PM Magazine, August 2020

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Racial Injustice 10 Animal Cruelty 16 Homelessness 40

A Focus on

GNARLY ISSUES How local government can help

AUGUST 2020 ICMA.ORG/PM

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Don’t let your team miss out. Register everyone at icma.org/UNITE! P.S. Party of one? Register by August 26 for the best value rate!

AUGUST 2020 VOL. 102 NO. 8

CONTENTS

16

F E AT U R E S

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Black Lives Matter and White Voices Are Needed It’s time for all voices to speak out and be heard Gerald C. Smith, Sr., ICMA-CM, Maquoketa, Iowa

Defining the role of the animal control officer Julie Palais, Animal Welfare Institute

22

Navigating Mental Health as a Local Government Leader A retired city manager’s journey through mental illness Bill, Retired City Manager

28

The Electric Mayhem How local governments can integrate electric vehicles into their fleets Peter McDevitt, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

33

Municipal Bankruptcy in the Time of COVID-19

28

D E PA RT M E N T S 2 Ethics Matter!

Equity and Social Justice

6 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Leadership, and Social Justice (IDEALS)

Big IDEALS for Our Newest Column

7 Next Generation

The pandemic’s economic impact may provide an option for local governments to restructure financial obligations Ivan L. Kallick, Randall Keen, and Jacob Itzkowitz

ICMA Student Chapters: Partnering with the Next Generation

40

54 Local Gov: The Family Connection

How Rockford, Illinois, took on homelessness and won Dan Heath, Durham, North Carolina

44

Let’s Talk Regular conversations with your police chief are crucial for building and maintaining trust and confidence in local government Mike Masterson, Boise, Idaho; and Mary Ann Wycoff, Kenney, Texas

The Partner Perspective

“We’ve Always Done It That Way” Is Over— What’s Next?

Part 3: Reimagining Your Community

59 Professional Services Directory 60 Member Spotlight

Dennis Enslinger, ICMA-CM

50

Sharing My Journey Lessons learned in my 37-year career in local government management James M. Bourey, Lake Forest Park, Washington Cover image: REUTERS / Rick Wilking - stock.adobe.com

33

56 Career Track

International City/County Management Association

rschlie/stock.adobe.com

Reducing Homelessness with Upstream Thinking

Nischaporn/stock.adobe.com

The Link Between Animal Cruelty and Public Safety

alexei_tm/stock.adobe.com

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AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 1

ETHICS MATTER!

Equity and Social Justice Ideals for the Profession

BY MARTHA PEREGO, ICMA-CM

Meeting just after the death of George

MARTHA PEREGO, ICMA-CM, is director of member services and ethics director, ICMA, Washington, D.C. (mperego@icma.org).

Floyd and in the midst of public protests, the ICMA Executive Board developed a statement expressing the responsibility of leaders in the profession in addressing systemic racism and advancing social justice. The statement reinforced that under the ICMA Code of Ethics, this is an ethical obligation. The Code requires members to serve all the people, act with integrity in their professional conduct to build the trust of the people they serve, and do the job without discrimination on the basis of principle and justice.

The statement also referenced the ICMA Declaration of Ideals. The Ideals, created in the early 1980s by the ICMA Assistants Steering Committee and endorsed by the membership, perhaps more directly articulate the profession’s obligation in these times. The preamble states: ICMA was founded with a commitment to the preservation of the values and integrity of representative local government and local democracy and a dedication to the promotion of efficiency and effective management of public services. To fulfill the spirit of this commitment, ICMA works to maintain and enhance public trust and confidence in local government, to achieve equity and social justice, to affirm human

dignity, and to improve the quality of life for the individual and community. Members of ICMA dedicate themselves to the faithful stewardship of the public trust and embrace the following ideals of management excellence.

Why Ethics and Ideals?

The reference to the Ideals and the Code as driving principles of the profession and their intersection is worth exploring. What’s the difference between the two and the value for the profession in having both?

The Code of Ethics guided a nascent profession by defining the foundational principles of the profession and the standard of conduct expected by practitioners.

Its value should not be underestimated. It raised the bar for ethical behavior by most and elevated the reputation of the profession. As Walter Scheiber, a leader in ICMA’s effort to promote ethical conduct, noted, “It contributed significantly to the high esteem in which city managers, other active members of the association, and ICMA itself are held.”1 Given the extraordinary benefit and impact of the Code, why develop another set of standards for the profession? What was missing? Much of the published commentary from members at the time noted that enforcing the Code, a critical component of setting

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higher standards, produced an unintended outcome.

Rather than inspiring people to higher ethics, it became a list of behavior to avoid, i.e. “thou shall not.” Based on my experience, I am not sure that perception holds true today. That said, members of the Committee on Professional Conduct shared back then an observation that does ring true today: on occasion, a member’s conduct doesn’t outright violate the Code, but falls short of upholding the purpose of this profession. And that behavior is not limited to what gets reported to the committee. What should a professional strive to do every day to achieve the mission and purpose of this profession, beyond complying with our ethical standards?

The need to develop a set of ideals for the profession was recommended by the members who developed the

2019–2020 ICMA Executive Board PRESIDENT

Jane Brautigam* City Manager, Boulder, Colorado PRESIDENT-ELECT

James Malloy* Town Manager, Lexington, Massachusetts PAST PRESIDENT

Karen Pinkos* City Manager, El Cerrito, California VICE PRESIDENTS

International Region

Tim Anderson Chief Administrative Officer, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Sue Bidrose Chief Executive Officer, Dunedin City Council, New Zealand Robert Kristof City Manager, Timisoara, Romania

“…New Worlds of Service” report in 1979. This group looked over the horizon and envisioned what the profession must do to be prepared for the year 2000.

The times would demand from the profession an even higher commitment to ideals. They sought “an affirmative statement of the ideals of the profession that goes beyond the ideal of ethical conduct. These ideals should include strong expressions of belief in democratic values and process, the strength of constitutionally representative democracies, needs for social justice, dedication to equity in regulation and service delivery, a conservation ethics, and the importance of striving for excellence in local management.”

In reflecting on the strength of this approach, J.A. Ojeda Jr., a member of the Ideals drafting team, noted: At a time when trust in government is not anywhere near where it should be, our Declaration of Ideals serves to restore that trust by irrevocably stating our commitment to management excellence in each of the 10 relevant and timely management ideals...

Midwest Region

Southeast Region

Wally Bobkiewicz* City Administrator, Issaquah, Washington**

W. Lane Bailey* City Manager, Salisbury, North Carolina

Clint Gridley* City Administrator, Woodbury, Minnesota Molly Mehner* Deputy City Manager, Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Laura Fitzpatrick* Deputy City Manager, Chesapeake, Virginia Michael Kaigler* Assistant County Manager, Chatham County, Georgia

ICMA Executive Director Marc Ott Director, Member Publications

Lynne Scott lscott@icma.org

Managing Editor

Kerry Hansen khansen@icma.org

West Coast Region

Newsletter Editor

Kathleen Karas kkaras@icma.org

Michael Land* City Manager, Coppell, Texas

Maria Hurtado* Assistant City Manager, Hayward, California

Graphics Manager

Delia Jones djones@icma.org

Design & Production

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Raymond Gonzales County Manager, Adams County, Colorado

Edward Shikada* City Manager, Palo Alto, California

Northeast Region

Peter Troedsson* City Manager, Albany, Oregon

Mountain Plains Region

Heather Geyer* City Manager, Northglenn, Colorado

Matthew Hart* Town Manager, West Hartford, Connecticut Christopher Coleman* Town Manager, Westwood, Massachusetts Teresa Tieman* Town Manager, Fenwick Island, Delaware

* ICMA Credentialed Manager (ICMA-CM) ** Serving the region from a different location as is permissible in the ICMA Constitution.

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DECLARATION OF IDEALS Now is the right time to recommit to the Ideals to enhance the dignity of all our residents.

The Declaration of Ideals is also a significant milestone for ICMA in that it officially recognizes that municipal administrators are now serving in racially and ethnically mixed communities, which represents new challenges and responsibility to all local officials both elected and appointed. This clear reference is made in the preamble to the ideal of equity and social justice, as well as the dignity of each and every one of the citizens we serve. It is a commitment to our basic values as a democratic and pluralistic society, a commitment that emphasizes the need for humility in public service, a statement that there is little room for arrogance and hubris in our profession, for we must serve everyone equally and with the same sense of compassion and professional integrity.

This reaffirmation of our basic democratic ideals brings our profession in line with the rapidly changing urban scene.2 Ideals Versus Action

Many are dismayed and discouraged at the lack of progress in dismantling systemic racism and advancing social justice across the globe. For an action-oriented profession, ideals without action may seem meaningless. But as Sylvester Murray, ICMA’s first Black president, noted in 1984, when the Ideals were promoted to the membership, “It is often said that an “ideal” is something unachievable, the highest star to reach for, knowing that you will never do it.

That is not the case with our organizational ideals.

Our ideals are achievable. Each of us ought to be committed to achieving the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Ideals. Our cities would be better off, our organization would be better off, and we would be better off as individuals.”

Now is the right time to recommit to the Ideals to enhance the dignity of all our residents. I encourage you to review the Ideals listed in the box to the right, or on ICMA’s website at icma.org/social-justicesystemic-racism.

ENDNOTES

Walter Scheiber, PM, August 1984. Mr. Scheiber served as ICMA president (1981-1982) and chaired the ICMA Committee on Professional Conduct.

2 J.A. Ojeda Jr., PM, August 1984. Mr. Ojeda served at the time as the assistant to the county manager in Metro Dade County, Florida. Mr. Ojeda went on to serve several local governments and is currently an ICMA Life Member.

1

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Members of the International City/County Management Association dedicate themselves to the faithful stewardship of the public trust and embrace a shared ideal of management excellence.

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) was founded with a commitment to the preservation of the values and integrity of representative local government and local democracy and a dedication to the promotion of efficient and effective management of public services. To fulfill the spirit of this commitment, ICMA works to maintain and enhance public trust and confidence in local government, to achieve equity and social justice, to affirm human dignity, and to improve the quality of life for the individual and the community. Members of ICMA dedicate themselves to the faithful stewardship of the public trust and embrace the following ideals of management excellence, seeking to: 1.

Provide an environment that ensures the continued existence and effectiveness of representative local government and promotes the understanding that democracy confers privileges and responsibilities on each citizen.

2.

Recognize the right of citizens to influence decisions that affect their well-being; advocate a forum for meaningful citizen participation and expression of the political process; and facilitate the clarification of community values and goals.

3.

Respect the special character and individuality of each community while recognizing the interdependence of communities and promoting coordination and cooperation.

4.

Seek balance in the policy formation process through the integration of the social, cultural, and physical characteristics of the community.

5.

Promote a balance between the needs to use and to preserve human, economic, and natural resources.

6.

Advocate equitable regulation and service delivery, recognizing that needs and expectations for public services may vary throughout the community.

7.

Develop a responsive, dynamic local government organization that continuously assesses its purpose and seeks the most effective techniques and technologies for serving the community.

8.

Affirm the intrinsic value of public service and create an environment that inspires excellence in management and fosters the professional and personal development of all employees.

9.

Seek a balanced life through ongoing professional, intellectual, and emotional growth.

10. Demonstrate commitment to professional ethics and ideals and support colleagues in the maintenance of these standards.

11. Take actions to create diverse opportunities in housing, employment, and cultural activity in every community for all people.

GROW IN YOUR CAREER WITH ICMA UNIVERSITY

EMERGING LEADERS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

If you are ready to step into a new leadership role, the ICMA Emerging Leaders Development Program can prepare you for the leadership seat. Through a unique format of monthly teleseminars with senior credentialed managers and public administration professors, this program minimizes your time away from work and maximizes your local government expertise.

Apply today at icma.org/ELDP

2020 EFFECTIVE SUPERVISORY PRACTICES WEBINAR SERIES

The ICMA Effective Supervisory Practices Webinar Series is back and available live and On Demand for convenient access.

In addition to offering pragmatic recommendations about the day-to-day duties of a supervisor, this webinar series will offer guidance for addressing the more complex challenges all managers confront as they seek to effectively communicate, motivate, and model ethical decisions and lead a team.

Register today at icma.org/ESP

EMERGING LEADERS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM APPLICATION DEADLINE AUGUST 31, 2020 2020 EFFECTIVE SUPERVISORY PRACTICES WEBINAR SERIES SERIES BEGINS ON SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 FIND MORE PROGRAMS AT ICMA.ORG/UNIVERSITY

INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY, LEADERSHIP, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (IDEALS)

Big IDEALS for Our Newest Column Introducing a new space for exploring the values of our profession

BY LAURA SAVAGE

Speak up, ICMA! Email us your thoughts on the issues of equity, inclusion, race, and social justice to speakup@icma.org.

LAURA SAVAGE is senior program manager, career and equity advancement, ICMA, Washington, D.C. (lsavage@icma.org).

to building an inclusive profession, including having diverse leadership and staff in the organization. “We know local government is the best place to work,” wrote ICMA Past President Karen Pinkos in the September 2019 Special Supplement to PM, “and we can show the world that it’s because we welcome anyone and everyone to be successful.”

Today, ICMA remains a leader in promoting women, underrepresented groups, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in local government and executive management professions. We know, however, that much work remains.

To spotlight the advances of this work in our communities and the challenges we are still facing, we are introducing the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Leadership, and Social Justice (IDEALS) column. This monthly column will provide space for members, the executive board, partners, and staff to share stories of great successes, hard-fought attempts, or moments of reflection around inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, leadership, and social justice in local government.

Each of these values are important as guiding principles for us as local government leaders and the communities we serve.

In the context of our work at ICMA, we think of diversity as including geography, ethnicity, race, gender, position, age, and size and type of local government. It is important to remember that general diversity efforts can bring individuals from a variety of backgrounds with a wealth of perspectives and skills to the table, but they do not guarantee that every individual will be given equal opportunities or treatment.

PolicyLink defines equity as “just and fair inclusion into a society in which all, including all racial and ethnic groups, can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.”

In the ICMA Equity and Inclusion Toolkit, inclusion is defined as “the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can feel welcomed, respected, and able

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to fully participate.” Together, equity and inclusion focus on fairness and justice, especially pertaining to civil and legal rights, and are possible only when we have open minds, a willingness to listen, and respect for opinions that differ from our own.

Accessibility refers to all parts of internal and external local government services. The goal of providing accessible services is to ensure that everyone can use them. Accessibility can be achieved by accommodating the range of abilities and tools that people require to use services, programs, and facilities. When we speak of social justice, we are referring to the idea that all humans deserve equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. Social justice levels the playing field.

In our work to create and support thriving communities, we strive for a balance of each of these values. They help us as leaders in local government maintain and grow our sense of social responsibility as public servants. These “IDEALS” focus on ensuring the common good for all and are possible only when barriers are acknowledged and removed.

We find ways to make our staff and our leadership diverse so that individuals from all backgrounds can share their perspectives and bring their skills to the table.

We strive for equitable and inclusive organizations and communities; environments in which any individual or group is not only welcomed and respected, but also can reach their full potential in a society where all racial and ethnic groups can participate. We aim to provide services, programs, and facilities that are equally accommodated for all residents and staff, no matter the abilities and tools of the individual using them. We take action to identify and address social injustices when we see them.

We invite you to join us in celebrating, discussing, and pondering the stories shared in this column. Although sometimes uneasy, we hope you will lean into the feelings and conversations that the column will produce. It is together as a profession that we can push our vision forward. #WeLeadGov Vitalii Vodolazskyi/stock.adobe.com

ICMA has a longstanding commitment

NEXT GENERATION

ICMA Student Chapters Partnering with the Next Generation

BY NEAL BUCKWALTER, PHD; AND KAHLER SWEENEY, MPA

The experiences of Grand Valley State University’s

ICMA Student Chapter always extend beyond the classroom— the deck of a small cruise liner, a dimly lit music bar in downtown Nashville, a city hall abuzz with collegial chatter.

Each of these settings proved to be unique learning and networking opportunities for students. While these locales are not traditional classrooms, they allow students to develop their understanding of the local government management profession in ways that often aren’t possible on campus. ICMA Student Chapters provide valuable inroads for students to learn about local government, connect to mentors and career opportunities, and deepen their understanding of the important work that managers do for their communities.

Student Chapters: A Launching Point for the Next Generation

ICMA has a rich history—over a century—of providing support and guidance for its members, while advocating broadly for the advancement of the profession it represents.

A group like this does not, however, remain vibrant and viable by only focusing on its past or immediate present. It is also vitally important to look to the future of the field by attracting talented and passionate individuals into the fold.

ICMA’s Next Generation Initiatives represent a multi-pronged approach to attracting and preparing future local government leaders. The outflow of local

government management professionals through retirement stands to outpace the inflow unless efforts are taken to change the trend. We can think of no better place to address these dynamics than in the educational programs through which future managers are being trained.

Enter the Student Chapter Program. The ICMA Student Chapter program began in 2010 as a logical outgrowth of the Next Generation Initiatives. What began as a handful of chapters has grown to 102 such groups at colleges and universities around the United States, plus another 10 internationally. Combined, these chapters serve more than 650 student members, each of whom gains access to invaluable ICMA content and programming. While each student chapter determines its own structure and activities, they all are provided excellent background support from ICMA’s career advancement staff. Perhaps most importantly, chapters benefit from the ongoing support of active city and county administrators who are willing to get involved with the student groups in many ways.

Attracting and Supporting the Next Generation.

Effectively attracting students to careers in local government requires an understanding of two crucial factors: (1) their

awareness of local government professions; and (2) their commitment to the local level as a context within which to pursue the ideals of public service. The approach needed to help channel people to the field can be guided by an understanding of where students may fall within the table below.

Figure 1. Targeting the Student Audience Unaware

Aware

Uncommitted

(4) Expose and Educate

(2) Nudge Forward

Committed

(3) Provide Direction

(1) Encourage and Support

Group 1 consists of those individuals who are both aware of and committed to careers in local government. These individuals simply need continued encouragement and support as they move forward toward their goals. They tend to embrace participation in the student chapters, particularly when doing so provides meaningful networking and mentoring opportunities.

