Answer to the Question

Approximately 90 years old, the council-manager form of government has proven its adaptability; today it is the most popular choice of structure among U.S. communities with populations of 2,500 or greater.

The Budget

Apparently street repairs, new buildings and tax increment districts aren't going to generate much opposition to the budget. Obviously, capital improvements and economic development are still positives that still generate funding support in budgets.

A Solution or More

Activists aligned with the Tea Party have been attending local city and state land use planning meetings nationwide to denounce sustainable efforts in community planning — including bike lanes on public streets and smart meters on home appliances. The activists see such community projects as the first steps in a plan to limit individual rights.
The activist are concern about the UN’s Agenda 21 which is a comprehensive and global effort to encourage the sustainable monitoring, overseeing, and regulating of the planet’s natural resources; such as; oceans, lakes, streams, rivers, aquifers, sea beds, coastlands, wetlands, forests, jungles, grasslands, farmland, deserts, tundra, and mountains. It has a section on methods for “protecting” the atmosphere. It proposes ways that cities, towns, suburbs, villages, and rural areas can manage sustainably.
Sir Ken Robinson asks how many people the earth can sustain. What will happen if we face scarcity of resources—especially drinking water, which relates to scarcity of food. Consumption is a major factor. If everyone consumed at the same rate as we do in North America, the earth likely could not even sustain the current population. Leaders of communities will have to help their staffs and residents find innovative solutions to address scarce resources.
Cities have to reinvent themselves and be adaptable to change. Leadership requires a belief in the human capacity to innovate. Innovation puts creative ideas into practice. Seeds of possibility are waiting for city and county leaders to create the conditions for growth. Invest in people; have faith in the human capacity for creativity. Leaders must create a culture that facilitates innovation.
Sustainability has a lot of characteristics that reach beyond socialism and individualism. The tragedy of the Commons had more solutions than the original writer had anticipated. Globalization will have more solutions to the complex economic, social and environmental problems than currently presented.

Voting

OK, may be dead men can vote. But they get caught.

Today's Quote

“Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life--and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.”

― Dean Koontz, Fear Nothing

GFOA Definition

Government business processes have many potential customers. Customers might include direct recipients of a service, the community at large, regulators, lawmakers, and/or businesses. Further, in the case of regulatory services, the customers may not be entirely willing customers! After determining who the customers of a business process are, consider what the customers want from a process. This could include, but is not limited to: more readily available access to the service; shorter wait times from service request to completion; a higher quality product (fewer errors); and/or lower cost. However, when considering customer needs, remember what Henry Ford cautioned: “Customers that say they want faster horses really don’t care at all about horses; they simply want a way to get from point A to point B in the fastest and safest way possible. In other words, be sure to distinguish the ends or result the customer really wants from the particular means, tools, or techniques they may reference when articulating their want.

Aspire to Lead

I read this on Scott Mabry’s blog – elumn* today. “Inside many of us who aspire to lead is a burning desire to make a difference. We’re not satisfied with sitting on the sidelines or waiting for someone to tell us what to do. We may not get it right but we’ll be damned if we’re going to go down without a fight. In the immortal words of Def Leppard we’d rather “burn out than fade away”. “

I didn’t think of Def Leppard, rather Teddy Roosevelt and the Man in the Arena. But, I understood the desire. The desire to finish in the face of all odds, but vision to change the world must have political support or there will be no ROI.

Street Project

South Main Street was last reconstructed by the DOT in 1950.  Maybe it's time to do it again.

Vision March

Applying the Fanatic discipline concept in the government sector requires a reassessment of what I’ve been using to measure my performance. The direction from the legislative branch is erratic at best, often doing total 180s and being mutually exclusive. The fanatic twenty mile march on the comprehensive plan or any other plan becomes impossible and an association with the previous council’s expectations. This can lead to short tenure.

The history of the city manager is the implementation of council policy. There is always the policy analysis and development work with the council, but the real performance was in the implementation. Now, it seems that helping the council understand what the current vision is and working through any changes is the real basis of how my performance or twenty mile march should be measured.

Collin's Leadership

I am empirically creative and have productive paranoia, but I have not always practiced fanatical discipline.

Zoning Question

Daniel Olson answers the question.

Wisconsin cities and villages have exercised zoning authority for nearly one hundred years. With notable exceptions like state mandated shoreland-wetland zoning and floodplain zoning, zoning authority in Wisconsin is exercised entirely through the policy judgment of local officials. Moreover, zoning regulations are widespread with zoning regulations on the books in small, medium and large cities and villages throughout Wisconsin. Unquestionably, zoning authority may be one of the most important powers Wisconsin cities and villages may exercise.

The Guiding Hand

The purpose of the Council is to set a strategic direction used to guide administration in creating organizational change, operational strategy, and work plans to enable the community’s vision to unfold.

Creating a document to express clearly Council’s understanding of the community’s vision provides for an enhanced understanding by staff. The Council’s goals should aim to unleash innovation, foster creativity, and invite participation. The current Comprehensive Plan provides goals and objectives that guide the staff in decision making for nine different elements.

The Plan is organized into chapters that specifically address each of the nine elements required by the “Smart Growth” law. Each chapter presents background information on the respective element (e.g. Transportation, Land Use, Economic Development) and then presents an outline of the City’s goals, objectives, and policies for that element. These documented policies are the basis for the recommendations that are presented at the end of each chapter.

The final chapter (Implementation) of the document indicates proposed strategies and implementation timelines to ensure that the recommendations presented in this Plan become a reality.

In addition to providing sound public policy guidance, a comprehensive plan should also incorporate an inclusive public participation process to ensure that its recommendations reflect a broadly supported future vision. An extensive process of citizen review and approval is critical to the planning process. This includes not only formal requirements outlined in §66.1001, but also more informal mechanisms such as public workshops and meetings.

What Train Station

I use the train of thought to informally describe one's thought process. The train can be lost, sometimes derailed, frequently hijacked, and has been known to reverse course. Also, the train of thought can be different for each individual.

A train of thought is a process linking one thought to another giving a common thread. A train of thought is generally used in debating processes. Sometimes it is hard to follow a train of thought as some people tend to ramble on.

Although it is stated that a train of thought has no beginning or end, I often wonder where some people start their train of thought and how it arrived at the conclusion. Rational deductive thought processes should rule – right? I know that we all hold opinions that are mutually exclusive and we haven’t taken the time to reason out these positions because it’s not always necessary, but when debating it should have at least been considered.