Entries in Academy of Local Politics (8)
Undeniable Truth
Well, the saga continues. According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press...
Maplewood's finances are a mess.
Acting City Manager Chuck Ahl said the list of problems is extensive:
• Thirteen months of bank statements hadn't been checked against city records.
• No current budget numbers had been entered into the city's computer system — making it impossible to weigh expenses.
• The city doesn't know the current value of its fixed assets.
How did it happen? There's plenty of blame being thrown around. One person who's catching it is Greg Copeland, the recently ousted city manager.
A more detailed list of the problems in included in the article. They are extensive and varied.
How did that guy get hired in the first place? The background check according to one Council member at the time showed...
"Mr. Copeland does not have the financial qualifications to oversee a multimillion-dollar budget."
Despite that, the motion was made, seconded and approved, to hire him. The Council member who made the motion to hire him now states...
"I took a huge leap of faith. I thought, you know, what the hell harm can he do?"
"What the hell harm can he do?"
He has now been gone two months and they are only beginning to scratch the surface of the harm he did in less than two years of being at the helm.
One of the Undeniable Truths of the Academy of Local Politics is...
No matter how bad an employee is, there is always someone out there who is worse.
I thank Maplewood for providing this example, for others to learn from.
Al Arnold
in Academy of Local Politics
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Local Politics is a tough business
Local politics is a tough business to be in. Especially for the professionals. Their "fortunes can turn on a dime".
The Arizona Republic tells us the story of the "retirement" of City Manager Jim Rumpeltes, of Surprise, AZ ...two months after Mayor Joan Shafer said she wanted him fired by the time she steps down at year's end.
Mr. Rumpeltes had been City Manager of Surprise for six years. However...
In June, he publicly accused the city council of violating open-meetings laws by lining up votes outside of public view and of breaching city codes by asking him to fire department heads.
He also alleged council members operated through "threats and coercion," and labeled the council "dysfunctional."
Oh yes, it is time for Mr. Rumpeltes to move on. Either way but, especially if his accusations are true.
It most always takes someone new to clean up messes like this.
Surprise is also going to be in competition for this position. Two other neighboring cities are also looking for City Administrators and one of them ... Buckeye is searching for a permanent hire after losing two controversial city managers.
I'm telling you, there isn't an over supply of quality City Administrators/Managers out there.
When you've got a good one you hope they don't leave.
When you have a bad one it is hard to fathom there is a worse one, but there is.
Al Arnold
in Academy of Local Politics
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Where will our future Leaders come from?
Developing, training and nurturing the future leaders of our country is something that I spend quite a bit of time worrying about. I don't worry about very much, but I do worry about that. After all, as I look around now we are pretty much void of real political leadership in the country, and where is our future political leaders going to come from?
Maybe they are going to be coming from Skidmore College.
From the Saratogian.Com we learn Associate Professor Bob Turner is teaching a class "Who Governs Saratoga Springs?" A class intended to get the students "up close and personal" with Saratoga Springs politics.
I often talk about how there are over 511,000 elected officials in the U.S. Of those 511,000 over 96% of them are local elected officials. Local Government is truly the foundation of our political system.
We can't expect to improve the quality of our elected officials at the State and National level, until we improve the quality of our elected officials at the Local level.
I certainly hope that Professor Turner's class catches on and other Colleges and Universities follow suit offering a class such as this, concentrating on local government/politics.
It is our only hope.
Al Arnold
in Academy of Local Politics
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Local Government Blogs
After announcing that I believed that Mayor Bill Gentes of Round Lake, Illinois had the best local government blog I follow, I heard from Mayor Gentes.
Mayor Gentes pointed me in the direction of the website and blogs of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. On the City Administrator Blog different Department Heads blog on a variety of issues and concerns of the citizens. The Fire Chief has his own Blog.
I was not only impressed with the Blogs on this site but the entire website. This site could be used as a template for other cities who think they need a website, or wish to improve the website they presently have.
There is absolutely no excuse for a local government not to have a website. No excuse. It is the most convenient and least costly method of communication local government can have with its citizens.
Through the website local officials (both elected and appointed) can communicate without the filter of the media.
I thank Mayor Gentes for alerting me to the Eden Prairie website and once again request that if you are aware of a good local government blog (or website) to let me know.
Al Arnold
in Academy of Local Politics, Websites of Interest
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Local Government Blogs II
I asked for links to local government blogs.
I get a link to Philly Confidential.
"Philly Confidential is an inside look at life on the crime beat in one of the nation's bloodiest cities, with content you won't find anywhere else. Cops, firefighters and medics, as you all know by now, play a big role in our stories. But they're more than just folks in uniforms barking out statements."
Not exactly what I had in mind...but a very interesting blog!
Al Arnold
in Academy of Local Politics
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