Group 2 consists of those individuals who are generally aware of local government careers, but not yet committed to the field. Their involvement with the student chapters is often exploratory in nature. With this group, opportunities to experience how local government professionals positively shape their communities can become a significant nudge towards further career exploration.

Group 3 consists of those individuals who are less aware of local government professions, but who are committed to the types of values and ideals found within public-serving AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 7

CONNECTING WITH STUDENT GROUPS CAN HELP YOU TELL YOUR STORY AND INSPIRE UP-ANDCOMING PROFESSIONALS ALONG THE WAY.

fields more generally. For example, we find many service-oriented students are attracted to public administration programs though they may not have settled on a particular setting (federal, state, local) or sector (public or nonprofit). Hearing from and interacting with local government professionals can help these students see just how many opportunities exist in this field.

Group 4 consists of those individuals who are neither aware of nor committed to local government career opportunities. In this case, exposure and education are necessary first steps. Our experience suggests that this group is the most expansive. To attract these individuals to our student chapter requires programming that is widely appealing, coupled with purposeful outreach across many disciplines—political science, business administration, geography, criminal justice, engineering, social work, and the humanities, to name just a few.

Opportunities for Managers

Partnership and collaboration with local municipalities and their leaders are a cornerstone of ICMA’s Student Chapter program, allowing students to meaningfully network and engage with managers as they look for pathways into the profession. However, students are not the only ones who stand to benefit from these collaborations. Managers have much to gain as well, including: • Opportunities to partner with students (or even entire classes) on projects that benefit a municipality.

• Access to interns and early career applicants who have already shown interest and dedication to the profession.

• The ability to give back to the profession by mentoring the next generation of managers.

While relationship-building is at the core of the student chapter experience, many students, even in public administration programs, have never stepped foot in their local municipal offices, let alone interacted with local managers and their staff. Efforts to facilitate these interactions can begin to illuminate a path for students, and help them develop their interest in and understanding of the field.

We turn now to some examples of our student chapter programming at Grand Valley State University to illustrate

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how manager involvement enhances the impact of these student organizations.

Serve as a Guest Speaker or Presenter. One effective way to reach students is to have managers come into the classroom as guest speakers. Nearly every semester I invite managers from surrounding communities to speak to my classes, and without fail, I always have two or three students who subsequently express interest in learning more. Our student chapter has also invited professionals to participate with a panel of speakers geared toward a broader university audience. We have hosted forums on economic development, water quality, and an event called “Small Town Stories,” where managers told about unexpected (and often humorous) experiences that you just can’t find in textbooks. As a professional manager, you do not have to wait to be contacted. You can initiate opportunities to engage by connecting with your local colleges or universities, and even high schools, expressing your willingness to discuss career possibilities with students. You may even look for ways to become more actively involved in your alma mater’s alumni groups.

Include Students in Networking Events. The backbone of our student group programming has come from an ongoing partnership that we have fostered with the West Michigan Municipal Executives group, a subchapter of the state ICMA affiliate (Michigan Municipal Executives). Each month, these professionals host a lunch and learn meeting at which area city and county executives gather to eat while discussing topics of common interest and concern. For the past four years, we have had a standing invitation to bring students to these lunches for opportunities to network and learn more about the profession. We owe this partnership to Al Vanderberg, county administrator for Ottawa County, Michigan (also an adjunct instructor in our MPA and undergraduate programs), and Keith Van Beek, city manager of Holland, Michigan (an alum of our MPA program), for helping us get our foot in the door with the group. The outcomes for our students have been phenomenal—job shadows, internships, class projects, access to guest speakers and site visits, to name just a few. Earlier this year, our student organization had an opportunity to return the favor by hosting over 40 city and county managers on campus. As a practitioner, if you belong to a professional group, consider inviting a student chapter to join in on events.

Host Tours and Site Visits. Over the past few years, our student chapter has enjoyed excellent site visits and guided tours led by professional administrators, including at such places as water, wastewater, and solid waste/recycling facilities. One very unique site visit was a downtown walking tour of Muskegon, Michigan, led by City Manager Frank Peterson. We learned about many innovative development initiatives happening in the city, including a public-private redevelopment of the city-owned ice hockey arena (home to a semi-professional team), incubator pop-up shops and kitchens, public space for sand volleyball courts and outdoor

fireplaces, and several integrated mixed-use buildings. Later we boarded a small liner for a beautiful sunset cruise along the shores of Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan. This part of the experience was led by our student chapter president, who had interned with the city and was familiar with waterfront development initiatives. Thanks to our willing and enthusiastic guides, the event proved most insightful and memorable to everyone who participated. You have initiatives going on in your communities that would be very valuable to share. Connecting with student groups can help you tell your story and inspire up-and-coming professionals along the way.

Encourage Outreach to Underrepresented Populations. Student groups can provide an effective way

to reach out to underrepresented populations in city and county administration. The key is that participants must be able to “see themselves” in the field. This requires finding managers, especially from underrepresented groups, to engage with students and to share their experiences.

For example, our student chapter partnered with the Michigan Municipal League to host an event on campus to promote the League’s 16/50 Project. This is a concerted effort to draw more women—who make up more than 50 percent of Michigan’s population—to executive-level roles in municipal government, where women currently occupy only 16 percent of such positions across the state.

The League organized a panel of female city managers from different parts of the state who talked about their experiences and led participants in several decision-making exercises. As a result, a number of attendees not only joined our student organization, but found themselves increasingly drawn to opportunities in local government management. Again, the key was helping students see themselves in the field.

Connect Student Groups to Service Learning or Volunteer Opportunities. Volunteering in the

community has been a great way for our student group to both learn about and experience different aspects of public service. Working with the local county parks department, our student group organized a trail clean-up project involving brush removal and trash pick-up. In our orientation to the clean-up project, we had opportunities to learn about parks management issues and about the efforts to reclaim former mining extraction sites into space for public recreation.

Other service projects have given us a chance to understand cross-sector partnerships. This past fall,

we reached out to an area nonprofit organization, the Kids’ Food Basket, which works with local school districts in west Michigan to pack and deliver over 6,000 daily meals to students experiencing food insecurity. We were able to tour their recently constructed expansion facility and urban farm in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and afterward spent time packing sack suppers. Experiences like this bring public service to life. Because of their networks and their awareness of needs, city and county administrators are in a unique position to connect student groups with servicelearning opportunities.

Conferences. Attendance at the ICMA regional, international, and annual conferences has become a highlight for many of our student chapter participants.

Our students were blown away at this year’s conference in Nashville, where they made more connections with managers in a few days than one can expect from months of our usual programming. The chance to learn side-byside and network with managers from around the country (and the world!) helps students understand the true strength and breadth of the profession. Most conferences will include programming designed with students in mind, such as speed-networking sessions and space and time for chapter meetings. Next time you are at an ICMA conference, ask about what student chapters will be in attendance and how you can support their experience while there. The relationships forged in the conference setting can be extended into the future as advances in communication technologies make geographic separation less of a hindrance.

NEAL BUCKWALTER, PHD, is an associate professor, School of Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration; Grand Valley State University.

Conclusion

While the resources and capacity of every student chapter is different, it is important to note that these partnerships need not depend too much on the time of managers and municipal resources. Chapters have student leaders, faculty advisors, and access to university and ICMA resources.

And while student interests may vary, they all benefit from learning from current managers and from deepening their connections in their chosen profession. Many of these opportunities require only your cooperation and willingness to share your experiences and expertise with students!

KAHLER SWEENEY, MPA, is a 2020 MPA graduate, School of Public, Nonprofit, and Health Administration; Grand Valley State University.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 9

BLACK LIVES MATTER,

AND WHITE VOICES ARE NEEDED It’s time for every voice to speak out and be heard.

I don’t generally write articles, get involved in Facebook postings, or engage in Twitter discussions or debates, but in the past few weeks our country has again come face-to-face with the harsh reality that we have become two countries—one white and one Black.

BY GERALD C. SMITH SR., ICMA-CM

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 11

REUTERS / John Sibley - stock.adobe.com

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were watershed moments for Black Americans, but nothing more was done to dismantle the systemic racism embedded within our institutions.

I

t’s time for all to speak out and be heard; so, give me your ear for at least eight minutes and 46 seconds and learn why Black lives matter and why white voices are needed.

On a recent Friday evening, Riley, a high school senior, along with others, coordinated a peaceful rally to bring the Black community’s cries, pain, and fears to the forefront for those in the city I work for who wanted to hear and understand them.

Some sought to compel and threaten her to stand down, be silent, and ignore what was happening. They did not want this rally in our community—some out of fear that the wrong element might come in and harm our community, and others for whatever reason.

Altogether, several hundred residents from our community peacefully came together to acknowledge the atrocities that systemic racism has caused in our country and within our communities.

While the Black community will continue on this peaceful journey across this nation, we welcome

those of you who followed Riley, who basically wanted to be able to answer her future children if asked, “What did you do at this time in history?”

I know what Riley went through, standing strong even as people worked against her.

If there are more Rileys in this world who are willing to take the same stand, we could join hands in this peaceful journey to snuff out the racism throughout our institutions.

Maybe I can rest easy when my son or grandson drives a car, goes jogging, or gets stopped because of the color of their skin. That will only happen when white silence joins a chorus of voices like many have done before. Your involvement is not only needed, but required to make this country safe for all.

Since the 1950s and 60s, Black Americans have struggled for equal rights and equal treatment under the law. Early in that era, white Americans became incensed when seeing women and children, and yes, Black men, subjected to hostility and violence and debased as if they were cattle. They witnessed the use of high-pressure fire hoses and vicious dogs at non-

12 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

violent rallies and marches demanding fair treatment for all people, not just as human beings, but as American citizens who equally share in the protections and rights of their fellow white citizens.

White Americans stepped up, helping establish laws providing Blacks a path to the American Dream. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were watershed moments extending basic civil rights and

protections to Black Americans, but nothing more was done to dismantle the systemic racism embedded within our institutions. So yes, some of us could find the path to achieve that American Dream on an economic level, but it matters little what amount of money you can earn if you can’t feel safe walking, jogging, or driving while Black.

We, as Black Americans, have struggled to address systemic racism for far too long. It’s time

NurPhoto / Contributor via Getty Images

for well-intentioned white Americans who share and identify in this struggle to help us finish this journey and make America great for all.

I acquainted myself with my own family ancestry through research and DNA technology.

The lineage of my third great grandparents—Perry Gayles (b.1799) and Betsey Gayles (b.1807)—began somewhere in the Potomac area. They may have been there since the earliest period when

the transatlantic slave trade began, long before there was a United States.

For some unknown reason, in 1828, Perry, Betsey, and their first-born child were sold as a complete family to a new owner in the Mississippi Delta.

The family was taken to the Port of Baltimore, placed on an intercoastal ship to New Orleans, and transported to their new owners. I share this story because I learned that even though they had been

sold, their original owners kept the family intact. The family they were sold to took it upon themselves to educate the children of Perry and Betsey Gayles, teaching them to read and write, against the backdrop of a rapidly approaching Civil War and the threat of fines and imprisonment for their actions.

After the Civil War, one of Perry Gayles’s sons, G.W. Gayles (b. 1840) was elected to the Mississippi Legislature, and later served as a Mississippi

delegate to nominate Benjamin Harrison for president at the 10th Republican National Convention. G.W. Gayles continued his leadership role in Mississippi and helped establish the Black Baptist Church.

The history of my great grandparents and uncle is not the story that I wish to share.

Rather, it is the story of the white families who sold and purchased my relatives. That the original owner kept the family intact and the family that

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 13

acquired them not only kept the family together, but educated their children is remarkable.

While setting aside the realities of the world at that time and the horrific act of slavery, there were whites who found a way to show and extend acts of kindness and demonstrate compassion and courage. Again, during the peaceful gatherings and marches in the South during the 1950s and 60s, many white Americans came to our aid and stood side-by-side with Black Americans as we collectively made demands for equal treatment under the law.

Bringing my story closer to home, my father served in the first class of Black Americans who were allowed

If our White brothers and sisters are not racist, then why have they remained silent in the wake of the many horrific events that have been inflicted upon the Black community?

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

to join the U.S. Marine Corps in the segregated troops at Montford Point in 1942. He served until 1945, and then again rejoined the Corps in 1948 when Montford Point became Camp Lejeune—this time with the desegregated branch of the Corps. I have other relatives who have joined and served in all branches of the military dating back to the

Revolutionary War, as well as the lineage of the white side of my family. My brother retired from the Air Force with more than 20 years of service. While heading to his Pentagon office the morning of September 11, 2001, to clear out his desk, he ran into traffic before his arrival due to the events that took place on that ill-fated morning. So, if there are those

14 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

who believe that I, or any of my family, are disrespectful of the flag, you are mistaken.

We as Black Americans support this country, what its flag stands for, and what it will continue to represent. I will take a knee for both my white and Black brothers for service to this country, and I will forever see the flag as a symbol to honor our fallen, not just through the prism of those who fight in our wars, but also for those who fight for equal treatment under the law.

Black Americans will always recoil against those who attempt to weaponize symbols of patriotism as a means to divide us, or who attempt to equate them in a way that would delegitimize our right or struggle for equal protection, or who attempt to equate some forms of patriotism as an exclusive concept solely for the purpose to reinforce systemic racism.

As a member of the Black American community, my people have carried this torch far too long without the consistent support of those who claim they are not racist.

They pronounce the fact that they are not bigoted, or even slightly prejudiced, yet the cries of Black people appear to have continually fallen on deaf ears. If our white brothers and sisters are not racist, if our white brothers and sisters are not bigoted, or even if our white brothers and sisters are not prejudiced, then why have they, our fellow countrymen and women, remained silent in the wake of the many horrific events that have been inflicted upon the Black community?

Social scientists have defined this lack of recognition as a form of unconscious bias, which is far more prevalent

than conscious prejudice and often incompatible with one’s conscious values.

What happened with George Floyd’s life could have been my life, or the lives of my son or my six-year-old grandson. But if present day white America remains deaf to the cries of the Black community, the America of tomorrow will be in the same place as we are today.

I fear for my children as any parent would. I want white America to fear that plausible reality with me today, and speak up in unison with the Black community and add their voice and sense of outrage. Because if you don’t, what will tomorrow look like? Will our great republic ever fulfill the creed that calls for “…justice for all”?

When a high school student can take up the rallying cry for justice for all, when a slave owner can protect the family they owned as slaves and teach them to read and write in violation of the law, can’t we hear your voice in demanding the change that will only make this country greater than it has ever been?

This is why I stand and kneel for the flag. To honor one and all. To honor what it does and will continue to represent going forward. So yes, Black lives matter, but white voices are needed.

Reprinted with permission from the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press.

GERALD C. SMITH SR., ICMA-CM, MPA, has served in the city management profession for well over 25 years throughout the Midwest, and presently serves as city manager of Maquoketa, Iowa (gcsmith2909@gmail.com).

The Link Between

BY JULIE PALAIS

ANIMAL CRUELTY and PUBLIC SAFETY DEFINING THE ROLE OF THE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER

16 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

alexei_tm/stock.adobe.com

ompanion animals are an important part of American life, with about 67% of U.S. households owning pets, over 60 million owning at least one dog, and over 40 million owning at least one cat.

Responsible pet ownership and caring for one’s pet as a family member is now common throughout the country, although regional and cultural differences exist. With the recognition that pets, for many, are surrogate family members, or simply accepted as part of the human family, they are treated just like other human family members in many ways. While in some situations this is a welcome development, in other cases, especially in households where there is domestic violence, or child/elder abuse/neglect, this can pose serious problems not only for the human family members, but also for the animals that are part of the family.

Several International City/County Management Association (ICMA) blog posts and publications have addressed strategies for managing animal services in communities. Most have discussed issues related to running the local animal shelter, solving problems associated with community cats, and finding ways to decrease the numbers of animals euthanized, while also increasing the number of animals who are returned to their owners when lost. The role of the animal control officer has been redefined in recent years, and increasingly communities are developing “innovative programs that keep people and pets safe, happy and healthy.”1,2,3 However, these articles have not really addressed an important issue, related to where, within the city or county’s organizational structure, the role of the animal control officer (ACO) resides, and how ACOs relate to and interact with law enforcement.

This article addresses that issue in the context of some recently released data from the FBI on animal cruelty crime across the country. The importance of understanding the link between animal cruelty and public safety is discussed briefly below, followed by some preliminary analyses of the data. This article will discuss the advantages of having animal services agencies and law enforcement working more closely together in communities, in order to facilitate the best mechanism for ensuring that incidents of animal cruelty are properly reported to the FBI along with

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C

other crimes against society, property, and people, as is typically done by law enforcement officers for other crime.

Background

Domestic and interpersonal violence (IPV) committed against family members is common in society and is a large public health concern.4 It is also well known that child abuse and neglect often co-occur in households where animals are abused or neglected.5 Research has shown that those who have committed both IPV and animal cruelty are also more likely to have been involved in other violent crimes such as property crimes, drug offenses, and assaults.6 On January 1, 2016 the FBI began collecting information about crimes of animal cruelty from law enforcement agencies that participate in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The decision to specifically track crimes involving animals, instead of just grouping them into an “all other offenses” category, was made, in part, to be able to examine, with actual data, the concurrent nature of animal cruelty and other forms of violence.

2018 NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data

Table 1 shows the number of animal cruelty incidents reported in 2018, 2017, and 2016 from the NIBRS FBI websites. Although not broken out here, animal cruelty is classified by the FBI in one of four categories, including simple/gross neglect, intentional abuse and torture, organized abuse/animal fighting, and animal sexual abuse. In 2018, the majority (68%) of animal cruelty AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 17

incidents involved neglect, and a lesser but still significant fraction of incidents involved intentional abuse and torture (29%). The remaining 3% of incidents were categorized as either organized abuse/animal

fighting, sexual abuse, or some combination of the other types of abuse.

