovernent plane;. capital financing, and strategic planning. The council flirts a professional manager to carry. out the adminrrtrative tesponsabilities end Supervises the manager's pe rfafman ce • Where does the mayor frt in? Mayors In ciiuncit- rnareager communities fur ctrecrper on5 counties) are .key politico!' leaders and policy developers and their duties, responsibilities. end authorities depend on the organL Iran's charier In conrnell•neareiger e:ommunitfes, typically the mayor presides al council meetings • serves as a spokesper- son for the community, Facilitates communication and under - Blanding between elected and appointed officious, nS4ists the council in setting pet end advocating policy decisions, and serves ee a ;promoter and defender of the community In addition, the mayor serves as a :Key representative in intorgov. ernmental relations. The mayor, council. and manager constitute laolicy developrrient and manage-merit team. What is the managers function? The manager is hired to servo the council and the community and to hiring to the local governme it the benefits of training and experience in administering local g vernment projects and programs on behalf of the governing body. The manage, prepares a budget for the council's. consideration; recruits, Hires, and supeniiises the government's stiff. serves as the courtalre chief adviser. and carnes out the councit pclioie . Coundlmernbers and citizens count co tt-.e manager to proiede complete and objective Infor-natice, prows and cone or alterna- tives, and long CCM 5e414 renc What is the cost to the local government of appointing a professional manager? Local governments have Found that overall costs actually have been reduced with competent management, Savings come In the form of Fedi,' operating costs, irtcnens J efficiency and productNity. improved revenue collection, or effective glee of 1ectinel, r Does the manager participate in policy determination? The manager makx' pool cy reccimrnenda'.iuns to the counclf, but the council may or rosy not adept there and may modiFy the rrecommendatione The manager is bossed try whatever action the iunril takes, Is this form of government used only in certain itir kinds of cities? No. In fact, it rs riot restricted to r,rti . it es used by counties sofa_ More then 3.700 cities operate under this form, and more than 370 couritia operate under the council administrator form They vary arr_atly rri size and characteristics 0 1 How many Americans live in communities that operate under council - manager government? More thar, 1t3 million. I. Is the form popular in large communities? Yes Out of 202 cities with more than 100.003 citizens, 1 1'3 use this fcinm of goverr`rnent• Some examples are Phoenix; San Diego: Dallas. Cirirennalr; San Antonio: karisae City. Missouri: l+for#olli Virginia, Sarvanealre end Mecklenburg County, North Carolina How much citizen participation is possible under council - manager government? Successful examples of ctltixeri partrrepallon In the local government sorvic delivery de ision.makIng process are widespread among proFeesionally managed communities Because rrofess:onsl local govemme et management offers government of the people by the people • and for' the people, It sets the stage for citizen activism by sofa uragieg open c tnrnaricatlon between citizens and 'heir government. Examples range from visioning. In which citizens play a major role it determining is future of their c•ammunity, to neighbor hood service delivery, which Inwohree residents through the development of citizen /government partnerships. to commu- nity-oriented local g vemm ant services Because political power is concentrated in the entire governing body rather than one elected official, more citizens have art opportunity to oe elected to a position In which they have significant Influence over the future of their community. 6 0 Whet 1s the history of the councii.manager form? Bore out of the turr- ol•the century progressive reform move- merit, the counell-mrinager system or local government Is ane of the few original American coil' ik itions to political theory. In 1909, Staunton, Virginia, instituted the first position legally defining, by ordinance, the broad authority and responsibility associated with rretiey's professional local government manager Sumter, South Carolina. was the first city to adopt a charier incorporating the basbC principles of council- rnanntjar govern ntent to 1912 Wa3stmount. Quebec ielr the form to Canada in 1913 The first tame city to adopt the akin was. Dayton. Ohio, in 1914 The first count es to adapt It In the 1930 were Arlington County. Virginia. and Durham County and Robesen County, Nardi Ceroilrne Since its establishment, the cowincll- manager ram has become the most popular form of government In the United States in communities with populations of 5,001 or greater The form also ra popular rn Canada Atratralrp. the Netheeende, Nee Zealand the United Kingdom, Honduras, Chile. and Brazil. Fop men than S!`~ yeers council-manager government has respandr. -c to the changing needs or citizens and their c rnrnunitles in How can a community adopt this form of If government? Met-loch vary, but moat corrrmunines can adopt council• manager govomment through n charter, a local ardrnance, or a state enabling taw. In many cases. adoption ritual be by vote of the local governing body. For informotton on how your vorntnu- nlLy can adapt council. manager government, contact yoke ettile rnuniiipal lee rue or aseoclalron of counttee. You can fired the addresses of thecae orgaelzstions In The Municapa! Year &aoK at your local library or on the Internet How is the manager selected? The ver;aicy uaualiy is announced in the ICA44 New :wetter, and managers in other communities are Invited to apply if they are interested Managers, assistants. and others apply directly to the council- which reviews the applications and interviews rluaiiFied candidates. ICMA makes no recommendatioins regaidino candidates. Further information is available In he hondbook Recre itmenl Gu?da+iJres for