Thursday, Dec. 10 2009 6:13PM
City Managers discuss duty to mayor, council, town
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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ReprintIn the aftermath of the firing of Kansas City manager Wayne Cauthen – by a razor thin margin last month and with the full support of Mayor Mark Funkhouser – area city managers and administrators were left to reflect on their own positions and roles in city hall.
Lee’s Summit city manager Steve Arbo and Blue Springs city administrator Eric Johnson strive each day for equilibrium between the council, staff and the needs of the city, essentially, managing towns of 90,000 and 50,000, respectively, while balancing policy and political responsiveness.
Johnson said the easiest way to describe his position (which is the same as Arbo’s as the title of city administrator and city manager are interchangeable in charter cities) would be to put it in private sector terms.
“I’m basically the CEO of the company and I report to the board of directors, or, in my case, the city council,” Johnson said. “I am the point person in charge of day-to-day operations.”
Arbo noted that the City Manager form of government – his own title changed from city administrator in 2007 – is more likely to attract well-educated and experienced talent.
“Let’s consider the balance between policy and political responsiveness,” Arbo began. “The city manager takes responsibility for implementing policies and procedures. At the end of the day, we have to make governance work.”
As Arbo noted, in this form of government, the mayor can make many decisions regarding personnel, including firing all department heads. However, many of those responsibilities are passed to the city manager, who is trusted to bring experts and talents into certain fields of the city government.
“Each of those bosses come with a certain set of expertise,” Arbo said.
The admiral and the captain, the trailer and the hitch, both city leaders had different ways to describe how the relationship between them and the elected officials operate.
Delicate balance
“To be truly effective at our job, you have to have a good working relationship with the mayor,” Arbo noted. While Cauthen’s six-year tenure as manager in Kansas City may have been tumultuous, both Johnson and Arbo have enjoyed a period of prosperity within their cities and peace among their ultimate bosses.
When is the right time for the city manager to approach the mayor or city council on certain issues?
“There are times when the manager goes to the mayor and says, ‘would you be the political champion for this issue?’” Arbo said.
Arbo and Johnson say they welcome city council members to approach them with concerns and work hard to maintain positive relationships with all elected officials.
“Steve is very effective at developing relationships with all of his department heads,” Johnson said. “On the flip side, we look to the mayor to have that relationship with the council members.”
When topics can and do get contentious between the council and city staff, Arbo and Johnson say their job is to manage those relationships without ever making it personal.
And both say they enjoy the interaction and open communication they have with those elected members. Part of their role as a city manager is to apportion resources and research where it will do the most good, they say.
While that is sometimes at odds with individual council member initiatives or agendas, the greater good of city generally takes precedence.
“We will typically not embark upon a lot of research that takes a lot of resources without a least a majority of support,” Arbo said.
Johnson said he takes a “let’s see how we can work through this” approach.
“We’re trying to allocate resources where they’re going to be most effective,” Johnson said. “Elected officials have to understand that is part of their process.”
Communication 101
Part of the city manager’s role is not only to educate city council members and staff about certain processes, but to communicate in a way that helps move the city forward – included in that key progression is the manager’s relationship with the mayor.
Johnson holds monthly meetings with the council members in each of the town’s three districts. Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross also attends these meetings.
“These are very effective to opening up the dialogue,” Johnson said.
Arbo said he has been lucky enough to work with professionals that realize the mayor-city manager relationship is vital to growth.
“Many times, you are fortunate enough to have a city council understand you have to have a partnership and relationship with the mayor,” he said.
And part of that learning curve comes with each election as the city manager and all staff learns and becomes acclimated with a new set of leaders.
“It’s a new job every time you have newly elected officials,” Arbo said. “Sometimes, you start at square one, sometimes things can be negative, sometimes everyone is supportive. You never know.”
Johnson said he has always reached out to new council members.
“I am careful not to say, ‘I’m the manager and I’m in charge here,’” he said. “Any opportunity you have to have an open dialogue is a good place to start.”