In 2018, there were 5,201 animal cruelty incidents reported from 29 states. This was an increase of about 61%

Table 1. Number of Animal Cruelty Incidents by State1,2 from the FBI NIBRS Website and Number (#) of Agencies Reporting Animal Cruelty State/Year

2018

2017

2016

# of agencies

7,283

6,998

6,849

Total #

5,201

3,228

1,126

DE

1,097

923

494

CO

782

526

8

TN

463

476

219

OR

421

134

105

MI

398

277

130

TX

393

69

0

SC

295

200

0

KY

186

45

0

NH

173

81

0

WI

154

97

37

WA

128

141

85

OH

102

23

0

MT

92

83

0

ND

81

46

7

CT

74

18

0

MN

61

4

1

HI

50

0

0

MS

47

0

0

MA

44

13

2

MO

43

43

15

VT

41

21

0

SD

24

12

10

ME

13

3

0

WV

11

18

13

ID

7

2

0

States reporting 5 or fewer incidents in 2018: RI (5), AL (2), AZ (2), NE (1), AR (0), GA (0), IL (0), IN (0), IA (0), KS (0), LA (0), MD (0), NM (0), OK (0), PA (0), UT (0), VA (0).

1

2

States not NIBRS-certified- (AK, CA, FL, NC, NJ, NV, NY, WY).

18 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

from the numbers reported in 2017 (3,228) and an increase of over 460% from the 2016 total of 1,126. It is likely that the increase in numbers of animal cruelty incidents does not mean that more animal cruelty actually occurred in 2018 and 2017 over previous years, but instead that more jurisdictions were reporting, and also that more incidents were being reported from the communities submitting data.

In 2018, only 7,283 (46%) of all (16,609) law enforcement agencies in the country were reporting data in NIBRS. There are many reasons why a state’s animal cruelty crimes would not be reported in the NIBRS system. Some of these are alluded to in the footnotes to Table 1. For example, not all states are currently certified to report in NIBRS or they may be one of a handful of states that still use a different system for reporting their crime data to the FBI. Beginning in January 2021, however, NIBRS will be the only system that will be available to law enforcement agencies for crime reporting.7 In addition, although a state may be certified to report their crime data in NIBRS, the state’s Records Management System (RMS) for reporting crime may not be up-to-date to include the necessary data elements for animal cruelty.

Finally, officers may not yet be trained on how to record the data for those new data elements and if ACOs are not within a law enforcement agency, there could be a disconnect between the crime data compiled by the law enforcement agencies in a community, and those working in animal services responsible for animal control

and humane law enforcement.

Because only law enforcement agencies with an originating agency identifier (ORI) number are able to submit data in NIBRS, if animal cruelty incidents are being handled by a humane society, public health department, or other general services organization within the community, it is possible that crimes involving animal cruelty may go unreported to the FBI. In addition, the animal cruelty crimes may not be linked to other crimes that may have occurred at the same time as the animal cruelty if only an animal control officer responded to the incident, or if the agencies do not work together on data collection and reporting.

One way to do this is by creating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or other agreement for sharing of information between law enforcement agencies and animal control organizations.

A survey done in 2012

by Randour and Addington found that only about half of all animal control officers across the country work in law enforcement agencies.8 Therefore, unless an animal control agency has an existing working relationship with a law enforcement agency in their community, it is unlikely that the data that they collect will make it into the NIBRS database. Since NIBRS is an incident-based reporting system, it is important that all data associated with a single incident is captured together in the database. Therefore, there must be a holistic and well-integrated submission of data to the FBI that includes not only the crimes involving animal cruelty, but also

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Importance of Other Concurrent Crimes

What other crimes typically occur in association with animal cruelty and how might this be used to help law enforcement agencies, animal management services, and humane law enforcement officers work together to try and reduce crime and increase public safety in the community? Figure 1 is a bar chart showing the most common offenses that were found to occur concurrently with animal cruelty, based on an analysis of the 2018 NIBRS animal cruelty data.

Only crimes involving neglect and intentional cruelty were included in this analysis but recall that those two types of animal cruelty make up 97% of the data from 2018. The crimes most frequently found to occur in association with

animal cruelty were assaults, vandalism, burglary, and other crimes against society, such as drugs/narcotics offenses and weapons law violations.

The figure illustrates the importance of how paying attention to crimes involving

animal cruelty could help communities anticipate when and where other types of crimes might occur.

Location of Animal Cruelty Crimes

Recalling the discussion at

the beginning of this paper about the importance of the link between animal cruelty and family violence, and the finding that child abuse and neglect often occur in households where animals are also abused or neglected,

Figure 1. Most Common Crimes Happening at a Home Location Associated with Neglect and Intentional Cruelty Incidents 28%

30%

25%

20%

Percent (%)

the other crimes that law enforcement would typically be responsible for tracking.

19%

17%

15%

10%

10%

5%

5%

0%

Simple ssault A (13B)

Aggravated Assault (13A)

Vandalism (290)

Burglary (220)

Intimidation (13C)

7%

Drugs/ Narcotics Violation (35A)

6%

All Other Larceny (23H)

8%

Weapons Violations (520)

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 19

it is important to look at the data to see what we know about where animal cruelty crimes occur most frequently.

Figure 2 shows this data in a pie chart and illustrates that the majority (68%) of animal cruelty crimes do, in fact, occur at a home or residential setting. Therefore, it is especially important to the health and welfare of all human family members to pay attention to reports of animal cruelty in the community.

When one recognizes that these reports could be the tip of the iceberg for what else might be going on at that home, one realizes why calls to animal control about an abused dog or cat could help law enforcement identify situations where other crimes either have occurred or are likely to occur in the future.

Conclusion

The importance of collecting crime data involving animal cruelty has been illustrated in this article by sharing some of the 2018 NIBRS data from the FBI. The data illustrate how animal cruelty is related to other crimes and why this is important for improving public safety in the community. The recognition that other crimes often occur concurrently with animal cruelty provides an opportunity for both animal control and law enforcement agencies to work together to share information and collaborate for the benefit of the entire community.

In the blogpost mentioned at the beginning of this article about the ways in which the role of ACO has been redefined in recent years, the notion of a “communityminded field services liaison�

Figure 2. Location of 2018 Animal Cruelty Incidents by Percent (%)

20 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Legend Home Road Parking Lot Unknown Field/Woods Farm Store Public Building Park/Playground Office Building All Other Locations

THIS NEW BRAND OF ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER WORKS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL WITHIN THE COMMUNITY DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, ALMOST LIKE A FAMILY PET

hedgehog94/stock.adobe.com

SOCIAL WORKER. was discussed. This new brand of ACO works on a personal level within the community doing community outreach and education, almost like a family pet social worker.

This is an important model that all communities should consider. Given the link between animal cruelty and

domestic and family violence, it would make sense if animal control officers teamed up with police and other law enforcement officers, to work together in the community to solve the problems that are encountered every day in cities and counties around the country. It would also help to improve the animal cruelty data collected by the FBI that is important for developing a better understanding of crimes involving animal cruelty.

ENDNOTES

https://icma.org/documents/win-winstrategies-communities-managing-animalservices 2 https://icma.org/blog-posts/how-getinnovative-animal-control 3 https://icma.org/blog-posts/redefiningrole-dog-catcher 4 https://www.cdc.gov/ healthcommunication/toolstemplates/ entertainmented/tips/Violence.html 5 https://www.spayneuterservices.org/ 1

wp-content/uploads/2019/01/IPV-andPet-Abuse-Campbell-1-Include-part-ofthis-in-the-Feb.-2019-Newsletter.pdf 6 Hoffer, T., Hargreaves-Cormany, H., Muirhead, Y., and Meloy, J.R. Violence in Animal Cruelty Offenders. New York: Springer International Publishing, 2018.

7 https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ ucr/nibrs 8 Randour, M.L. & Addington, L.A. (2012). “Summary of Survey to Animal Control Agencies on Animal Cruelty Crime Statistics,” Washington, D.C.: Animal Welfare Institute.

JULIE M. PALAIS, PH.D., was a program director at the National Science Foundation from 1990 to 2016. After her retirement, she completed a second master’s degree in anthrozoology (human-animal studies) and did a short internship at the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), where she has been a consultant on the analysis of the recent animal cruelty data from NIBRS. (juliempalais@gmail.com)

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AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 21

NAVIGATING MENTAL HEALTH as a Local Government Leader A retired city manager’s journey through mental illness

22 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

BY BILL, A RETIRED CITY MANAGER

M

y name is Bill. I am a Life Member of the International City/County Management Association. I am now retired after serving local governments for 35 years. And I have experienced a lifetime of mental illness.

This is perhaps an unusual way to start an article; particularly to admit something that might have otherwise disqualified me from a career in local government. Admitting what I have in a national magazine would probably preclude my ability to be gainfully employed in most organizations if my identity were full disclosed; most certainly in competitive local government opportunities. Since I do not intend to work again in the profession, having reached retirement age, I feel free to disclose something that I kept private for so long, except from members of my family and medical officials. It’s my hope that this article will be helpful to current and future generations of local government managers, both personally and in consideration of their coworkers.

According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website, regarding protections to employees under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), added in 2008:

The protections of the ADA are a comfort, but I strongly suspect that decisions on hiring me or keeping me employed in some of my jobs may have been impacted by knowledge of my mental health and or aversions to its negative effects (particularly prior to 2008). I posit that mental illness may still pose a stigma to employment to those in the workplace.

I did not think to write this article until a fellow classmate and retired city manager encouraged me to do so. We were talking about our respective careers, which began at about

JEGAS RA/stock.adobe.com

Is my employer allowed to fire me because I have a mental health condition?

No. It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you simply because you have a mental health condition. This includes firing you, rejecting you for a job or promotion, or forcing you to take leave. An employer doesn’t have to hire or keep people in jobs they can’t perform or employ people who pose a “direct threat” to safety (a significant risk of substantial harm to self or others). But an employer cannot rely on myths or stereotypes about your mental health condition when deciding whether you can perform a job or whether you pose a safety risk. Before an employer can reject you for a job based on your condition, it must have objective evidence that you can’t perform your job duties, or that you would create a significant safety risk, even with a reasonable accommodation.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 23

the same time. He was a manager longer than me and took a different, more stable direction in his path than I did; whereas, my career was noted for hopping from job to job, state to state. As he listened to my story of my career, including my disclosure of my experience with mental health, he asked me, “Now, what can you do to help the profession?” That question is something that I had never considered.

Several months passed between our lunches, and he posed the question again.

I responded that I would like others to know about my experiences. I wanted my fellow local government managers to learn from my steps not taken. My comrade suggested that I write an article for PM magazine. After several months of thinking about it, here is what I have to offer. Bear in mind that I am not a doctor, therapist, or social worker, so my story is my way of speaking out about mental health issues from my singular perspective. I strongly encourage you to seek help if anything I say seems to resonate.

Here are some interesting statistics from the National Association on Mental Illness: • 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year.

• 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by the age of 14.

• 43% of U.S. adults with mental illness received treatment in 2018, meaning that 57% did not.

Statistics from the National Association on Mental Illness:

1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year.

50% of all lifetime

mental illness begins by the age of 14.

43% of U.S.

adults with mental illness received treatment in 2018, meaning that 57% did not.

Given these statistics, it is highly likely that some reading this article also experience some degree of mental illness.

I come from a family where mental illness, primarily depression and anxiety, is prevalent on both my mother and father’s sides of the family. As a child, I was bullied, verbally abused, and raised in a dysfunctional family setting with an alcoholic, drug-abusing father, and unstable economic existence until I was no longer dependent on my family for subsistence. Reading through the literature and discussing the matter with therapists over the years, I understand the implications of nature and nurture in triggering the type of mental illness I experience.

Over the past 25 years, I have been through batteries of tests and assessments by mental health professionals. W hile there have been a variety of prognoses, the most common determination is that I have Borderline Personality Disorder, a mental health disorder that impacts the way you think and feel about yourself and others, which may cause problems functioning in everyday life. It includes self-image issues, difficulty managing emotions and behavior, and a pattern of unstable relationships.

With Borderline Personality Disorder, a person may experience 24 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

an intense fear of abandonment or instability of relationships, including those in the workplace. There is typically evidence of inappropriate manifestations of anger and impulsiveness.

I also have General Anxiety Disorder.

The condition has symptoms similar to Panic Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and other types of anxiety.

These symptoms include constant worry, restlessness, and trouble with concentration. It is important to note that there are a wide variety of manifestations and degrees of interference with daily life functions.

I can say that I was able to function in my profession and private life with these conditions present. Depression and anxiety can manifest themselves in varying degrees, including to the point of being debilitating, but while my illness certainly impacted decisions and relationships, I was not debilitated. That being said, I sincerely believe after 40 or so years of being aware of my conditions that my performance as a manager, husband, and father could have been improved with self-awareness, the use of concrete therapeutic strategies and uniform counselling to deal with the negative aspects, and seeking therapeutic use of prescriptions to mitigate the negative aspects.

Rather than expanding on my career and life history, I thought it would be more purposeful to discuss lessons learned.

The two areas where my mental illness impacted my job were in relation to exhibition of anger and social anxiety as it related to networking with peers.

According to Linda Esposito, LCSW, from Psychology Today1: We rarely associate anger with anxiety because chronic worriers tend to be kind, polite, responsible, highachievers, people-pleasers, and overly self-critical.

Beware the conscientious exterior in yourself or others, because anger is a primary emotion underlying anxiety.

Anger is a powerful emotion, and if not handled appropriately, serious health consequences can ensue.

According to research published by the American Psychological Association, anxiety and anger have been proven to be hazardous to health.2 These increase vulnerability to illnesses, especially upper respiratory illness; compromise the immune system, increase lipid levels; exacerbate pain; and increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and from all sources of death. “Why would someone who avoids conflict

and doesn’t like getting mad be an angry person?” is a common question. In general, we don’t reward anger.

Many children are taught from an early age that anger is mean, impolite, rude, hot-headed, and out-of-control behavior. When adults are afraid of their anger, they tend to repress their emotions. But you can only deny feelings for so long because eventually, all feelings go somewhere.

Acting “as if” the situation or person at hand did not upset you is to deny your authentic emotional state and to potentially set off a ticking time bomb. Kids model what they are taught at home, so if Mom or Dad didn’t own their feelings and subsequent behavioral reactions, what lessons are passed along?

In my case, it was my father who exhibited an unpredictable, ferocious temper. As children, we often stayed away from him to the greatest extent possible, or walked around on eggshells. As the frequent target of his anger, I internally vowed to try to not exhibit this behavior in the future. I did not keep this vow.

As a teenager and young adult, I cannot recall any angry outbursts that might have seemed out of control. In fact, I believe that many people found me to be mild mannered. The anger seemed to manifest itself in my later 20s when I took on greater responsibilities in my career and my marriage. I find it curious that it most often increased in frequency with stress and responsibility.

As I periodically expressed intense anger, I would often regret it and feel bad afterward. I know firsthand that this can lead to confusion, shame, and a sense of unworthiness. After all, if I could not express anger when the school bully knocked me down on the parking lot; I reasoned that I must have done something to provoke this unwanted behavior. In time, I internalized that I was somehow broken or defective, which contributed to a very low self-esteem. Complicating matters is the fact that my feelings of humiliation and rage did not just disappear.

Linda Esposito notes, “Transitioning to adulthood and a lifetime spent in emotional-expression limbo means adopting unhealthy coping skills. For example, hyper-vigilance (if your parents didn’t provide a safe environment for your feelings, who can you trust?), dependence on others’ approval, a lack of trust in the safety of the world, in others, and in yourself, chronic selfdoubt, or not accepting praise in a common positive vein.”3 A concrete example of a lack of trust that I attribute to my illness had to do with preparing for city council meetings. Early

in my professional life, I was told by a mentor that I should approach each council meeting as an opportunity to be fired. This message sank in deeply and led me to spend an extraordinary number of hours preparing for these meetings. (Most of this preparation was not necessary, such as going into the office on Sunday afternoon prior to a weekly board meeting, and thus prioritizing my job over time with my family.) I also took the position that I should be the primary presenter of agenda items, instead of relying on department heads or other staff. This was out of a sense of the need to be in control. This behavior continued throughout my 30-plus years in the profession.

A psychological breakthrough occured when I acknowledged my greatest fears about my anger expression. When you instinctively unleash a torrent of pent-up rage, there’s a good chance of causing irreparable physical or psychological damage to others. I found that my temper was expressed even toward superiors, which ultimately affected their perception of me as a manager. I am certain that it led to one or more of my dismissals. My anger would often be triggered by criticism, of not only my own performance, but the performance of subordinates. You are more likely to no longer be liked or even respected by those around you. This is a real problem when trying to promote teamwork.

While there’s no quick-fix or one-size-fits-all way to manage anger, the following steps can help you experience less anxiety around getting mad. Through therapy, pharmaceutical treatment (designed not to eliminate but to assist in control of depression, anxiety, and anger), and the previously mentioned recommendations of Linda Esposito, I learned the following strategies to mitigate and lessen the occasions of ill-expressed anger: It’s ok to acknowledge your feelings. If you were like me, you weren’t taught how to handle your anger, other than an occasional punishment of standing in the corner. It’s important to allow yourself the time and the space to stew in emotional upset. I wish I was more universally able or willing to count to 10.

Sometimes the goal is not to immediately “fix” the problem, but to learn to sit with uncomfortable feelings and get perspective.

Normalize anger. Anger is not a “bad” emotion—we might not have survived as a species without it—and it can certainly

paladjai/stock.adobe.com

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 25

be an appropriate response to injustice. It may also lead to more favorable outcomes in business negotiations, as well as an increased motivation to change what’s wrong with your life and with the world.

Assess when to confront and when to walk away.

Developing firm and consistent boundaries will help you decide when it’s wise to stand up to the person or situation that upset you, or whether it’s best to avoid conflict. Pay close attention to your thought process so you remain in the here and now.

Mindfulness-based practices are beneficial for catching yourself before you react through a distorted lens of past experiences.

Anxious minds are uncomfortable with uncertainty, so avoid the trap of catastrophic thinking when waiting on an answer.

Work to come to terms with childhood wounds. This is a tall order for sure. While your parents, other adults, or peers may have mistreated you, they are not living your life right now. Viewing yourself as a victim will not allow you to focus on your strengths or accomplish your goals.

Therapy can help you reframe negative core beliefs and heal from past events.

Assess when to confront and when to walk away.