Selecting a ,! ccaI GoYemrnant r7dm,t i'tr FOC pruLIIi±siri -d by ICMA and avallal:' hotp://bookstore.icme.org. How city councilors conduct them- selves in the decision - making pro- cess can be as important as the decisions they make. - The council's role in imago building — or image destruction — is a huge one. The reason: The council's actions are news, A long- standing assumption of the press is that what local government does is news, by definition. The actions of local government have an impact on the readers. The assumption is that readers deserve to know what's going on (whether they may want to know or not). When conflict and color are a part of the story, it makes the headline writers very happy, so they may prefer it that way. If your community has a local newspaper, the chances are good that the actions of your city council are reported to the public regularly. The chances are even better that you have one or more reporters attending your city council meetings. In many cases, what happens at the weekly, bi- weekly or monthly city council meeting constitutes a Local news- paper's sole attention to local government, and your constituents' sole source of information about it. After all, most citizens don't go to city council meetings — unless they have an axe to grind. So they rely for information about city govern- ment pretty much on what they read in the local paper. . I know this is pretty elementary stuff. But it's worth remembering if you're interested in maintaining a good reputation — and who doesn't value his/her reputation? The image your city council projects is important if you want to have the citizens of your city look upon their local government as com- petent, caring and conscientious, and their decisions as credible. A Baker's Dozen Good Ways to Wreck Your City's Public image by Larry D. Cole With that in mind, I'd like to give you my pointers in the negative. Let's say you've just been elected to the city council on a mission from hell. What would the devil make you do? Well, here are my nominations: A baker's dozen good ways that the city council can wreck the image of your city and make the newspaper reporter's job easy at the same time. 'Get the Guest.' This is 1 done by council members openly challenging state- ments and rebutting testimony pre- sented by the public when they dis- agree with what they hear. During my years in public life, I've found that this is an excellent way to get ordinary citizens really provoked. A proven technique during public hearings Is for a council member to subject a citizen to an uncomfort- able, or even hostile cross- examina- tion followed by a really patronizing lecture. This works at planning commission meetings, too. Some of the best practitioners can get the whole audience muttering oaths and threats. Public good will and the city's credibility go down the drain. 2 This is a more subtle way council members can damage their city's image. It's called 'Tuning Out.• When a citizen is addressing the council, appear not to be listening. Instead, sort through the council mail or shuffle paper — preferably with the microphone on. Have a little chat with the city recorder, or city attorney, or the councilor next to you. Pass notes to staff or other councilors. Then, if the citizen is still droning on, lean back in your chair and "rest your eyes' a little. The citizens like to sea their officials get a little rest. At first, this kind of activity is only irritating. People are usually willing to overlook it the first time or two. You need to be persistent and thoughtless. The cumulative impres- sion Is that you really don't care what people have to say. Now let's hear a little 'City 3 Council Rag.' Not the kind that Scott Joplin played. This kind of 'Rag' doesn't sound good to anyone (except perhaps the press). Here's how to play it. During council meetings, take the time to rag on the staff. Berate and criticize them. Maybe you can come to the meeting with a list of recent failures to talk about. For example, remind someone of deadlines they've missed, or the bid estimates they've blown. The point is, make sure they understand how'disappointed you are in their performance. Ask staff to do things in- public so you can get credit for bringing it up, set arbitrary deadlines for them, and then berate staff for not getting them done. This shows staff and the public who the boss is and that you are in control. When you do this in front of an audience, the effect on staff can be dispiriting, or even humiliating. Bonus points are awarded if the audience comes away with the impression that the council tacks confidence in the city's staff and doesn't know the meaning of the word teamwork. That way everyone appears incompetent. 'Leak 1L' This is one of 4 government's most popular ways of damaging its credi- bility. It happens at all levels of government, but city council members have a special advantage in that sooner or later they are privy to a city's most sensitive information — information that can cause real harm whether it is leaked for a punitive or altruistic purpose, or for "political" reasons. G� The subjects of leaks are fre- quently matters that come before the city council. in executive session. The press may attend the executive session, but it can be prohibited from reporting on such Items — unless they can gat the Information some- where else. And sometimes they do get it — under the table, over the phone, or in an unmarked manila envelope. It's usually pretty juicy. You do this to make someone else look bad, so that way you look better. It could be a report from the personnel director or city manager about a pending disciplinary action against a city employee. It could be a union 'or personal grievance. Maybe its a sexual harassment com- plairn that is under investigation, or the working draft of an audit that raises troubling questions about the purchasing managers activities and perhaps without management response attached. It could be a report on property the city is looking into acquiring for a street or a park. These are