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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/26/1988, 4 - DESIRED DIRECTION ON CITY COUNCIL/MANAGEMENT TEAM WORKSHOPS -`TNG AGENDA /L ,', I;,i! ,„iii ,,iyllll 'IIIIIPIF _T A(F �wRzs �es �. �OBIQ)Y)o city of sAn IU 990 Palm Street/Post Office Box 8100 • San Luis Obispo, CA 93403.8100 April 18, 1988 MEMORANDUM To: City Council From: John Dunn Subject: Desire ction on City Council/Management Team Workshops This memo will give some thoughts concerning the past and future of our City Council/Management Team Workshops. It will raise some questions which we need to collectively address, and will make some suggestions to be further discussed. First, I will make some general observations: 1. Though challenging and exciting, modern City government is also complex and difficult, and places great stress upon communication and coordination processes for the achievement of significant objectives. 2. City government in California has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. The type of people who desire to serve and who serve on City Councils have different characteristics, and staff members are both different and work in a different environment than was the case years ago. 3. Pressures for performance on local government in California have never been greater. Part of the reason is that there is no clear Federal or State program for the cities of our nation. We must work in an environment where the great societal issues of our day are often not straightforwardly and realistically addressed by our Federal and State legislative bodies. At the Federal and State levels, we see too many examples of paralysis caused by stalemates between the executive and the legislative branches, we see the great influence of special interest and monetary influences, and where political perpetration becomes paramount over identifying and serving the long-term public interest. In short, although we are a "partner in the Federal system, " we are also forced to go our own way and to be as autonomous and self-reliant as possible. City governments which do not have this as their attitude will pay a high price. 4. Our citizens have higher expectations of their City government. Our citizens are quite legitimately concerned with the type and quality of City services and are also concerned about the cost of these services. The "dilemma" of how to present a palette of services and facilities within the framework of responsible municipal financing is left to the City Council and the staff. Though municipal finance issues do not gather the same public attention as the perceived larger issues of planning and the environment, the quality of our public facilities and our municipal services and our "quality of life" depends to a large degree on our municipal financial independence. ��I 5. What is the relevance of the above points to the main topic under discussion? It is that local government has never been under greater pressure to be effective in its decision making, professional in its delivery of services, and insightful in planning for the future. The overall issues are: cooperatively working together; developing effective communications between us; establishing effective working relationships and improving our decision making abilities. My own reflection on the September and February Workshops, and the comments I've heard from others, have been largely positive. Of the two, the September Workshop was perhaps the most profitable in that it led to a more tangible work product and there seemed to be a greater sense of comradery between the participants. Where do we go from here: 1. Should we continue the Workshops? 2. If so: (A) Should we continue them in substantially the same form, or do we have some thoughts about a different format? (B) Do we wish to continue to use Dave Jones as our faciliator or select another facilitator? (C) Do we desire to concentrate more on: (1) Improving communications and more effectively working together (2) Working on a desired long-term policy direction (3) Working on the non-agenda but important issues which don' t seem to be given time in the normal course of events (4) A combination of the above three. 3. If not, what alternatives are there for improving working relationships and the decision making process? Like some of you, I realize that the Workshops are not perfect and do not resolve all the issues and do not leave everyone feeling great. That may be too high an expectation to place on them. They do give us a forum for discussing real issues, some of which wouldn't get discussed without this forum. The question which goes through my mind is, "What happens to these real issues if they are left unaddressed or unresolved? Do they flare out in other ways or onto other subjects, basically to the detriment of the organization? Though I am generally trying to be objective and neutral, I favor continuing the Workshops (and doing what we can to improve them) . On the other hand, if a majority of the City Council doesn't feel the same way, then the Workshops either wouldn't happen or they will be reduced in their effectiveness. r My suggestion is that each of us think about these matters for a short while. Then the City Council could discuss them at a study session. It is important for the Council to develop a consensus on how we desire to proceed on this matter. If the City Council were to agree on a fall Workshop, then September or October might be a good time for the Workshop to take place. Our present contract with David Jones has expired, meaning that we will have to specifically discuss the role of the facilitator, whether it should be David Jones or another person of our choosing, and making funds available for this purpose. Please contact me if you have additional thoughts. I will be happy to jot them down and give them to the balance of the City Council . JD:mp Management Team