Learn to teach people how to treat you. When you’re upset, you have a right to

your feelings. If others don’t support you in the way you want or need, let them know. Just remember, your response is your responsibility. The key to effective anger management is knowing how to express anger at the right time, in the right amount, and to the right people. Believe me, there are many other strategies.

Doing any of these can mean you’ll sleep better at night, and be less likely to experience regret.

As quoted before from Linda Esposito, we rarely associate anger with anxiety because chronic worriers tend to be kind, polite, responsible, high-achievers, people-pleasers, and overly self-critical. Beware the conscientious exterior in yourself or others because anger is a primary emotion underlying anxiety.

The Importance of Professional Help

I learned in my early 40s that I needed professional help to deal with my mental illness. My determination to seek professional assistance came around the time of the death of my father, the person whose anger habits were imprinted on me, and one of the principal persons I was desperate to please in my career pursuit.

I sincerely recommend therapy to everyone, regardless of depth or manifestations of mental illness. My peer that I mentioned earlier got together with several of his peers to meet regularly with a therapist, to talk and work out common behavior-related issues that they or others were manifesting.

These meetings have been going on for years and seem to have helped the participants.

26 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

chachamal/stock.adobe.com

The Importance of Other People

I highly recommend getting involved with peers in general. While on occasion I could come across as a gregarious fellow, I found myself avoiding monthly meetings and I was reluctant to attend the ICMA conferences. I can recall a time when I was in my car, heading to a peer meeting, and turning back because my feelings overwhelmed me. Yes, a part of this can be attributed to social anxiety. This became progressively worse throughout my career. I rationalized that I would not know anyone there or the attendees would not be interested in what was going on in my world. Now, in hindsight, I recognize that I was probably denying myself a useful outlet and an opportunity to learn from others.

In addition, your peers can be crucial in helping you develop your self-awareness. I encourage you to look to others familiar with you as “mirrors.” Sometimes, I found myself blinded to my dysfunctional behavior until someone close to me pointed it out.

In conclusion, I assure you that there is hope for improvement.

I certainly encourage my fellow local government leaders to get help as early as possible if you suspect you may have symptoms of mental illness. Some may experience mental illness acutely.

However, lifelong mental illness is real, and it is possible to achieve a happier and peaceful life through the intervention of professionals and peers. Best wishes and good health.

ENDNOTES

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-zen/201607/the-surprisingemotion-behind-anxiety?amp 2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11242985/ 3 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anxiety-zen/201607/the-surprisingemotion-behind-anxiety?amp 1

BILL is a retired city manager, having spent more than 30 years in local government leadership.

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The

Electric

Mayhem

What Local Governments Must Do to Integrate Electric Vehicles into their Fleets

BY PETER MCDEVITT

28 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

The spring of 2020 has been‌ not great. In the midst of a global health pandemic that has cost thousands of lives and brought havoc upon local and global economies, the issue of climate change has been pushed to the back burner.

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T

hat has not stopped it from continuing to cause catastrophic damage to our country. Abnormally high temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico directly contributed to strengthened storms and tornadoes that ran across the southeastern United States on April 12, killing more than 30 people, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, and leaving more than a million without power. Climate change is still a pressing issue that needs to be dealt with. Human activities are causing an increase in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change, with the leading GHG outputs coming from the transportation sector. This has led local governments to adopt policies encouraging the use of alternative fuel vehicles, namely electric vehicles (EVs). Local governments are leading the way by investing in EVs and integrating them into their fleets, but like all new technologies they must create a thoughtful strategy in order to be successful.

Local Governments Leading the Charge

In 2017, the federal government decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement meant to combat global climate change, making the United States one of only three countries in the world, along with Syria and Nicaragua, to not support the agreement. When

the president announced this decision, he defended it by saying, “I was elected by the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” This statement provided an unexpected platform for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to rebuff the president and assure him that Pittsburgh still intended to follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement. When the federal government failed to act, the responsibilities fell to local governments. In July 2019, Mayor Peduto provided testimony to the U.S. Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on Climate Crisis, along with other mayors from across the country, where he explained how cities have taken the lead in addressing climate change: As government servants, all of us have sworn an oath to help provide for the health, safety, and welfare of our residents. And addressing the issues of climate change is just good government: leaving politics aside, it all comes down to an effort to save money, help the vulnerable, and make our communities healthier places to live, for everyone. Unfortunately that has not been the case. Given the leadership void left by inaction by federal and state Local governments governments, solving these challenges has been left largely are leading the way by to cities like ours, and we must investing in EVs and continue to innovate and lead as we take on this crisis. integrating them into Cities across the country their fleets, but like have begun to act in many ways, including integrating EVs all new technologies into their fleets. In 2018, the they must create a United States hit a milestone thoughtful strategy in by having over one million EVs on the road and setting order to be successful. record sales with 361,307 EV purchases. That’s an 81-percent increase from 2017 EV sales, but it equates to only two percent of all vehicle sales in 2018. By purchasing more and more EVs for their fleets, local governments can help normalize this new technology just by using them and having them out on the streets every day.

Austin, Texas, set a goal of having 330 EVs in their fleet by 2020.

Los Angeles Sanitation has committed to an all-electric refuse fleet by 2035. The city of Seattle has committed to a fossil-fuel-free fleet by 2030, making the installation of EV charging infrastructure a priority with their climate and transportation program manager, Andrea Platt, stating, “We all control the vehicles we purchase. If we ask the private sector and residents to drive EVs, we must lead by example. This is absolutely where it starts.”

Local governments are uniquely qualified to lead by example. It’s important for them to remain fiscally responsible, but unlike the private sector their main concern is not to be profitable, allowing them to invest in things like EVs that maximize other values, even if they provide a lower financial return on investment. Countless innovations have been born out of investments and decisions made by governments and this circumstance is no different.

Financial Considerations

All government policy decisions start in the same place—the budget—and EVs are no different. Any mid- to large-size city is AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 29

banded together to form the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative. The collaborative is adding $75 million into the EV Market and will negotiate better prices for the local governments involved in it. Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles and leader of the Climate Mayors, stated, “By pooling our purchasing power, Climate Mayors are sending a powerful message to the global car market: if you build electric vehicles, we will buy them.” By participating in the collaborative, the city of Austin, Texas, was able to save $1,300 per EV. While EVs require larger capital investments up front, there are cost savings made operationally. EVs require significantly less maintenance due to the simple fact that they don’t have an engine.

Additionally, fleets will save on fuel costs because electricity is much cheaper than gasoline or diesel. It’s important to factor these savings into long-

term strategies to help offset potential concerns about the upfront capital costs.

Generating a Strategic Plan

Often local governments are forced to decide whether their budget will dictate their policy, or if their policy dictates their budget. In order to reach their goals of lowering vehicle GHG emissions, local governments will likely do their best to adhere to the time frames laid out in the Paris Agreement.

Once goals are clarified, a long-term budget should be developed, taking into

Photo by Peter McDevitt

spending millions of dollars every year to replace old vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life.

Purchasing EVs will not be an entirely new cost if they’re bought to replace a combustion engine vehicle being decommissioned. Depending on the vehicle, however, there will likely be an increase in the cost.

Some of those extra costs can be offset. Many municipalities have benefited from Volkswagen’s $14.7 billion settlement for cheating on emission standards tests.

A portion of the settlement was made available to states to distribute for cleaner vehicle emissions initiatives. The city of Pittsburgh took advantage of this funding and other grants to fund their 19 EVs and charging infrastructure, including five solar-powered EV charging stations.

Recognizing that the Volkswagen money won’t last forever, local governments have

Get buy-in from the departments and drivers before making the transition.

There were problems at first, but once the drivers got used to the EVs, they loved them and some even purchased their own EV.

30 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

consideration all up-front costs and future replacement costs.

This will help municipalities understand how much additional funding they will need to allocate toward their fleet. Then they can identify funding sources, whether it’s through increased taxes or fees, reallocated funding from previously budgeted programs, or through debt financing that could be paid back with operational savings from using EVs instead of traditional combustion-powered vehicles.

When determining the scope that will be required, local governments need to consider what vehicles are in their fleet and which ones can be replaced with an EV. Sedans can be replaced relatively easily, but reliable EV replacements for 10-ton dump trucks do not exist yet. Companies like Mack Truck and Peterbilt are introducing fully electric refuse trucks, which is great for Los Angeles, but are not feasible in Pittsburgh—the trucks are not powerful enough to handle the city’s uniquely steep hills.

The end user who will be driving the EVs also needs to be considered. Even if EV refuse trucks could handle the hills of Pittsburgh, the city’s refuse division requires three-man cabs per their union-negotiated contract, and only two-man cab electric refuse trucks currently exist. Unions should be

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consulted before any decisions are made. Police and fire unions are much more concerned that their equipment allows them to do their job safely and effectively than they are about its long-term impact on climate change.

Once it has been determined what EVs can be purchased, and who will be driving them, local governments will need to consider the charging infrastructure that works best for them. The city of Seattle has laid out a thoughtful fleet electrification program with an initial primary focus on installing the appropriate EV charging infrastructure.

By making this one of their

first steps, it reduces potential future burdens of not having adequate charging stations once they begin to purchase EVs. When moving to EVs, Seattle considered the following: • Start small, but plan big— work on smaller installations while planning larger projects to maintain progress.

• Identify vehicle location and existing electrical capacity.

• Battery size + dwell time = EV charging station amperage.

• Every facility is different— no one size will fit all and costs are not linear.

There are many options for charging EVs, so it’s important to take these points into consideration before

Figure 1: Average emissions factors, heat rates, and the resulting emission rate for electricity generation by fuel and generation technology

purchasing vehicles or installing infrastructure. As Seattle noted, there is not a one-size-fits-all strategy so local governments need to decide how they want to charge their EVs. There are two basic types of charging stations: 1. Those that provide a slower charge that could fully charge an empty battery over a span of 12–14 hours.

2. Fast charging stations that are much more expensive and require significantly more power, but can fully charge a vehicle in an hour or less.

If slower charging is preferred, best practices would indicate that there should be a one-to-one ratio of chargers

to EVs. Some localities might prefer fast charging and could use a valet-type service that continuously rotates vehicles in and out of charging stations.

Or perhaps they might want a combination of both. It’s important to determine this before installations begin so that they can ensure there is an adequate supply of power to the charging site, or if they need to work with their electric supplier to bring additional power to the site.

Don’t Get Shocked by the Unexpected

As with all new things, there will be issues along the way when integrating EVs into government fleets.

CO2 Emissions Factor

Heat Rate

Emission Rate

Coal, steam generator

95.3

10,080

960.6

Petroleum, steam generator

73.2

10,156

743.4

Natural gas, combustion turbine

53.1

11,378

604.2

Natural gas, combined cycle

53.1

7.658

406.6

(kg CO2/Btu)

(Btu/kWh)

(kg CO2/MWh)

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 31

Nischaporn/stock.adobe.com

It’s important to deal with unexpected problems thoughtfully so that they don’t become worse.

One consideration that should be made, but might not be anticipated, is how the electricity used to charge the EVs is being generated. The main reason for transitioning to EVs is to reduce GHG emissions, but depending on the source of the electricity, charging an EV may create as much or more GHG emissions than more traditional vehicles.

alone solar charging stations.

This investment would help the city further its goal of reducing GHG emissions, but also ended up causing operational issues because of the higher than average amount of cloudy days in Pittsburgh. Especially during the winter months, the solar-powered charging stations that Pittsburgh used were not able to charge their EVs. There was a relatively simple fix to the problem and the charging stations were moved so they could be plugged in to

Invest in charging infrastructure up-front to make sure your EVs don’t turn into very expensive paperweights.

If a municipality is getting its electricity from a coal fire power plant, then an EV would be creating more GHG emissions per mile than a hybrid sedan would. Local governments should be carefully vetting how they’re powering their EVs. Ideally, they would increasingly source 100 percent renewable energy, like solar.

The city of Pittsburgh took the extra step of investing in solar power when they purchased transportable, stand-

receive a trickle charge from a power outlet that would provide additional power to the unit when there was not sufficient sunlight.

Another surprise issue that Pittsburgh faced was initial driver buy-in. It’s understandable that drivers may be apprehensive of this new technology, but there were significant hurdles the city faced by drivers simply not trusting what the EVs were telling them.

The EV users were driving

32 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

less than 100 miles per day in Chevrolet Bolts that get up 240 miles on a full charge. On cold days, the drivers would need to use the heat in the vehicles, which draws an extra charge on the battery. This caused panic in the new EV users who saw their battery power dropping at a higher rate, leading them to ending their shift early. Proper training on best practices while operating an EV would have helped prevent this distrust and lost work time.

Proper training can also prevent user error. Last year, it was reported that a police officer in Fremont, California, driving a Tesla Model S involved in a high-speed chase had to abandon the pursuit because the battery was about to run out. This set off alarms across the country that EVs were not capable of being reliably used as pursuit vehicles.

However, it was later realized that the Tesla abandoned the chase due to safety concerns, and the car was low on battery because its battery was only half full when the eleven hour shift began nine hours earlier.

Starting Off on the Right Foot

There is lot of groundwork to successfully integrate EVs into a municipal fleet. The first

step is to develop a strategic plan. Chuck O’Neill, the former senior manager of fleet and fixed assets at the city of Pittsburgh, gave the following advice on how to be successful, “Do the research up front. We should have had a better plan for charging infrastructure, and we should have installed it before buying the cars. It’s also important to know who will be driving it, where they’re driving it, and how often.” He also said, “Get buy-in from the departments and drivers before making the transition. There were problems at first, but once the drivers got used to the EVs, they loved them and some even purchased their own EV. Chuck’s advice echoed much of what has been covered here already. Changing to a new technology can be chaotic, so local governments that decide to invest in EVs need to develop a strong strategic plan that allows them to be flexible.

They need to invest in charging infrastructure up-front to make sure their EVs don’t turn into very expensive paperweights.

Local governments also need to work with the EV users to provide them adequate training, create buy-in, and ensure a seamless transition to the new technology.

Following these steps will make EV use in the public sector a success and will hopefully lead to greater EV adoption and a slightly healthier planet.

PETER MCDEVITT is senior budget analyst for the city of Pittsburgh Office of Management and Budget, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (peter. mcdevitt@pittsburghpa.gov).

BY IVAN L. KALLICK, RANDALL KEEN, AND JACOB ITZKOWITZ

MUNICIPAL BANKRUPTCY in the TIME of

The pandemic’s devastating economic impact may provide an option for local governments to restructure financial obligations.

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COVID-19

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 33

T

he economic impact of COVID-19 is coming into

sharper focus, and governmental entities across the country are in the direct line of fire. For example, on May 14, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom released a budget proposal projecting a $54.3 billion deficit for the coming fiscal year.1 In California, the state’s deficit translates into projected deficits for counties, cities, and many special districts that are reliant on state and related variable tax revenues and are already projecting deficits.

34 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Adding to these concerns, many municipalities across the United States are saddled with crushing bond and other debt and pension obligations.

Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas have less than half the financial resources they need to pay existing pension liabilities.2 Most recently, Fairfield, Alabama, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, saying it had “exhausted its options” after several years of declining

and retirement benefits, leading to massive, unfunded, accrued liabilities. In the face of the looming recession, cities and counties will need to cover rising pension costs with less revenue coming in the door. For example, the city of Santa Monica—a city highly dependent on tourism revenues such as from hotel and sales taxes—adopted a Fiscal Year 2020–21 budget with a nearly 25 percent reduction and has moved to significantly restructure the city’s overall operations.5 In fact, the city is contemplating putting a local funding measure on the November 2020 ballot to raise additional revenue.6 Cuts of this magnitude and a move to refocus on core municipal services are unavoidable for most, if not all, local governments given the devastating economic impact of COVID-19.

While states are legally required to pass a balanced budget and cannot file for bankruptcy protection, municipalities and special districts that own, operate, and provide essential services to their residents and constituents may be forced to consider bankruptcy given the depth of the economic crisis.

Chapter 9 bankruptcy may provide an option for local governments unable to otherwise survive the economic downturn and may help them more effectively restructure their operations, workforces, and debt. In addition, Chapter 9 may help struggling municipalities restructure their debt and pension obligations. While there are risks associated with filing for bankruptcy as a municipality, these risks may be offset by the benefits in

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revenues and outstanding financial obligations.3 Fairfield is located in Jefferson County, which itself went through Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2011.4 The financial problems and declines in revenue are exacerbated in California, where one of the primary ways local governments have dealt with the revenue constraints of Proposition 13 has been to push a larger share of employee compensation to pensions

the current and near-future fiscal environment.

The Law

Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code permits municipal governments to declare bankruptcy when they are unable to pay their debt service due to a lack of income, generally due to declining tax revenues. This action protects financially distressed cities, counties, and special districts from creditors and allows the filing municipality to create a plan of adjustment to resolve its outstanding debt. Chapter 9 defines municipalities broadly to include a wide variety of governmental entities such as cities and counties, as well as special utility, tax, and school districts.7 Most importantly, courts and creditors in a Chapter 9 filing generally cannot interfere with the governmental or revenue powers of a municipality while in Chapter 9. Municipalities filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy largely retain control of policy decisions, such as spending, municipal services, and public policy.8 And a municipality cannot be forced to sell property or otherwise dispose of assets.9 Thus, unlike in widely

publicized and used Chapter 11 reorganizations, a municipality in a Chapter 9 proceeding maintains some measure of agency over its day-to-day decisions. The bankruptcy court overseeing a municipality’s Chapter 9 case cannot, for example, appoint a trustee to manage the municipality’s actions or force it to take specific legislative actions. This is particularly important to municipalities, which are both subdivisions of the state and independent political entities with their own priorities, sensibilities, and constituencies.

Municipalities in Chapter 9 bankruptcies also cannot be forced to liquidate. In a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy, creditors can push to convert a restructuring into a liquidation so as to maximize their return from the debtor’s assets. Under Chapter 9, creditors do not have this right and must negotiate with the filing municipality (or ultimately accept a plan of adjustment as approved by the bankruptcy court). This provides municipalities more leverage than a corporation has in a traditional Chapter 11 reorganization.