the kinds of things that, If disclosed prematurely, can do more than hurt your city's credibility. They can end up costing your city's taxpayers a lot of money as well, in legal costs, tort claims and settle- ments, as well as higher land and property costs. This is the flip side of 5 Number 4. It's called 'I Have a Secret (But. Not for Long).' Under Oregon law, a city council can be accused of commit- ting this offense when a quorum of the council happens to show up at thesame dinner party without letting the press know about it in advance. That could be found to be a violation of Oregon's open meetings law. If . they did it innocently, by accident, they at least should know better than to sit together, due to the perception that it may have been by design. . If they did It deliberately., say for the purpose of discussing city busi- ness out of public earshot, they could be tarred and feathered. The press likes nothing better than a secret meeting of public officials. They will gleefully respond by duti- fully reporting to your constituents that the city council violated the law in order to keep the taxpayers from finding out about something they're entitled to know. This is a very effective credibility wrecker. The Buddy System." 6 . This is what you use to promote good intergovern- mental relations. First, get Involved with another government agency, perhaps on one of their committees. Then, side with them on all issues, especially when your own staff or peers ,have different opinions or information. This way you will make this governmental agency happy because they will have a friend in your city and will not have to nego- tiate anything as hard, as you will carry the ball for them, or at least help them carry the ball. Never mind that the result may cost your tax- payers more; it's worth it. 'Promises, Promises.' 7 It's a common failing — more of a political mis- demeanor than a crime.' It consists of promising, as a council member or a candidate, to do things that 1) are plainly Illegal (unbeknownst to the councilor or candidate, I assume), or 2) require approval of a majority of the city council. Take the council member who, at a neighborhood meeting, promises that the city will put in.a stop sign to slow clown traffic in front of the day- care center. Sounds good to the neighbors. Later, the council member learns from the city engineer that the city's policy on stop signs is governed by something called the "Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices." The city engineer explains that installing a stop sign in front of the day -care center would be a violation of adopted city policy and also rep- resent a potential hazard to pedes- trians, not to mention a potential tort claim liability. What does the council do now? Apologize to the consti- tuents ... or go for bonus points by complaining about red tape and government bureaucracy, or the rest of the council for not doing it arr 'Feeding Frenzy.' When 8 a citizen brings In an idea or concern they want addressed, or something they would like to see accomplished In the city, compete with one another for the attention of that citizen. Tell the audience how much you know about the subject and give in- structions to staff right away about how to deal with it and tell them to implement that idea right away. Then the next councilor will have to come up with better Ideas and more emphasis on how wonderful the idea is, etc., etc., until you develop a feeding frenzy for the attention of. this citizen. Not only does the public then get a chance to question the sanity of councilors, but this is a wonderful opportunity to shoot each other in the foot. This is the time when commitments are made before research is done as to feasibility of the idea This makes it really difficult to get yourselves out of commit- ments or holes that are dug for each other. 9 "Never Give an inch.' Always battle every issue to the bitter end, even if you're outnumbered. Death before dis- honor. Compromise is for weenies. It's a sure -fire way to fray the patience of your fellow council members. Their tempers will get shover, even as the meetings get longer. 'What Public Hearing ?' 10 This is one of my favorites It's especially useful when the hearing is later in the evening. What you do is talk and argue about the issue and the staff report prior to the public hearing long enough that maybe everyone in the audience will leave — then you won't have to listen tolhe public's narrow - minded atti- tudes and uninformed opinions. If anyone is left, then you have at least given them some examples they can use in giving their testimony to you. When you get expert enough at this, then all the audience will have to say is, 'I agree with Councilor X.' This also would be a good time to follow with_Number 2, "Tuning Out," if anyone is left. 'What You Don't Know 11 Won't Hurt You.• This consists of not bothering to understand Oregon's property tax system. I suppose it is something afI of us are guilty of to some degree. and now, under Measure 5, Oregon's property tax system is - more complex and cumbersome than ever. Believe me, the Tess you know about the property tax system, the more likely you are as an elected public official to accidently step Into something unpleasant over the tops of your shoes in public. tf you don't know anything about the tax system, it's going to be pretty hard for you to help the public understand it, or to do anything to fix It. Adopt Council Rules. 