HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/26/1988, 4 - DESIRED DIRECTION ON CITY COUNCIL/MANAGEMENT TEAM WORKSHOPS -`TNG AGENDA /L
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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.
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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.
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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