Note, however, that municipalities must file their

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AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 35

petitions in good faith.10 There are a number of factors that bankruptcy courts weigh in evaluating the good faith of a petition, and these factors can include whether the municipality engaged in prepetition negotiations or sought alternatives to filing, as well as the scope and nature of the financial problems.11 The Process

As a threshold matter, a municipality seeking to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 must be authorized by state law.

This means that state law must include clear authority for such a filing and that permission must be “exact, plain, and direct with well-defined limits so that nothing is left to inference or implication.”12 There is wide variation in the latitude that states grant to their municipalities in the ability to use Chapter 9. California provides some of the broadest permissions, although it requires municipalities to participate in a mediation first.13 However, in several states, municipalities must seek individual authorization from the state legislature in order to file under Chapter 9.14 This can create an additional hurdle and add significant complexity to the bankruptcy process.

For example, Pennsylvania effectively blocked its own capital city, Harrisburg, from filing bankruptcy under Chapter 9 by eliminating the statutory provisions enabling municipalities to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9.15 And one state, Georgia, does not permit municipalities to file for bankruptcy at all.16 In order to use the protections of Chapter 9, a municipality must meet certain additional criteria:17

Insolvency. The

municipality must be insolvent (defined as either “(i) generally not paying its debts as they become due unless such debts are the subject of a bona fide dispute; or (ii) unable to pay its debts as they become due”).18 In a typical Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy, insolvency is determined by the “balance sheet test” (although insolvency is not a requirement for filing under those chapters). Because municipal assets are both hard to value and hard to liquidate, in a municipal bankruptcy, insolvency is typically judged on a cash-flow basis, where the municipality cannot pay its debts as they come due. However, bankruptcy courts have also recognized insolvency in the delivery of services. For example, in the enormous Detroit bankruptcy case, Judge Steven Rhodes observed that the city was so insolvent that it was “unable to provide basic municipal services such as police, fire, and emergency medical services to protect the health and safety of the people.”19 Note that municipalities have more power to raise their cash flow than does a typical corporate debtor, and bankruptcy courts may consider factors such as the ability to raise taxes or fees when evaluating insolvency.20 Plan to Have a Plan. The municipality must intend to effect a plan to restructure its debt obligations.21 This requirement has been interpreted to mean that a Chapter 9 filing cannot be used to resolve short-term fiscal issues that would otherwise require tough political decisions or force the municipality to pay creditors it does not want to pay. It need

36 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

not have a plan of adjustment ready to go when it files, but it must at least intend to execute one and have some basic outlines of a plan prepared.22 Consent (Or at Least Making an Effort). Finally,

the municipality must either obtain the agreement of creditors or, if it cannot, show evidence that it made a good faith effort to negotiate or that such a negotiation would be impractical or impossible. Specifically, the municipality must: (a) have obtained the consent of creditors holding at least a majority in the number of claims in classes that will be impaired under the plan; (b) have failed to obtain such consent after negotiating with creditors in good faith; (c) be unable to negotiate with creditors because negotiation is “impracticable”; or (d) reasonably believe that a creditor may attempt to obtain a transfer that is avoidable.23 In municipal bankruptcies, likely creditors include public sector employees (both current and retired) with pension benefits, employees subject to collective bargaining agreements, bondholders who have purchased municipal debt, and other entities such as institutional lenders that may be owed funds. While negotiations with these latter institutions in Chapter 9 bankruptcies may be more routine and similar to those in cases under Chapter 11, negotiations with public sector employees, pensioners, and their union representation bring politics into the

equation and can create difficulties for a municipality seeking a quick exit from bankruptcy. Bankruptcy courts have noted that municipalities in particular may have difficulty negotiating with their diverse creditors and may not even be able to present an adequate initial proposal. For example, in the Detroit bankruptcy, Judge Rhodes pointed to the “sheer size of the debt and number of individual creditors,” as well as the difficulties inherent in negotiating with a large and disparate class of pension creditors.24 The Automatic Stay.

As with other bankruptcy protections, filing Chapter 9 puts in place an automatic stay, which protects the municipality from actions to collect on outstanding debts.25 The protections of the automatic stay prevent a municipality’s creditors from rushing to the courthouse to satisfy their debts and/ or interfere with streams of revenue, and (hopefully) to ensure an orderly adjustment process. For example, in the Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing of Mammoth Lakes, California, the automatic stay helped the town delay paying a legal judgment that would have overwhelmed its annual budget.26 Secured vs. Unsecured Claims. In the bankruptcy

process, there are two primary classes of creditor claims: secured and unsecured. At the most basic level, secured claims are tied to specific collateral or a specific revenue stream. For example, a promissory note may be secured by a mortgage or deed of trust on a house in an individual bankruptcy.

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In the corporate context, various personal property assets including accounts receivable (or real estate) may serve as collateral for a note.

In contrast, unsecured claims are generally tied only to a promise to pay.

In the municipal context, most debts other than wages are either pension obligations or municipally issued general revenue bonds, both of which are typically unsecured or obligations established by law.27 Only bonds tied to specific sources of revenue are treated as secured; otherwise, such debts are general obligations of the municipality.

Best Interest Standard.

A bankruptcy court may confirm a plan of adjustment if it is “in the best interests of creditors and is feasible.”28 This amorphous standard is important in Chapter 9 proceedings because, unlike in other bankruptcy proceedings, there are no benchmarks against which to measure what is reasonable.29 Instead, courts have typically looked at whether the municipality’s plan gives its creditors a return that is as good as or better than what they currently have.30

History

There have been fewer than 1,000 Chapter 9 bankruptcies filed in the history of the country,31 as compared with over 22,000 business and 750,000 personal bankruptcies filed in 2019 alone.32 The most significant include Puerto Rico, Detroit, and Orange County, California. Puerto Rico’s complex bankruptcy, which was complicated by the large portion of its debt held by private-equity and other assertive investors, was only recently confirmed in 2019.33 Two of the nation’s largest and most complex Chapter 9 bankruptcies have been those of jurisdictions in California: the city of Vallejo in 200834 and the city of Stockton in 2012.35 In addition, one of the largest municipal bankruptcies in U.S. history was Orange County’s 1994 filing, in which the county sought to adjust $1.7 billion in debt.36 Special Districts

Special districts, such as those established under Local Area Formation Commission procedures to support local infrastructure, can also take advantage of Chapter 9.37 This is particularly important

in California, where the budgetary constraints of Proposition 13 have pushed numerous municipal functions into special districts. For example, the Tulare Local Health District emerged from a two-year bankruptcy process in mid-2019.38 Special districts can also use Chapter 9 to adjust their debts, which typically take the form of bond issuances backed by specific revenues and are treated as secured obligations.39 Opportunity in the Midst of Crisis

Rahm Emanuel, someone particularly experienced with municipal budgets as the former mayor of Chicago and as President Obama’s former chief of staff during the Great Recession, famously echoed the line “never let a crisis go to waste.”40 While the current and looming economic crisis threatens enormous economic pain for individuals and businesses as well as local governments, it may also present an opportunity to adjust municipal debt and pension obligations.

Power to Reject Contracts. One particular

opportunity available to municipalities in bankruptcy is the power to reject executory contracts.41 A debtor in bankruptcy, including a Chapter 9 debtor municipality, can reject contracts that were executed prior to the filing.

While the other party to the contract will have a claim against the municipality for breach, this claim is treated as a general unsecured claim for damages (the lowestpriority claim in bankruptcy) and, thus, any payment on account of such claim is often significantly less than the contract value.

The most significant use of this power is in a municipality’s ability to reject collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and other employment agreements with municipal workers. While there are certain steps that a municipality must take before rejecting a CBA, including making a reasonable effort to negotiate, this power can allow a municipality to escape particularly onerous agreements.42 Note that a municipality seeking to reject contracts may be required to comply with any additional state rules regarding modification or rejection of contracts, although the extent of this requirement has not been fully settled by the courts.

For example, in California, municipalities may be required to satisfy state law as to when and how they can make emergency contract changes.43 Pension Liabilities. While a municipality can reject executory contracts in Chapter 9 bankruptcy, it was until recently less clear whether it could modify existing pension liabilities. Because

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 37

pension obligations are settled debts and the benefits owed are “vested rights,” it was not certain whether they could be modified in the same fashion as other obligations. However, Judge Sandra Klein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California addressed this question directly in the Stockton bankruptcy.

Specifically, the court addressed the question of whether, as a matter of law, pension contracts entered into by the city, including the pension administration contract, may be rejected pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 365.44 Note, however, that the court in Stockton specifically focused on the role of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the fact that the city’s pension was administered by the retirement system to provide third-party pension

benefits to the city’s retired employees.45 Also note that the Stockton court made its decision despite California law prohibiting a municipal debtor in Chapter 9 from breaking a contract with CalPERS.46 The Stockton court found that the statute conflicted with the federal Bankruptcy Code.47 Thus, the Stockton court analyzed the CalPERS contract as a standard executory contract, which the city was entitled to terminate, and did not specifically address a situation where a municipality administers its own pension system without a third-party contractor.

Understanding the Risks

There are, of course, several significant risks, both fiscal and political, for a municipality filing for bankruptcy.

Top of mind in any bankruptcy is the risk to the municipality’s credit rating and

the possibility of a downgrade.

Filing for bankruptcy can reduce creditworthiness, make future borrowing more expensive, and limit the pool of willing lenders. While these risks are significant and should be carefully weighed by elected officials and municipal managers, they may prove less substantial when compared with similar impacts that may result from doing nothing at all.

In cities with more workforce or resident mobility, the negative publicity and attention generated from a Chapter 9 filing, as well as a fear of tax increases to cover municipal budget shortfalls, may drive residents or businesses to move to other jurisdictions, which could have negative impacts on the municipality’s future tax base.

In more extreme cases, significant restructuring and reductions in pension benefits and/or public sector salaries

could cause municipal workers to seek greener pastures. Where strong local government unions are a major factor, these tensions could become significant.

As many commentators have observed, there are political risks to going after pension liabilities in Chapter 9. For example, Diane Lourdes Dick, a professor at Seattle University School of Law focusing on commercial finance and bankruptcy, notes that while recent case law has made clear that pension writedowns can be conducted in Chapter 9, “[b]ankrupt cities have mostly declined to use [C]hapter 9 to adjust their pension promises, instead advancing plans of adjustment that privilege pension claims over others […] the political economy of [C]hapter 9 has enabled large and prominent pension administrators to exert more power and influence over restructurings.”48

iStock.com/Chalirmpoj Pimpisarn; monsitj/stock.adobe.com

38 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Many cities have chosen to avoid confrontation with pension holders. For example, the city of San Bernardino considered reducing its pension payments to CalPERS, but eventually decided to leave its pension obligations intact and to force reductions in other debt payments.49 Similarly, the final plan in the Detroit bankruptcy left pension payments whole while cutting related items such as cost-of-living increases and other minor benefits.50 Conclusion

While the looming recession and COVID-19-related financial crisis pose existential threats to municipalities across California, they also provide an opportunity. Cities and counties that take a proactive approach and act decisively can take advantage of this crisis to tackle debt and pension obligations that might pose greater problems down the road. With effective leadership and counsel, municipalities can work with local stakeholders to adjust their obligations and get their fiscal houses in order, while also finding a path to lead their residents out of the pandemic recession.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

Governor Newsom Submits May Revision Budget Proposal to Legislature (May 14, 2020), available at https:// www.gov.ca.gov/2020/05/14/governornewsom-submits-may-revision-budgetproposal-to-legislature-5-14-20/.

2 Jen Sidorova, “Coronavirus Will Make America’s Cities Feel the Pressure of Pension Debt,” MarketWatch (April 23, 2020), available at https://www. marketwatch.com/story/coronaviruswill-make-americas-cities-feel-thepressure-of-pension-debt-2020-04-20.

3 Amanda Albright, “Small Alabama City Says It’s Broke, Files for Bankruptcy,” Bloomberg Law (May 19, 2020), available at https:// www.bloomberg.com/news/ articles/2020-05-20/small-alabamacity-says-it-s-broke-files-for-bankruptcy.

1

Mary Williams Walsh, “In Alabama, a County That Fell Off the Financial Cliff,” The New York Times (February 18, 2012), available at https://www. nytimes.com/2012/02/19/business/ jefferson-county-ala-falls-off-thebankruptcy-cliff.html.

5 See City of Santa Monica Department of Finance, FY 202021 Adopted Budget, https:// finance.smgov.net/#:~:text=On%20 June%2023%2C%202020%2C%20 the,million%20in%20FY%20 2020%2D21.

6 See City of Santa Monica Local Funding Measure Fact Sheet, available at https://finance.smgov. net/Media/Default/home/ LocalFundingMeasureFactSheet.pdf.

7 11 U.S.C. § 101(40) (defining “municipality” as a “political subdivision or public agency or instrumentality of a State”).

8 11 U.S.C. § 904.

9 See In re Valley Health System, 429 B.R. 692, 714 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2010) (the debtor “retains title to, possession of, and complete control over its property and its operations, and is not restricted in its ability to sell, use, or lease its property”).

10 11 U.S.C. § 921.

11 See, e.g., In re Villages at Castle Rock Metro. Dist. No. 4, 145 B.R. 76, 81 (Bankr. D. Colo. 1990); see also Rachael E. Schwartz, “This Way to the Egress: Should Bridgeport’s Chapter 9 Filing Have Been Dismissed?,” 66 Am. Bankr.

L.J. 103, 130 (1992).

12 In re County of Orange, 183 B.R. 594, 604 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1995).

13 Cal. Gov’t. Code §§ 53760, 53760.3.

14 See John Gramlich, “Municipal Bankruptcy Explained: What It Means to File for Chapter 9,” The Pew Charitable Trust (November 22, 2011), available at https://www.pewtrusts. org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/ stateline/2011/11/22/municipalbankruptcy-explained-what-it-means-tofile-for-chapter-9.

15 Act of June 30, 2011, § 1601-D.1, Pa. Laws 159, No. 26 (“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 261 of the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, no distressed city may file a petition for relief under 11 U.S.C. Ch. 9 (relating to adjustment of debts of a municipality) or any other Federal bankruptcy law, and no government agency may authorize the distressed city to become a debtor under 11 U.S.C. Ch. 9 or any other Federal bankruptcy law.”).

16 Ga. Code Ann. 36-80-5(a).

17 See 11 U.S.C. § 109(c).

18 11 U.S.C. § 101(c)(32).

19 In re City of Detroit, 524 B.R. 147, 261 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2014).

20 See Vincent S.J. Buccola, “Law and Legislation in Municipal Bankruptcy,” 38 Cardozo L. Rev. 1301, 1319 (2017).

21 11 U.S.C. § 109(c)(4).

22 See In re City of Vallejo, 408 B.R. at 297 (“[W]e emphasize that while a complete plan is not required, some outline or term sheet of a plan which 4

designates classes of creditors and their treatment is necessary.”).

23 11 U.S.C. § 109(c)(5).

24 In re City of Detroit, 504 B.R. at 17-79.

25 11 U.S.C. § 362.

26 Jim Christie, “Mammoth Lakes, California, Files for Bankruptcy,” Reuters ( July 3, 2012), available at https://www.reuters.com/article/usmammoth-lakes-bankruptcy/mammothlakes-california-files-for-bankruptcyidUSBRE8621E920120703.

27 See David Skeel, “The Education of Detroit’s Pension and Bond Creditors,” 2 PENN WHARTON PUB. POL’Y INITIATIVE 1, 3 (2014), available at http://publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/ live/files/166-a.

28 11 U.S.C. § 943(b)(7).

29 For example, a bankruptcy court can evaluate the liquidation value of a debtor’s real estate to approximate its value and potential recovery for creditors, but such tools are unavailable where a municipal debtor cannot be required to liquidate.

30 See, e.g., In re Pierce Cty. Hous. Auth., 414 B.R. 702, 718 (Bankr. W.D. Wash.

2009) (“The ‘best interest of creditors’ requirement of § 943(b)(7) is ‘generally regarded as requiring that a proposed plan provide a better alternative for creditors than what they already have.’”).

31 https://www.uscourts.gov/servicesforms/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-basics/ chapter-9-bankruptcy-basics.

32 https://www.uscourts.gov/ news/2019/07/26/june-2019bankruptcy-filings-fall-03-percent.

33 In re Fin. Oversight & Mgmt. Bd. for Puerto Rico, 361 F. Supp. 3d 203, 216 (D.P.R.), judgment entered, 366 F. Supp. 3d 256 (D.P.R. 2019), and reconsideration denied, No. 17 BK 3283LTS, 2019 WL 8403509 (D.P.R. March 15, 2019).

34 In re City of Vallejo, 403 B.R. 72, 74 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2009), aff ’d, Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 2376 v. City of Vallejo, CA (In re City of Vallejo, CA), No. 2:09-cv-02603, 2010 WL 2465455 (E.D. Cal. June 14, 2010).

35 In re City of Stockton, California, 526 B.R. 35, 38 (Bankr. E.D. Cal.), aff ’d in part, dismissed in part, 542 B.R. 261 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2015).

36 In re County of Orange, 179 B.R. 177, 184 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1995).

37 See Cal. Gov’t. Code §58000, et seq.

38 Sheyanne Romero, “Tulare Hospital District Completes Bankruptcy Filing: ‘A Remarkable Turnaround,’” Visalia Times Delta (August 22, 2019), available at https://www.visaliatimesdelta. com/story/news/2019/08/22/tularehospital-district-completes-bankruptcyfiling/2075686001/.

39 See Special District Formation Guide, California Special Districts Association, available at https:// higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws. com/CSDA/b24702e8-8a42-46148c45-bc3cba37ea2c/UploadedImages/ About_Districts/2016-FormationGuide-WEB.pdf; see also Alexander D. Flachsbart, “Municipal Bonds

in Bankruptcy: S 902(2) and the Proper Scope of “Special Revenues” in Chapter 9,” 72 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 955, 969 (2015).

40 Rahm Emanuel, “Let’s Make Sure This Crisis Doesn’t Go to Waste,” The Washington Post (March 25, 2020), available at https:// www.washingtonpost.com/ opinions/2020/03/25/lets-make-surethis-crisis-doesnt-go-waste/.

41 11 U.S.C. § 365.