1 These will spell out proce- dures to follow at meetings, council relations with staff, and a whole lot of helpful stuff. One of the recently adopted council rules in Beaverton was that council members refrain from replying to visitors' com- ments or remonstrances during the visitors portion of the agenda Visitor comments come at the begin- ning of each meeting. The new rule has proven to be a time -saver as well as helping to prevent intem- perate remarks which council mem- bers are prone to make on occasion and always regret afterwards. Hold an Annual Council 2 Retreat. You can use it for goal setting, which is always helpful. You can use it for council training. Bring in a facilitator. Work on team- building. Let the depart- ment heads come for part of the • Don't Prepare for the I 2 Council Meeting. Message: You can't be bothered to get up to speed where the public interest is concerned. By skipping your homework, you'll quickly find yourself retreating to the refuge of the unprepared — Oversim plificat.ion: Don't give a thought to the complexity of a situation; think like a bumper sticker instead. Over- simplify. You'll find that it will pay off richly in bad PR for the city. As some wise philosopher once said, For every complex problem there is a simple solution — and Ws almost always wrong.' That concludes my list of a baker's dozen good ways to wreck your city's credibility. There are a lot more than 13. In fact, there probably are an endless number of ways to screw up. Fortunately, there are some things we, as local elected officials, can do to limit self - inflicted damage. I want to share a few of them with you. retreat to brief the council, in 10 minutes or less, on their depart- ment's mission and goals. Discuss the issues in your community and what should be done about them. Criticize in Private, 3 Praise In Public. Make that your personal policy and try to follow it. This is part of team - building. I'll give you a little analogy. If you have ever flown in a plane and pulled the tray down to find it dirty, or a piece of carpet pulled up, or wallcovering frayed, used kleenex in the pocket in front of you, or paper on the floor, have you ever wondered if the mechanics have left a wrench in the engine or are paying as much attention as they should? People can get the same idea about how well the city Is run if a city vehicle is rusty or full of mud and 'How to Get Attention.° 13 Councilors who like Number 12 usually like this one, too. It consists of raising issues at a city council meeting that will arouse the concern of the community and its citizens. If you work it right, you can imply that anyone disagreeing with you can be accused of trying to with- hold this information from the public or trying to sweep it under the rug. It works best if you haven't tried to get any information on the subject first. After all, honest facts may ruin this opportunity. Favorite subjects are rising crime rates, inadequate police protection, anything involving gangs or drags or house burglaries. Overcrowding of schools due to recent growth is a good one; too. If you get your issue established then you can go out and champion it and show the public how good a city councilor you are. If the facts later on show that there should have been no concern or a lesser concern, so what! You can probably find a way to take credit for it because of your efforts in solving this problem. dirt. They can also get the same idea when the council is arguing.and fighting and making remarks about incompetent staff in public. The bottom line is that the citizen dislikes disruption, whatever the cause, and what councilors some- times fail to understand is that every- one is tainted by this. If one coun- cilor embarrasses another, or if staff is criticized in public, it ends up reflecting on everyone, including the maker of the comments. In other words, 'Don't wash your Laundry in public, Zest your own underwear be shown, too.' Don't try to solve citizen 4 complaints from the council 4 dais on the spot. Refer them to staff and request a response within a reasonable timeline, or let staff recommend a timeline. Be Professional. The 5 more controversial an issue, 'the more important k is for council members to behave in a businesslike manner at meetings. When emotions flare, reason may go up in smoke. Give Your Staff and 6 Peers Some Credit. They may have good, accurate information, too. The 'out -of -town' person, consultant, or agency isn't always the expert on what Is best for your city. Avoid trying to be some- one's hero and think of your consti- tuents and the City Team while Trying 10 work things out. Understand the Value of 7 Compromise. Think about how the public perception - of your city is affected by persistent bickering and close votes. Make it one of your goals to encourage and build consensus on the council, instead of trying to find ways to roll your opponents. When it's a hot issue, a 5-to-0 or 4 -to-1 vote Is a tot better than 3-to-2. The 3 side should be willing to give a little to bring the 2 side to consensus. This is better in the long run. Of course, I'm talking about the larger issues only. Smaller issues can be decided with a 3-to -2 vote with far less problems. Get to the Public 8 Hearing. Limit your discussion prior to opening the public hearing to questions or clarification of staff reports. Don't offer opinions on an issue before hearing from the public. Remember, you are supposed to give a fair • hearing on the issues before making a decision. Even if you are anxious to tell the audience or members of the•audi- ence what you think they want to hear — don't. Don't be anxious to tell the audience how much you know about the issue. Let them speak first and then tell them after the public hearing has closed. Then they may feel that they have made a difference and that you have listened to them. Who knows? They may even be happier. Even if they don't agree with you they may be less inclined to think that you already had your mind made up. How to conduct yourself in a public meeting Is mostly a matter of common sense and courtesy if you think about it. Be considerate of your fellow councilors, staff and the public; be courteous; be cool; be a team. Have a good image) Larry Cole is the former Mayor/CEO of the City of Beaverton, Oregon. This article was written by Mr. Cole, at the League of Oregon Cities' request, following his presentation on the subject at the Newly Elected Officials Workshop during the League's annual conference in November 1991. The presentation was later given to mayors at the Oregon Mayors Association annual conference in August, 1992. Project Tracking ...Spokane Valley