Community partners, community leaders
While Johnson and Arbo have a constant eye on economic development, new retail opportunities, mounting infrastructure needs that blossom out of population growth and day-to-day city operations, they are also relying heavily on the other entities within their towns to help guide the way.
“First, our citizens are very engaged,” Johnson said. “Our community is active and they are informed about what is going on.”
Johnson noted the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce leadership program, the school district, the hospital and the long-term strategic visioning plan of “Out of the Blue” and “Renew the Blue” are key factors in moving Blue Springs forward in the future.
In Lee’s Summit, the highly touted and successful Lee’s Summit 360 strategic planning program has been a boon to identifying future leaders.
Those leaders would have ample opportunity to run for office in the future as both towns elect a mayor every four years. Blue Springs elects its city councilmen every three years; Lee’s Summit every four years.
To Arbo, the characteristic of a flourishing city would be one that recognizes and fosters those future leaders.
“The succession of leadership is a hallmark of a great community,” Arbo said. “And that is a priority of our community for the future.”
Ethics, longevity
Former city administrator Fred Siems’ longstanding term in Blue Springs is not the standard in the realm of city managers, Johnson says.
“In our profession, we don’t have a long shelf life,” Johnson said.
Nor should they, both agree.
“There may be a point and time where the city manager becomes ineffective,” Johnson said, “which is why we have agreements that would allow us to transition effectively.”
Because, at the end of the day, the business of city must go on, Arbo said.
“You should only work in a position as long as you are beneficial to the community,” he said. “If your relationship with the mayor or city council becomes toxic, it’s your responsibility to remove yourself from the situation.
“It’s not your city. If you’re an impediment to the process, your responsibility is to change it or move on to another community.”
But don’t just take their word for it.
The International City/County Manager’s Association has instituted a multi-page ethical guideline that all city managers abide by.
Among the guidelines is specific language in relation to accepting gifts, personal relationships, confidential information, professional development, continuing education and impression of influence.
A difference in towns
Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs certainly do not rise to the magnitude of Kansas City in terms of area, population or other factors.
But neither city has recently dealt with the drama of firing a city manager, either.
“I can’t speak to the relationship that Wayne had with Mark Funkhouser and the city council,” Johnson said. “But I can tell you this: it’s important to me that we have good communication occurring at city hall and that we are enjoying what we do. If that ever goes away or is lost, I would hope we could take the high road and transition effectively.”
Arbo said it is as simple as asking if the skill sets he and his department heads bring to the table match what the city needs.
“I have seen city managers whose mayors have come in and said, ‘I have difficulty working with you’ and they resolved those issues,” Arbo said.
As Lee’s Summit transitions from a high-growth community – TIFs and development to sidewalks and curbs – that relationship with the mayor and council becomes even more vital.
“I appreciate the relationship I have with our mayor and city council,” Arbo said. “If the council and citizens can see you are moving that ball forward – the vision and plan – they are going to be supportive.”
Similar changes are happening in Blue Springs, where 600,000 square feet of new retail space – new infrastructure in a difficult economic time – is taking shape under Johnson’s watch.
Johnson is working with his third mayor in Blue Springs, as opposed to Arbo, who has only known Karen Messerli in Lee’s Summit.
“I have to give credit to our mayor and city council for being in tune with the community,” Johnson said. “They are smart people.”
Barking dogs to million dollar projects
Of course, the city manager role isn’t always glamorous. Just ask Johnson or Arbo.
“On any given day, I can take a phone call about barking dogs in the morning and then have a meeting about a multi-million dollar project in the afternoon,” Arbo said. “We see it all.”
On this particular day, Johnson is doing something a little less tedious – he’s preparing for the annual employee holiday banquet. On top of that, he’s reviewing the agenda for the upcoming city council meeting.
Arbo is busy too, on this day, reviewing the city council goals and objectives and taking a call from a city council member about the meeting the night before. He’s also got a meeting with the city administrator from Pleasant Hill to discuss sewer issues.
It’s not always sexy.
But it is city business and the life of a city manager and city administrator.
To reach Journal Publisher John Beaudoin, call 816-282-7001, or e-mail jbeaudoin@lsjournal.com