42 See NLRB v. Bildisco & Bildisco, 465 U.S. 513 (1984).

43 In re County of Orange, 179 B.R. 177, 184 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 1995); but see In re City of Vallejo, 403 B.R. 72, 74 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2009), aff ’d, Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, Local 2376 v. City of Vallejo, CA (In re City of Vallejo, CA), No. 2:09-cv-02603, 2010 WL 2465455 (E.D. Cal. June 14, 2010).

44 In re City of Stockton, California, 526 B.R. 35, 38 (Bankr. E.D. Cal.), aff ’d in part, dismissed in part, 542 B.R. 261 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2015).

45 Id., at 40.

46 Cal. Gov’t. Code § 20487.

47 Id. 48 “Bondholders vs. Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies: The Political Economy of Chapter 9,” 92 Am. Bankr. L.J. 73, 74 (2018).

49 See Paloma Esquivel and Joe Mozingo, “San Bernardino’s Bankruptcy Plan Favors CalPERS,” Los Angeles Times (May 18, 2015).

50 In re City of Detroit, 524 B.R. 147, 179-81 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 2014).

IVAN L. KALLICK is a partner with Manatt in Los Angeles, California, focused on bankruptcy.

RANDALL KEEN is a partner with Manatt in Los Angeles, California, with a focus on government and regulatory law.

JACOB ITZKOWITZ is an associate with Manatt in Los Angeles, California, with a focus on government and regulatory law.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 39

Srdjan/stock.adobe.com

S

o often in life, we get stuck in a cycle of response. We put out fires.

We deal with emergencies. We stay downstream, handling one problem after another, but we never make our way upstream to fix the systems that caused the problems. Cops chase robbers, and doctors treat patients with chronic diseases, and call-center reps address customer complaints. But crime and chronic disease and customer complaints are preventable! So why do our efforts skew so heavily toward reaction rather than prevention?

Upstream, the recent book by Dan Heath, studies leaders who have defied this tendency toward reaction and, instead, resolved to push upstream—to prevent problems rather than respond to them. In the following excerpt from his book, Heath discusses how the government leaders in Rockford, Illinois, made a radical change to the way they approached the issue of homelessness and, as a result, drew national attention for their upstream success.

In 2014, Larry Morrissey, the then-mayor of Rockford, Illinois, was challenged by a colleague to take the Mayor’s Challenge, a campaign promoted by the federal government with the goal of ending veteran homelessness in communities around the nation. Morrissey was

approaching the midpoint of his third term as mayor, and he’d been working on the issue of homelessness since he first took office, nine years prior.

Homelessness was partly a byproduct of the hard times Rockford was enduring. In 2013, an article in the Wall Street Journal painted a bleak picture about the city, which is about 90 miles northwest of Chicago: “Once a prosperous manufacturing hub that created the airbrush and electric garage-door opener, Rockford is now the nation’s underwater capital. In about 32 percent of the metro area’s mortgages, the homes are worth less than the money owed.” Morrissey felt the pain; his mortgage was underwater, too.

Rockford’s population (about 150,000 in 2018) had been shrinking since the Great Recession as people fled for better opportunities. “The entire town had a form of codependency,” said Morrissey.

“We were addicted to mediocrity. We were accustomed to failure. As a community, we resembled a lot of the characters you would see in a family bound by addiction.

A lot of finger pointing, a lot of blame.” To Morrissey, homelessness was a symbol of

Reducing

HOMELESSNESS with UPSTREAM THINKING 40 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

BY DAN HEATH

How Rockford, Illinois, took on homelessness and won

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 41

Henryk Sadura/stock.adobe.com

this defeatism: It was “ground zero for encompassing so much of what was wrong.”

Even though Morrissey knew homelessness was important, when he was challenged to take the pledge, he was skeptical.

“For a decade, I’d been working on homelessness,” he said. “In my first term, we developed this 10-year plan to end homelessness, and we hadn’t done it. If anything, maybe things had gotten worse. . . .

What’s gonna change?”

He reluctantly took the pledge and agreed to attend a training session in Chicago along with some social services colleagues in early 2015. The training was led by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was the only mayor in a room filled with housing people. Morrissey and his colleagues weren’t expecting a transformational experience—it was a workshop run by a federal agency, after all. Yet the session became a turning point in Rockford’s work on homelessness for the simple reason that Morrissey finally understood why they had failed. “The lightbulb went off,” he said. “I realized what the missing ingredients were.”

Less than a year later—on December 15, 2015—Rockford became the first city in the United States to have effectively ended homelessness among local veterans. How could the city spin its wheels on homelessness for nine years and then achieve dramatic success in less than one?

The first change was mental. Jennifer Jaeger, Rockford’s community services director, and one of the key leaders in the work on homelessness, called it her “‘I believe in fairies’ moment.”

“The very first step is to believe you can actually do it,” said Jaeger.

“It’s hard. It’s a big mind shift. It’s no longer just taking care of the problem, which is what we were doing historically, but ending the problem.”

I met with Jaeger in the fall of 2018 in the city’s human services department building in Rockford. Her drab, windowless office was large and peculiarly shaped, like a jigsaw puzzle piece, and in the tab of that puzzle piece was a towering stack of small white boxes—hundreds of low-flow showerheads. They were to be part of some energy-efficiency kits being distributed to low-income people; there was apparently nowhere else to store them. If there were a recruitment poster for upstream work, it would feature Jaeger’s office, with its mountain of showerheads, along with the slogan: IF IT’S GLAMOUR YOU’RE AFTER, GET BACK DOWNSTREAM. In the aftermath of the HUD training, the team in Rockford made three critical shifts en route to ending veteran homelessness: a shift in strategy, a shift in collaboration, and a shift in data. The strategic shift was to embrace what’s called “housing first.” In the past, the opportunity to receive housing was like a carrot dangled in front of homeless people to encourage them to fix themselves: to 42 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

receive substance abuse treatment, or treatment for mental illness, or job training.

The idea was that homeless people needed to earn their way into housing. “Housing first” flips that sequence. It says that the first step in helping the homeless—not the last—is to get them into housing as soon as possible. “I stopped thinking of people as ‘homeless’ and started thinking of them as people without houses,” said Jaeger. “All a homeless person is, is somebody without a house. The same issues homeless people have, people who are housed have. . . . People who are housed can start working on those other issues.”

Along with the “housing first” strategy came a shift in collaboration, involving what’s known as “coordinated entry.”

Cities have many different housing options for homeless people— supportive housing, transitional housing, shelters, and more—and there are many different agencies that interact with the homeless.

Imagine a hotel with seven different front desks, each with its own set of policies for who can book a room and how long they can stay, and so on. It was a “willy-nilly” system, said Angie Walker, a colleague of Jaeger’s.

“Everybody just took whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted,” she said. Now, Walker said, “Our office here, we’re the single point of entry. If you’re homeless and you need a place to live, you need to come in here.” The advantage of coordinated entry is that you can be thoughtful about who receives housing. You can prioritize. In the willy-nilly system, the people who received housing were often the people who asked for it first—or worse, the people who were easiest to house. Since organizations were often rewarded for how many people they had housed, they had an incentive to cherry-pick the ones who could be housed with the fewest headaches.

The new mandate was: House the most vulnerable people, the people who most desperately need housing. And that’s where the final shift—the shift in data—fits in. Previously, Rockford’s housing team conducted an annual “point in time” census of the homeless population. It was required by HUD. And its method was to visit all the homeless shelters in the area during a particular day and count the number of people there. “Nobody even went out to the streets to actually count unsheltered people,” said Walker. When she took over the count, she fixed that. The census evolved from a

Rockford became “point in time” count, conducted once a year, to milestone with youth homelessness by the end of something that’s called a “by-name list.” The by2019. It’s remarkable, really, how much changed the first city name list is a real-time census of all the homeless in Rockford—given how little had changed. in the United people in Rockford, listed by name in a Google What hadn’t changed: the people involved with States to have Doc. It includes notes on their history and their homelessness, the resources they had at their health and their last seen location. And the use disposal, and the city’s macro conditions. Simply by effectively ended of the by-name list is uncannily similar to the changing the way they collaborated, and the goals homelessness high-risk team’s work in Newburyport. Once that guided their collaboration, their efforts became among local or twice per month, a group of collaborators dramatically more effective. in Rockford—representatives of the VA, the “Every day is hard,” said Walker. “Getting people veterans. fire department, the health and mental health housed is hard. Dealing with landlords is hard. I systems, and social service agencies—meet to fight with my clients. I fight with agencies. It’s an discuss homelessness. And when they meet, they talk about the uphill battle, it really is—you know the picture they always show of specific people on the by-name list. the guy pushing the rock up the hill? I mean, it’s like that every day.

Angie Walker described how she might kick off a typical meeting: But if the outcome is to end homelessness, it seems to be worth it.”

“I would say, ‘John Smith, he is 32. He stated he was fleeing Walker and Jaeger have begun to work on the problem of domestic violence. He last said he’s with friends. Who here has “inflow”—reducing the number of new people who become seen John Smith?’ ” And the fire department might say, Oh, we took homeless. It’s a thorny problem, for all the reasons you’d expect, but him to the hospital last week—he might still be there. Then someone they’ve already identified one leverage point: evictions. In some from the mental health team might say, No, I was under the bridge neighborhoods in Rockford, the eviction rates are as high as 24%. In two days ago and I saw John. A worker at the local homeless shelter, early 2019, the city conducted a pilot program in which it acted as the Carpenter’s Place, might add, John has come for lunch quite a bit an intermediary between tenants and landlords in situations where recently. And then the group would make a plan. Okay, Carpenter’s eviction was imminent. In some cases, the city negotiated a new Place, it seems like you see him the most. Could you check with him and payment plan for the landlord and tenant; sometimes, the city also find out where he’s staying and what he needs? And let him know that contributed money on behalf of the tenant. A month or two of rent when he’s ready, we have housing available for him. payments was far more cost-effective than re-housing people if they These meetings had happened in the past, but the use of the bybecame homeless. Jaeger reported that the pilot had decreased the name list transformed them. Mayor Morrissey said that, previously, number of people who became homeless due to eviction by 30%. the meetings had been “bitch sessions.” “We’d sit around and we’d They’re moving further upstream: Rather than acting quickly to talk about what’s broken,” he said. Jennifer Jaeger said the meetings serve people who are homeless, they’re trying to keep people in “feel alive now. The data itself feels like it’s sort of a living creature. their homes to begin with.

Because it talks. It talks to us. . . . It tells us, ‘You need to look at Excerpted from Upstream. Used this, you need to think about this.’ ” Beth Sandor, the head of Built with permission of Avid Reader for Zero, a national effort to help communities end homelessness, Press, Simon & Schuster. Copyright said that when communities begin to use data in this way, © 2020 by Dan Heath. it’s transformational.

“Data takes you away from philosophical insights. You move Upstream: The Quest to Solve away from anecdotal fights about what people think is happening to Problems Before They Happen what is happening,” she said. “You can’t solve a dynamic problem

By Dan Heath with static data.” (Rockford is one of more than 60 communities Learn more at https:// that have joined the Built for Zero movement.) Using the process heathbrothers.com/books/ outlined above, Rockford housed 156 veterans in 2015 before they upstream. achieved what’s called “functional zero.”

Functional zero means that the number of homeless people on the street is lower than the city’s monthly housing placement rate.

E.g., say that the city has proven that it can move five people per month from the street into housing. If there are only four homeless people in the community, then the city still maintains its “functional DAN HEATH and his brother Chip have written four zero” status. This is not some kind of loophole—it’s just an New York Times bestselling books: Made to Stick, Switch, acknowledgment that “real zero” is impossible, for the time being, Decisive, and The Power of Moments. Heath is a senior because new people will unfortunately become homeless. The point fellow at Duke University’s CASE center, which supports is that even if new people become homeless, they can quickly be entrepreneurs fighting for social good. He lives in Durham, housed because the system is working.

North Carolina. The Heath brothers’ books have sold over In 2017, they achieved functional zero on the chronic (longthree million copies worldwide and have been translated term) homeless population, and they hoped to reach that into 33 languages.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 43

BY MIKE MASTERSON AND MARY ANN WYCOFF

Let’s

TALK

Recently, an assistant city manager was addressing a group of police leaders when he delivered a stern admonition that their bosses would be unpleasantly surprised to learn of an unjustified use of lethal force resulting in the death of a community member. Surprised?! The speaker unwittingly made a salient point: Many mayors and city managers could be surprised because they are not aware of current policies and procedures of their police departments. Sadly, there are far too many news reports from across the nation in which police have used force unreasonably, employed overly aggressive enforcement strategies, or have engaged in tactics disproportionately impacting certain groups.

Did local government managers know, in advance of these events, how their police departments would respond to them? Frequently not.

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srzaitsev/stock.adobe.com

Regular conversations with your police chief are crucial for building and maintaining trust and confidence in local government.

This article is dedicated to our friend, mentor, and colleague of over 40 years, Herman Goldstein. The inspiration and encouragement for writing this paper originated from Herman just before his death. He shared some of his research with us from the 1960s when he presented “Relationships Between the City Manager and His Police Department” to the ICMA Annual Conference in 1969.1 He also authored related articles, including “Who’s In Charge Here?”2 and, most notably, “Governmental Setting for Police Work,” in Municipal Police Administration, Seventh Edition (1971). He died in January 2020, before we could hear his last thoughts about a promising practice -Marcus-/stock.adobe.com

for police accountability. The pertinent questions he raised over 50 years ago are still relevant today and, to a large degree, go unanswered.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 45

Surprise can be costly.

No mayor or city manager ever wants to say—and a police chief never wants to hear—the words, “Up until now, you had my complete trust.” As grave as this loss of trust is, it is less serious than a tragedy in the community and the loss of public trust and confidence in the police organization.

training needs, as well as policies, which may be subject to national scrutiny and City managers revised recommendations. Policing is a have just as managerial octopus. It is understandable that an administrator who has many other much need to be departments to manage would hope to hire a chief who could shoulder the responsibility currently informed for all policies and procedures. about local, Not surprisingly, chiefs have not complained about their independence. We current policies have come to our jobs without questioning and practices it. We simply accept the responsibility for making decisions that should, at the very as mayors do. least, be shared with our bosses, including elected officials. We attend police chief conferences where major policy issues are debated. We read policing literature about policy issues without discussing those issues with anyone else in city government. We A Common Paradigm make decisions about policy and announce them to our bosses, Unfortunately, many police departments operate in a vacuum, our officers, and the public. As far as most of us can remember, and surprise is a real possibility. This is not a new issue for those this is how police management has always been run. of us in policing who have been around for a while, who have worked in different jurisdictions and talked with colleagues about The Need for Regular Conversations this situation. There is an oversight responsibility on the part of This is not a healthy relationship. It is one that is prone to local government which, we suspect, is being exercised regularly increasing a community’s liability, potentially thrusting it into a in only a small percentage of communities nationwide. “The crisis and thereby sacrificing resident trust in policing and local traditional aversion to becoming involved in the determination government. This is a paradigm that needs to be changed. How of law enforcement policies is apparently attributable to two do we go about doing that? The first idea that occurs to us is factors: (1) the assumption that police receive all the guidance conversation—regular conversations between police chiefs and they require from the law of the jurisdiction and from the courts, their bosses. While this suggestion might seem so obvious as to prosecutor, and the city attorney; and (2) a prevalent assumption be absurd, in fact, the great majority of chiefs we have queried that any involvement on the part of the municipality’s chief report that they do not have regular conversations with their executive in law enforcement policies will be viewed as mayor or city manager except at budget time. interfering with the impartiality required for police duties.”3 There are at least four rationales for regular, structured Significant historical developments have contributed to a conversations: hands-off attitude on the part of city administrators. The Reform 1. To ensure fair and equitable treatment for all residents.

Era of Policing (roughly the 1930s through the 1970s), coupled 2. To safeguard the rights and justice for victims of crime and with the Professional Movement (in the 1940s and 1950s), discrimination and of those who are most vulnerable. worked to remove politics from policing, a change that certainly 3. To maintain that ever-fragile trust and confidence in policing needed to occur.4 But the elimination of politics resulted, in many placed in us by those we serve. One can argue that confidence cases, in the elimination of oversight of the policing function, in police shapes confidence in local government in general. leaving many police chiefs unaccountable to their bosses. This The police are the most visible symbols of government. unintended consequence was an inappropriate and dangerous 4. Most importantly, to the extent that our policies reflect development. Keeping people safe was the primary reason cities critical value judgments, they should receive input from and evolved, and public safety remains a primary concern of most approval by the chief administrator of the city and, in some residents today. It should be the primary concern of the mayor cases, the city’s legislative body. This is a democracy. The and local government manager as well. police chief, who is not an elected official, should not be In addition to this history of political independence, there is making what can be life-and-death policies for a community the operational complexity of policing. In most communities, without democratic guidance. the police department is the largest department for which the city administrator is responsible; it is the one with the broadest When we think about regular conversations between chiefs and mandate which, given changing social conditions, may require their bosses, we do not envision superficial chats but, rather, regular adaptation. dialogues that lend insight into how and why policies and Current technology is seldom current; it is complicated and procedures exist with the goal of ensuring your office provides often in need of upgrading. The same is true of recruitment and the highest level of guidance and direction. Undoubtedly, one 46 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

reality that needs to be addressed up-front is awkwardness. Local government managers may feel uncomfortable about engaging in these conversations for fear of appearing ignorant about what the police really do or not being able to carry their side of the conversation. Don’t be. Chiefs will be just as nervous about the questions you’ll ask, and both parties will gain comfort over time.

Envision a Classroom Format

Possible Discussion Topics

Your discussion could focus on specific organizational policies and procedures or perhaps range more broadly to cover policing outcomes and ways of measuring them. We are going to suggest a few topics, but obviously, there are dozens of things you could ask about and you are likely to have on your list some subjects more pressing than the ones we propose.

tadamichi/stock.adobe.com

When you introduce your intention to hold the regular conversations, state your need as the local government manager to be as fully informed as you can be about every part of police operations. The chief is the only one who can tell you what you need to know about the police department.

The chief is the expert and your instructor. You may be the boss, but the only way to be a good one is to, every day, be a willing student.

