I am an Assistant City Manager and my City Manager has tasked me with assisting with some of the work that flows from the City Council. There’s one fellow who’s a new City Council member who is clearly someone who is passionate about the community and comes to every meeting with lots of ideas: He’s a self-described “ideas guy”. He has started sending me ideas outside of Council conversations, and they’re good ideas for the most part. But the ideas flow so quickly that it’s hard to keep up or to know what he’s actually passionate and serious about.
I want to make sure that he is feeling seen and heard. But I also want him to understand what our actual priorities and capabilities are. How do I help this Council member feel seen and understood without creating conflict?
Sincerely,
A Stressed ACM
Dear Stressed ACM,
Many Council members and elected officials see themselves as idea generators. They know that they will not be the “boots on the ground” or even the person who drafts the policy, but they get to see the City from the unique perspectives of the community and are keyed in to what the community really cares about. Bringing up ideas to the City Manager or Assistant City Manager is totally fine, and part of the role of the City Manager is to be that sounding board for the electeds. As part of that listening, it’s also incumbent upon the City Manager or Assistant City Manager to guide elected officials and help them navigate the process of bringing those ideas to fruition. In addition to the appointed managers, the City Attorney also plays that role in part, helping elected officials understand what is and isn’t possible from a legal standpoint.
I’d ask you: What kind of onboarding has happened with the new Council members so that the member understands the adopted Council priorities? If your Council members’ questions and ideas are about Council priorities, then they’re doing exactly what they are supposed to do. If the ideas have nothing to do with the priorities and constitute what we’d generally consider “new work”, it sounds like you may not have a policy in place that governs how ideas get carried through. Generally, a city would have something in place for this very purpose, and I’d highly encourage this practice by looking at policies and best practices from other cities.
Without a formal prioritization process, managing ideas from Council could take a significant amount of staff time. Staff do workload assessments to figure out the requirements for new projects and determine if additional resources or funding is needed, then those decisions are generally handled through the budget process. If five or seven council members were coming up with individual ideas continuously, that would take staff away from everything else they’re doing and take the entire City off the work they’d agreed on as council priorities.
Additionally, you can’t implement any ideas without the majority of the Council. Basic governance structure dictates that anything that requires significant resources or funding (usually more than a few hours of staff time) needs to be approved by the majority of the Council or Board. Sharing ideas is one thing, but Council members shouldn’t expect that City staff will just jump to it and implement every idea. Helping to guide Council through the process of idea generation – as council priorities or mid-year ideas – is part of the administration’s role.
As an Assistant City Manager, you should be building a relationship with each Council member and meeting with them on an ongoing basis while keeping your City Manager informed every step of the way. You should continue to have conversations with this new Council member and help support them as they assume their new role and get acclimated with your City’s governance and culture. They’ve come on to this Council because they have ideas and want to really support the community they’re representing, so finding ways for them to have wins is really important. Building that relationship could make the member feel heard and acknowledged, and can help you better understand what is truly important to them.
The challenge you’re facing isn’t unique. As I talk to Council members throughout California, the ones who are new to working on an elected body don’t necessarily understand the process. Supporting them as they navigate that process can help them have a voice and represent the community without creating a lot of angst for staff or for the other Council members.
Ashwini Kantak is a seasoned public sector manager with over two decades of executive and local government experience, with a special focus on complex programs, policy development, strategic planning, and process improvements. Ashwini is a licensed architect and a LEED-accredited professional. She holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture and a Master’s in Architecture and Public Policy & Administration.
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