It probably would be useful to explain from the outset that you are interested in regular updates about the department, but that you also will try to have one or two specific topics each time that will constitute your “class” for the day. Say that these will not be topics about which you are administering an exam; they will be topics about which you need an education.

Use the term “we” to promote ownership of the issues.

Set an expectation about the length of time for the conversation and, perhaps, the number of topics to be covered. You might give the chief the topics in advance so that he or she can feel well prepared without fear of being caught off guard. And, since this is to be a conversation, encourage the chief to suggest topics, either about policing or about city government or your expectations or style of operation—anything for which you would be the police chief ’s best source of information.

While there is no reason to expect elected officials to have an in-depth understanding of policing, professional managers may feel more awkward asking questions about a department they may have studied in school or dealt with in another community.

But policing is a function that can change quickly and can be different from one community to another. City managers have just as much need to be currently informed about local, current policies and practices as mayors do.

Before you address specific topics in the conversation, you might begin with general inquiries about the state of the police department: • Have there been any significant developments or issues since our previous conversation?

• How does the chief feel about current conditions in the department?

• Are there any internal issues (e.g., personnel, equipment) for which he or she needs your support?

• How about the current state of the relationship between the department and the community?

• Are there any initiatives for which the police might need support from other city departments or from the mayor?

• Are there any questions or concerns the chief has that he or she would like to discuss?

These are just examples, ideas to start your conversational ball rolling. Once you initiate regular conversations, you and your chief will think of many more.

• Given the times, an obvious first question could be: What are the policies and procedures for handling public protests?5 • Have you had an external review conducted of your policies and practices in areas such as foot pursuits, vehicle pursuits, and use of deadly force? A good answer would be that the entire policy section is reviewed annually by an internal policy team. As chief, I request the policy team leader to present findings on what we call the top six critical policies, which include deadly force; car pursuits; foot pursuits; emergency vehicle operation, including pit maneuvers; domestic violence; and sexual assault protocols. Our policies reflect the model policies of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and include community input as appropriate.

• Do you use a risk assessment matrix in determining what units are best equipped and trained to safely handle highrisk search warrants? Are specialized units allowed to make their own decisions on apprehending dangerous suspects AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 47

jozsitoeroe/stock.adobe.com

Regular conversations with your police chief are crucial for building and maintaining trust and confidence in local government.

or wanted persons, or serving a high-risk search warrant or do you require special weapons and tactics (SWAT) or its equivalent to handle it? Do you require a safety plan for each situation? Answer: The best practice is to have a policy requiring those decisionmakers to utilize a threat assessment matrix in determining the appropriate department response, with a safety plan mandatory for each case. Every high-risk fugitive or search warrant situation must be evaluated by the special teams commander i.e., SWAT or special operations unit (SOU) for an officer and citizen safety risk assessment. We must use our most highly trained personnel who are knowledgeable of the best tactics to handle these most dangerous situations.

• What type of training does the department provide for officer decision making about the use of force, lethal and other? Answer: The department uses the ICAT (Integrating Communication, Assessment and Tactics) model promoted by the Police Executive Research Forum.6 This de-escalation training is designed to slow down the response to dealing with people in crisis, gain additional resources, and assess the situation to reduce the likelihood of using force.

• What is the current training for dealing with people in a mental health crisis? Do all officers receive crisis intervention training?

I’ve read about behavioral health teams in which a clinician is paired with a police officer to handle these matters both reactively and proactively. What do you think of the idea?

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Here are a few more questions for consideration: • How are we auditing investigative cases to make sure they are not being arbitrarily closed when they should remain open and active? Who has authority to close a sensitive crime (e.g., rape, sexual assault, hate crime)?

• How often do we audit our narcotics unit for seized narcotics and financial accounts? How much money have we received in each of the last three years and how has it been spent?

• How often do we review and update the policy manual? What do you do to ensure these are best practices? In addition to department officers and civilians, who else is included in reviewing and recommending policy for your department?

• Do we have resources to keep up with best/most promising policing practices? Are there areas in which we are falling short of best practice?

• Are we following the best practice for eyewitness identification, using a “double blind” administrator for lineups, and in cases of photo arrays, performing a “folder shuffle”? Are we recording the level of confidence of the witness and recording the session for evidentiary use?7 • Tell me about our department’s top five collaborative relationships with community or criminal justice stakeholders.

• I’ve heard a lot about “unconscious bias in policing.” What steps have we taken to address it in our department?

• Talk about ways our department is working with the underserved or vulnerable communities within our community.

• Are there opportunities to partner with other regional law enforcement agencies for training, purchasing, vehicle pursuit policies, and use of facilities?8 • What are the three cases currently that are generating the highest public interest or fear? How are we responding to the latter?

HELPFUL RESOURCES There are numerous resources that can help inform your conversations. The following resources offer information about the best or most promising police practices.

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Law Enforcement Policy Center www.theiacp.org/topics/policy

The IACP provides a host of model policies and other guidance on a variety of topics designed to assist agencies in ensuring that their policies and procedures represent the most comprehensive, cutting-edge thinking in the field of law enforcement. The Center for Public Safety Management offers training for elected officials and suggests questions to ask their police leaders.

All of these suggested topics deal with policies and procedures and avoid the kinds of operational issues that led to the charges of political interference in the pre-Reform Era. Regular conversation between local government managers and police chiefs can help avoid the crisis in confidence that can take years to restore. Policing can become more accountable to those we serve as the result of a stronger relationship between the local government manager and the chief. Be proactive. Be the boss. Ask the right questions at the right time before you find your police department and community embroiled in a tragic situation or public controversy that can lead to the loss of trust and confidence in not only your institutions, but in you personally as well.

According to “Effective Policing and Crime Prevention.

A Problem-Oriented Guide for Mayors, City Managers and County Executives”: As a local government executive, you are held accountable for public safety, and the perception thereof, in your community.

In turn, you very likely delegate to your local police agency the primary responsibility for public safety. At least the part of it that pertains to crime, nuisances, disorder, and traffic safety.

The voters or other elected officials (council) may hold you personally accountable for public safety and its perceptions regardless of your actual authority over the local function.

While you certainly should rely on your police executives to understand public safety and crime prevention in-depth, you need to know enough to ensure that police and other local government functions are being carried out effectively, efficiently, and fairly.9

Police Executive Research Forum www.policeforum.org/publications

The Research Forum develops national policy guidance and information about best practices in policing.

The President’s Taskforce on 21st Century Policing Implementation Guide: Moving From Recommendations to Action https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/ cops-p341-pub.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice, CommunityOriented Policing Services Law Enforcement Best Practices: Lessons Learned from the Field https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/ cops-w0875-pub.pdf

This guidebook collects best practices and guidance from law enforcement practitioners in the field on eight critical areas in modern policing: community policing; de-escalation; crisis intervention; the role of first-line supervisors; early intervention systems; internal affairs; recruitment, hiring, and retention; and the use of data systems. All of these topics are deeply intertwined, and the authors take time to discuss their connections—for example, how early intervention and good training can aid officer retention, how de-escalation techniques are vital to crisis intervention, and how the philosophy of community policing underlies and informs all the others.

You can become a stronger leader in your community by taking time to have these talks with your police chief and ensuring your department is using the best or most promising practices in serving your residents. Now is the time.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

Goldstein, Herman, “Relationships Between the City Manager and His Police Department,” Presentation to the Annual Conference of the International City Management Association, New York City, N.Y., October 13, 1969.

2 Goldstein, Herman, “Who’s in Charge Here?,” Public Management, December 1968.

3 Ibid, p. 306.

4 http://www.communitypolicing.com/history-of-policing5 https://hfg.org/ policingprotests.htm6 https://www.policeforum.org/about-icat 7 https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/12-2014/eyewitness_ID_best_practices.asp 8 https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/additional-articles/police-practice-in-pursuit-ofcooperation-idaho-police-agencies-join-together 9 Plant, Joel B. and Michael S. Scott, “Effective Policing and Crime Prevention. A Problem-Oriented Guide for Mayors, City Managers and County Executives,” United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Washington, D.C., August 2009, p.9.

1

MIKE MASTERSON is the retired police chief of Boise, Idaho. He served as chief from 2005 to 2015, and returned as interim chief from November 2019 to April 2020. (ou76mike@gmail.com) MARY ANN WYCOFF is retired from the Police Executive Research Forum (maryawycoff@gmail.com).

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 49

Greenville’s minor league baseball park under construction

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Lessons learned in my 37-year career in local government management

Sharing MY JOURNEY

BY JAMES M. BOUREY

50 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

hard as that can be at times. The book is personal because our profession requires a personal commitment and, I think, you must really care deeply for people and communities. We may work in many locations during a career, as I certainly have, but you must commit yourself to each of those locations and truly want to make it the best place possible.

While I consider every chapter of the book important, there are a handful that I would like to touch on in this article, along with some of the lessons learned along the way.

Being a Manager: Big Challenges and Big Rewards

Every day, people make valuable contributions working for local governments, and there are a multitude of avenues of service. Coming out of graduate school, my goal was to be the planning director of a relatively major U.S. city. I achieved that goal relatively early in my career and then spent the subsequent 25 years as a local government manager. There are many factors that gave rise to my interest in becoming a manager, but the deep-seated reason for my commitment to the profession is my passion for cities—making them wonderful places to be, as well

All photos by James M. Bourey

L

ocal government managers spend their entire careers helping others, helping communities, and helping the people we are responsible for guiding to do their best. Most of us know that does not have to stop after we are no longer managers. ICMA has a wonderful Senior Advisor program that provides excellent support for managers throughout the country. Other managers continue to help people in various ways, such as serving as a mentor to youth or through other volunteer activities. One of the ways I wanted to continue to give was to share my personal and professional journey as a local government manager. By sharing my experiences and the lessons I learned along the way in my book, A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward: Tales of a City/County Manager, I hope to continue to contribute to the profession.

Both personal and professional, there have been many challenges and rewards in my 43-year professional career, 37 of which were as a local government manager. My book provides a perspective on professional challenges, as well as approaches to handling important issues and public policy. It provides insight into the life of a local government manager that is introspective and unvarnished, as

as improving the physical, economic, and social conditions that enhances people’s lives.

But there is of course the personal side of being a manager—the family issues and stresses on the manager and their loved ones. Decisions about moving and the challenges it brings, including big transitions with working in very different areas of the country present tough choices and adjustments.

A lifetime of long-distance running played a critical role in coping with job pressures, dealing with council members, and handling “in transition” situations.

A Variety of Forms of Local Governance

While I strongly support the council-manager system of government, I have worked in many different forms, including strong mayor and city commission. While the strong mayor form of government has a lot of supporters and is especially prevalent in large cities, the competition set up between

the mayor and ambitious council members, the appointment of politically motivated new department directors, and the tendency to not require professional management are all typical drawbacks.

While the council-manager form does value quality management, in the book I discuss the challenges with its operation as well.

Leadership Qualities

So much has been written about leadership that it is hard to imagine there could be anything new to say. I do not profess to have innovative approaches to effective leadership that have not already been tried. However, in my experience, there are 14 leadership qualities that have shown to be most important, though I don’t claim to have always lived up to my own ideal. In addition to the highly expected skills—such as communication, authenticity, facilitation, and collaboration—in my book, I describe the qualities of enthusiasm and high energy level, ability to focus, emotional intelligence, selflessness, and more.

Dubrovnik, Croatia. Jim’s passion for cities took him to many around the world.

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is absolutely essential. In the absence of knowledge, people will speculate and assume the worst outcome. Critical changes that cities or counties require often involve more than just the structure of the organization, but its culture as well. In addition, organizations can become overwhelmed with the amount of change or constant change.

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khol City Hall, Stoc

The Job Search Process

If there is something that I feel qualified to write about it is likely about getting a job, having been successful in competing for a number of local government positions. In addition, I have also served as a search consultant on many local government recruitments.

This chapter provides pointers that have been most helpful for me regarding networking, identifying possible positions, applying, interviewing, and negotiating an employment agreement. Candidates for local government leadership positions must use caution when participating in multiple search processes at the same time. It’s crucial to consider the challenges it presents, and the ethical manner in which those situations need to be handled.

Organizational Growth and Change

Volumes of material have been written about organizational change. My book does not attempt to duplicate that wealth of information, but rather, it focuses on some significant aspects of the change process.

As important as the change you may make to a local government’s operation, how you do it is critical. If you do not involve people in the organization, you will very likely fail in bringing about effective change. There are lots of ways of engaging people, but it must be genuine and give them a true opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.

In addition, you must carefully gauge the pace of change in order to bring the organization along. Finally, communication

52 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Community Involvement Is Critical

City and county managers have a highly visible presence in the community, which can be challenging. Regardless of whether the manager has a particularly high profile or not, the manager and organization need to be in tune with the community and engaged in a variety of ways. While I was very involved in many of the places I have worked, perhaps my highest level of engagement was in Greenville, South Carolina, which had significant benefits, but was also personally very rewarding. During my 10 years in Greenville, I was an active Rotarian and quite involved in our church. My time spent as a United Way board member and participating in the annual campaign, including serving as the campaign chairman after leaving the city manager position, was especially fulfilling.

In the book, I also describe how community engagement was so essential to community events, such as initiating and conducting a marathon in the City of Newport News and helping the community to remain calm after a controversial shooting.

Dealing with the Media

While the media can indeed be a source of frustration and agony, it is also critical for open and democratic governance.

Throughout my career, I have discovered some techniques that can help in working with the media, including, among others: • Establishing an early positive relationship with key reporters to help build trust for future conversations • Making sure the reporter is capturing what you say by going slow enough for the writing or typing to keep up • Avoiding being baited into a conflict if at all possible • Taking advantage of the fact that the media can be used as a vehicle in achieving success for certain projects • Establishing the organization’s own direct communication tool such as the Newport News daily email to citizens It’s About We, Not Me

Everyone knows that what gets done in cities and counties occurs through staff actions. It is essential for the manager to be the leader for the organization’s work. The effective manager will do this through setting expectations and delegating, nurturing and guiding assistant managers and department directors, as well as building a team that can effectively work together and jointly manage the organization.

Public and Private Partnerships

Throughout my career, I’ve worked on a number of projects where a publicprivate partnership was essential to their success. From those projects, I have pulled ingredients that are critical for such partnerships to work.

The following are just a few of these principles: • Be willing to walk away from a deal that is not in the best interest of the community.

• Know the market and the community’s desirability, whether it’s for a minor league baseball team or a research park—two particular projects with which I have had considerable experience.

• Work the public-private partnership to ensure that both sides reap benefits in the deal.

• Be willing to play a vital role in raising private donations to support a project.

• Understand the critical roles of providing public infrastructure for private projects.

• Partnering with universities can add a vital dimension for a development.

• Sometimes only the public sector can build a facility and other times the private sector can build it more cost-effectively.

Big Risk, Big Reward: How Much Risk is Appropriate

I have been involved in a number of projects that involved a measure of risk to the community. Most had a happy ending, but one was the most difficult experience of my career and did not end well. It was a difficult story to tell, but this experience and others bring with them several important

lessons. Here some important takeaways from those lessons: • Examine the upside as well as the downside of any proposal and whether the benefit outweighs the risk • If the downside is just not an acceptable outcome, then the risk is not worth taking • Trust but verify; it is fine to have confidence in the people that bring you proposals but there are other avenues to validate proposals • Recognize there may be repercussions if you are not successful Successful Downtown Development

Although not a large city, Greenville, South Carolina’s successful downtown revitalization has been studied by dozens of cities for the last decade. I helped lead that effort for more than six years, and from its success, I drew a number of principles that can help other downtown redevelopment efforts to be successful. The following are just a handful of important areas of consideration: • Public investment.

• Building an active and comfortable core area.

• Pedestrian scale design.

• A critical mass of activity.

• Attracting a variety of age groups.

Emotional Intelligence

If I only had one program to institute which would make the biggest difference in an organization, it would be an aggressive program of promoting emotional intelligence (EQ). In fact, EQ is really the only improvement program I instituted in my last three manager stops. The critical need for EQ is spoken about widely these days, but I’m

often surprised that managers aren’t more aggressive in establishing EQ efforts for their organizations. In the book, I describe my view of emotional intelligence, the value of EQ to the organizations I have worked with, and the tremendous improvement I’ve witnessed in executive leadership teamwork.

Outcome-Based Performance Measurement

Most all managers would agree that it is important to measure the performance of a city, county, or other local government entity.

However, what, when, and how performance is measured varies widely. Additionally, much time and energy is put into comparing organizations to other similar entities, generally referred to as benchmarking.

These efforts are certainly very well intentioned and may provide some useful information, but I believe the benefits of a great deal of these efforts do not warrant the time and expense required to do the research and produce the reports. For more than 25 years, I have been a strong proponent of outcome-based performance measurement.

I have sought to exclusively focus on results-based measures that can get to the heart of what local governments accomplish for a community.

This chapter includes details of the outcome based performance management system we established while I was city manager of Newport News, Virginia.

Departing Gracefully

How one departs from a local government management position is always important, but even more so when the departure is not entirely of

your choosing. I believe that most managers work tremendously hard for their community and care deeply about its success.

Certainly, there are at times issues with a manager’s performance that cause the council to force out a manager. However, councils also will remove a manager for reasons other than performance, be it a personality conflict or simply because the council member is new and wants their own person in the job. A council member could feel, rightly or wrongly, that the manager favored the mayor over them or that the manager did not do what the council member wanted. In the book, I detail my own approach when I have had to leave manager positions. We have all heard the expression, “Do not burn your bridges.”

This is especially important for local government managers and it’s crucial to act in your own best interest.

So What Is Next for You and for Me?

What has my 43-year career meant to me and what do I plan to do next? My book offers an introspective look at the professional rewards and life after being a local government manager.

So if I had to do it all over again, would I? As hard as the journey can be, my answer is an unequivocal…hell yes!

JAMES M. (JIM) BOUREY is a retired manager and part-time consultant,, having served a number of cities and counties.

He is a Life Member of ICMA. His book, A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward: Tales of a City/ County Manager, is available on Amazon.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 53

LOCAL GOV: THE FAMILY CONNECTION

The Partner Perspective

ICMA supports members by also supporting their families.

BY CARL HEMMELER, PARTNER OF ICMA PRESIDENT JANE BRAUTIGAM

In today’s busy world, we all strive to find

harmony in our lives. But for the local government leader, it’s impossible for your career not to overlap with your home life. The whole family is affected by the leader’s profession. One’s partner is a sounding board, an advisor, a confidante, and a friendly face at community events. The partner often shores up the family during difficult and challenging times and is frequently tasked with relocating the family when the leader accepts a new position. All of this while navigating the stress of having a significant other in the public eye.

What do we mean by the word “partner”? This could be your spouse, significant other, or relative; the person you share your life with and who is supportive of your demanding profession in public management. Frequently, they are the manager’s main source of MANY ASPECTS OF THE support in coping with the stresses are an inevitable part of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT that profession. Many aspects of the ADMINISTRATIVE local government administrative can have a strong impact CAREER CAN HAVE A career on family stability and require STRONG IMPACT ON considerable understanding and Few other careers deeply FAMILY STABILITY AND effort. affect so many personal and daily REQUIRE CONSIDERABLE aspects of life. under the leadership UNDERSTANDING of InJean1986, Dever, the spouses of AND EFFORT. ICMA Executive Board members appealed to the Board to sponsor a program tailored to partners.

The goal was a venue that would respect the equal partnership between managers and their significant others in coping with the unique aspects of a local government career. Partners found that they could easily share experiences and relate to one another while attending the annual conference, so ICMA began to develop partner-specific sessions to facilitate conversation and networking. These targeted sessions became the Partners’ Program.

What has changed in these passing years? Partners are no longer only women and families come in all shapes and sizes! Take me, for example. I am married to Jane Brautigam, city manager of Boulder, 54 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Colorado, and 2019–2020 ICMA president. I am a retired college educator and would like to share a few of my days with you as a partner to a city manager managing the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in February, Jane attended the annual conference of the Colorado City and County Managers Association. Much to her surprise she received the award for City Manager of the Year.

She called me at home to relay her great news. I was so proud, but I had to throw “snow” on her celebration—I warned her of the terrible snowstorm in her path heading home. Later, the phone rang, and it was Jane nervously telling me that she had slid off the road on a mountain pass and no other cars were in sight. I spoke calmly, and we agreed that she should call 911. I’ve found that in stressful situations a familiar and caring voice is what’s needed most and that a large part of my role is to provide support and listen. Jane’s concern was getting back to Boulder to attend a meeting requested by a council member. Thankfully, some super Colorado locals pulled her car out of the deep snow and got her on her way again.

Only a month later, the COVID-19 outbreak was quickly spreading across the country, and Jane was about to face one of the worst disasters in the city’s history. I sensed her change in mood as she began to set up the processes the city might have to face in the coming days. As her partner, I listened as Jane told me about all the preparation that she and her staff had set in motion. As each day ticked by, new issues arose.

Things started happening so fast—emergency orders, protective gear, virtual meetings, economic instability. With a financial crisis looming, suddenly Jane faced over 700 potential furloughs. She had to depend on her staff to review and submit the names of these people. To make matters more challenging, many of the employees were working from home and trying to familiarize themselves with a new, socially distanced work routine. From my perspective, it seemed Jane’s workday began earlier and earlier each morning and extended late into the evening. There were situations that made me want to speak out, but I knew that she would not want to be patronized and

I tried to comment on only those issues that were positive. It did not take long for the nays to begin from those who believed she was overreacting in her decision-making. Her council was also being barraged with an outpouring of feedback from residents: some were not able to pay their rent, others worried about putting food on the table, and the list went on and on.

She received hundreds of email messages a day. She and her team worked hard to answer every email because that is Jane’s work ethic—just like other local government professionals who choose a life in public service. I find that the most difficult position for me is hearing negative comments about the woman I love from people who aren’t privy to all sides of a situation. I want to strike back, but I know that will not help in any way. So, I began to suggest activities that would help Jane take her mind off the pandemic crisis, even if only for an hour or two. For instance, I often encourage her to take a drive with me just to get some fresh air. We don’t leave the car, but we talk about family and other things we enjoy.

Like all of us, I ponder what is around the corner as we try to recover from this unbelievable global pandemic. I think of how hard Jane and all local government leaders have worked during this unprecedented time. Public servants will be faced with so many difficult tasks—getting the local economy moving, safely reopening the schools, finding ways to truly do more with much less—and their partners will be right beside them, willing to listen and provide support.

ICMA members, please be sure to share this column with your partner! In each column, we’ll discuss a particular issue that impacts local government professionals and their families.

Would you and your partner be willing to share an experience and how you navigated it together? Do you have topics you’d like addressed? If you’re interested in being interviewed for the column or have ideas, contact Christine Gendell at partners@icma.org. For more information on the Partners’ Program, visit icma.org/icma-memberpartners-program.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 55

CAREER TRACK

“We’ve Always Done It That Way”

Is Over—

WHAT’S NEXT?

Ritu Jethani/stock.adobe.com

PART 3: Reimagining Your Community This is the third of my four-part

PATRICK IBARRA and his consulting firm, the Mejorando Group, are passionate about unleashing human potential (patrick@ gettingbetterallthetime. com).

series in which I focus on the numerous changes impacting local government. In this edition, I share why shifting conditions are prompting leaders to reimagine the future of their community. Instead of relying on strategic planning, they are utilizing a Futures Planning approach.

Local government directly affects the daily existence and quality of life for residents within the community. Local government leadership is about making things happen that might not otherwise happen and preventing things from happening that ordinarily might happen. It is a process that helps transform intentions into positive actions, visions into reality.

The role of government is evolving, but the question is, in what direction is it moving?

As a result of recent events—economic volatility, shifting political winds, the COVID-19 pandemic, and disruptive innovation—I am experiencing an

56 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

re·im·ag·ine/

reinterpret (an event, work of art, etc.) imaginatively; rethink

com·mu·ni·ty/

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

fu·ture/ time regarded as still to come.

BY PATRICK IBARRA

increased interest in strategic planning services by government leaders. In my initial discussion, we determine that instead of tying their community’s future to a strategy geared to a single set of events, smart management benefits from a deeper understanding of the present possibilities offered from multiple views about possible futures.

During periods of Turbulence, Uncertainty, Novelty, and Ambiguity (what the Oxford scenario planning approach refers to as TUNA conditions), communities and organizations frequently experience serious challenges that disrupt continuity of operations, financial stability, and community expectations.

Such conditions can be unsettling and destabilizing on many different levels.

But they also present opportunities for organizations to reframe their strategies and innovate. I refer to TUNA forces as

headwinds and the purpose of Futures Planning is to convert those headwinds into a tailwind helping to accelerate your community toward realizing its potential. Navigating the path forward requires a disciplined balance of three actions: managing your present business, creating your future, and selectively unlearning the past.

The best strategic leaders anticipate where their business/ community/organization is headed and see changes before others do. Far from being magicians, instead they shine at “outside-in thinking” that sharpens their ability to anticipate what is to come.

They know their customers extremely well, foresee emerging trends, and understand changing dynamics. The headwinds for public sector agencies are daunting indeed, yet increasingly leaders are participating in strategic thinking processes that lead to planning for a number of futures.

The actions that position your community for the future differ from a “we’ve always done it that way” approach. Maintaining a healthy balance between the status quo and innovation is hard work. Striking the right balance between sustaining a legacy organization and building for the future requires judgment.

Increasingly, local governments are reconsidering their approach to strategic planning by referencing the following shift in mindset:

OLD MINDSET

More and better budget planning is not the solitary factor available to you to mitigate the changes impacting your community and organization. I argue that people who lose weight are not always healthier because of it. The phrase “tighten your belt” is a cliché, and it has returned with vigor to local governments throughout the world. I offer that it’s time to “change your pants,” because you cannot cut your way to a better future.

Similarly, making across-the-board uniform budget cuts makes absolutely no sense. Some people might believe that it’s a fair and equitable approach, but in reality, the impacts in some operations can be enormous while in others negligible. Trying to decide priorities while you are trying to reconcile your budget is nearly impossible.

Healthier budgets do not guarantee better government nor does the opposite hold true—smaller budgets leading to ineffective government. I contend money/budget is not your organization’s most precious resource; time is—on what are elected officials and agency staff investing their time? In fact, increasing the number of employees does not always translate into improved productivity.

MODERN MINDSET

• Adoption of the plan is the strategy.

• Execution is the strategy.

• Change is dangerous.

• Stability is dangerous.

• An event.

• A process.

• Wish list—the longer the better.

• Prioritized list—less is more.

• Community is static.

• Community is dynamic

• Tell residents.

• Involve residents.

• A linear process with one particular scenario for the future.

• Non-linear process with several possible future scenarios.

• Arithmetic—sequential

• Calculus—lots of moving parts

• Reductions to public safety (fire and police) are off-limits.

• Nothing is sacred for potential budget reductions, including public safety.

• Assumption that existing advantages will persist.

• Assumption that existing advantages will come under pressure.

• Deficit-closing strategy.

• Capitalize on strengths.

• Conversations that reinforce existing perspectives.

• Conversations that candidly question the status quo.

• Relatively few and homogenous people involved in strategy process.

• Broader constituencies involved in strategy process, with divergent input.

• Precise but slow.

• Fast and roughly right.

• Prediction oriented.

• Discovery driven.

• Seeking confirmation.

• Seeking disconfirmation.

• Extending a trajectory.

• Promoting continual shifts.

AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 57

The most effective leaders anticipate where their community is headed and see changes before others do.

I have dedicated my entire career to advocating for high-quality responsive government, and I can also be one of its toughest critics.

Accordingly, government does many things well, but knowing what to stop doing isn’t one of them. There are employees right now as you read this article, in your organization, working on assignments that really don’t matter in the scheme of what’s important, like producing reports no one reads. It’s not only a waste of time; it’s demotivating to those staff members.

I am a huge fan of Lewis and Clark, whose intent was to explore unknown spaces in their pursuit of building a nation.

The Corps of Discovery, as they called themselves, had to continually create a new map as they reperceived their future, relying on a learn-it-all approach, teamwork, and cooperation to achieve their vision. The next chapter for your community is how it reimagines itself. Forwarding-looking leaders recognize linear strategic planning is a relic of the past. Similar to the Lewis and Clark expedition, a passionate curiosity and relentlessly inquisitive mind are the hallmarks of success in interpreting the changes occurring.

Whenever you face high uncertainty, you need to be creative as you navigate uncharted waters. But you also need to prepare your mind. Way more than polishing up your vision, modifying your mission statement, refreshing your values, revising goals, and setting new objectives, the value of the Futures Planning approach is that it’s less of a focus on identifying projects or getting to the “right” scenario, and more about discussing purpose and helping leadership understand that the future can be dramatically different from the present, while fostering a deeper understanding of the forces driving potential changes and uncertainties. The approach gives leaders the ability to reperceive reality. The dividend is to sharpen their capability to toggle between present reality and future possibility.

Recommended Approach for Futures Planning

There are three types of communities: First are those who set the bar low and take a roof shot; second are the ones who are reckless and take a wild shot; and the third are those who are ambitious and take a moon shot! Which of these describes yours? Moon shots do not begin with brainstorming clever answers. They start with the hard work of finding the right questions.

Have you ever noticed that the front windshield of your car or truck is larger than your rearview mirror? That is because it’s more important about where you’re going than where you’ve been. And that is why I refer to convening your elected and appointed officials as an advance instead of retreat. Few forums can have as powerful an effect on building a stronger community, increasing a shared understanding among key stakeholders, and overall enhancing relationships as well-executed Advance Sessions that focus on Futures Planning for the short- and long-term. Continually stimulating your thinking and self-reflection is a critical aspect of 58 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

building and maintaining your advantage. You have to moisten your mind and have thoughtful, prudent discussions about the present and the future.

An Advance Session provides elected and appointed officials the opportunity to discuss topics and exchange ideas in a manner they normally don’t get to, in a way they often don’t get to, and while not an efficient discussion, it is productive. Keep in mind “no one washes a rental car” so enlisting elected officials in this type of discussion ensures they have “skin in the game,” which is crucial.

In exploring various futures, conversations among policy makers deal with two worlds—the world of facts and data, and the world of ideas and perceptions. Dialogue, conversation quality, and engagement allow people to experiment with ideas and perceptions by taking facts and data into imagined or speculative worlds for the future of your community.

The types of questions that may be asked during the Advance Session may include: • What profound trends are or will influence our future?

• What is our direction and response to these shifts?

• How can we be both responsive and proactive?

• What aspects of the current strategic plan need to be modified?

• Are any changes to the strategic initiatives needed?

• How will we enlist residents in our journey?

• What types of services will residents require in the future that are not already provided? What might be required to fund and staff these services?

• How will we describe our desired results in measurable terms?

• What are the best ways and means to get there?

• What are the potential impacts from growth?

• Which of our processes and practices might need to change to serve a larger population?

• What types of infrastructure additions or expansions will be required to handle our anticipated growth? What financial resources are required to fund this work?

• What can we do to make our community more attractive for business expansion or development opportunities?

The outcome of these Futures Planning discussions is to help you construct and evaluate an array of options that offer a broader view of the landscape and possibilities for success. Exploring your community through various lenses helps build your capacity to be agile—possessing the balance and capability that enable you to shift focus, priorities, and resources to meeting changing circumstances.

Local governments must operate in a legacy world, meaning that you must be able to keep doing the nuts-and-bolts work at the core of the mission. But you also must be ready to succeed in a fastchanging environment, one that is difficult to predict.

The advantage now goes to those who don’t just learn to live with change, but who create change and fashion themselves as catalysts.

The most effective leaders anticipate where their community is headed and see changes before others do.

Your community has tremendous untapped potential. Speaking of which, what is your community’s potential? It’s only limited by your collective imagination because the best days for your community are in front of it!

- America’s Infrastructure

- Model Government Charters

- Budgets and Politics

- Municipal Enterprise Funds

- Cities and The Arts

- Police-Community Relations

- Economic Development

- Privatization

- Financial Management

- Elected Officials and Management Staff

- Forms of Local Government

- Strategic Planning

- Immigrant Services

- Town-Gown Relations

- Main Street Renewal

- Working with Unions

Roger Kemp’s background and professional skills are highlighted on his website. Dr. Kemp was a city manager in politically, economically, socially, and ethnically diverse communities.

He has written and edited books on these subjects, and can speak on them with knowledge of the national best practices in each field. Call or e-mail Roger for more information.

Dr. Roger L. Kemp 421 Brownstone Ridge, Meriden, CT 06451 Phone: (203) 686-0281 • Email: rlkbsr@snet.net www.rogerkemp.org

PUBLIC SAFETY & HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTANTS • Fire/EMS/Police Department Audits • Consolidation Studies • Compensation & Benefit Analysis • Human Resource Audits • Employee Handbooks • Executive Recruitment • Nationwide Experience

Government Consulting/Administration

Human Resources

Dr. Kemp provides national professional speaking services on current government topics. Some of these topics include state-of-the-art practices in the following dynamic and evolving fields:

Consultants To Management

• Organization and Management Studies • Executive Search • Utility Studies • Compensation and Classification Studies • Privatization • Strategic Planning 5579B Chamblee Dunwoody Road #511 5579B Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. Atlanta, Georgia #511 Atlanta, GA30338 30338 770.551.0403 770.551.0403 • Fax 770.339.9749 Fax 770.339.9749 E-mail: mercer@mindspring.com email: mercer@mindspring.com

Cordova Place #726 5511000 W. Cordova Road #726 SantaFe, Fe,New New Mexico 87505 Santa Mexico 87505 505.466.9500 505.466.9500 • Fax 505.466.1274 Fax 505.466.1274 E-mail: jmercer@mercergroupinc.com email: mercer@mindspring.com

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AUGUST 2020 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | 59

MARKETPLACE | professional services

Roger L. Kemp MPA, MBA, PhD ~ National Speaker ~

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Dennis J. Enslinger,

AICP, ICMA-CM

Deputy City Manager City of Gaithersburg, Maryland ICMA Member Since 2008

Starting Out

I came to my position as deputy city manager indirectly.

My education is in architecture.

I was an urban planner for many years, focusing on urban design and historic preservation.

I was given the opportunity to grow and gain supervisory experience through a variety of positions. I really appreciate that opportunity.

What’s Important

One of the most important qualities in our line of work is being able to listen and figure out where people are coming from. We may not always know the whole story.

Sometimes it takes a while to draw out the whole story.

When we’re working with the public, and even with employees or colleagues, it is important to listen and confirm their perspective.

60 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | AUGUST 2020

Giving Back

I recently became the ICMA mentor to the ICMA student chapter at George Washington University, where I have the opportunity to engage with our emerging leaders. I also taught historic preservation for number of years at the University of Kansas, so it’s great to be working with students again. Even though I’m a mentor, I still rely on my own mentors. It’s critical to have someone there to say, “Have you thought about this?”

Proud Moments

Someone who succeeded me in my role as assistant city administrator in Prairie Village, Kansas, said to me six years ago, “I want to commend you on your strategic plan. You guys really accomplished a lot.”

That was great to hear.

That meant I left the city in a little bit better position than when I started.

Persevere and Thrive Through Economic Challenges

Local governments and their employees have demonstrated time and time again that they can be resilient and adaptable when faced with new challenges ̶ and ICMA has a wealth of resources that can help. We scoured Public Management (PM) magazine to identify the most important archived articles to help your organization and community persevere and thrive through these economic challenges.

What’s inside: • Learn lessons from previous recessions that affected local government.

• Reshape your local government and build employee spirit, passion, and commitment, and ultimately, organizational capacity.

• Gain leadership strategies to help your organization in the midst of turmoil and fear, and in the process, demonstrate your value.

• Develop financial strategies that will inspire pride, loyalty, and enthusiasm throughout the organization.

Leading in an Economic Downturn Member/PM Subscriber Price: FREE | Nonmember Price: $12.95 icma.org/economic-downturn

Raftelis and The Novak Consulting Group, improving organizations for the communities they serve and the people who work in them.

Raftelis and The Novak Consulting Group provide local governments and utilities with insights and expertise to help them deliver essential services to their residents.

Together we are trusted advisors, transforming communities.

The Novak Consulting Group is now part of Raftelis.

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