SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 25, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 12/1/20
In this edition:
*Please Buy Local!
*Local Elected Officials Get It!
*Supervisor Expertise and Micromanaging
*Did You Know?
*Please Buy Local!
The Christmas shopping season begins in earnest right around the time you will read this. So, before you jump online to get those gifts, please consider shopping locally.
You can shop locally in person OR online! And by spending your money with locally-owned businesses, your dollars circulate many times over. Bank locally, spend locally, and you help your whole community to thrive!
More data to support buying local:
» A local business will generate 70% more local activity per square foot than a big box store;
» Local shops will produce a net annual return of $326 per 1,000 square foot compared to a net annual deficit of $468 per 1,000 square foot for big box stores;
» The money we spend locally will generate three and a half times more wealth for the local economy compared to chain-owned businesses;
» If every U.S. family spent an additional $10 per month at a local shop, the result would be an additional $9.3 billion directly returned to the local economy;
» Nearly 60% of workers at local businesses report a high commitment score to the business compared to only 39% at chains, which results in better customer service and an improved buying experience.
Buy local! You will be glad you did!
*Local Elected Officials Get It!
Last week I complained about Governor Reynolds’ refusal to take questions. And the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. It really bothers me when elected officials refuse to be accountable to the public.
This can take many forms. Refusing to hold press conferences. Refusing to meet with Editorial Boards. Refusing to attend nonpartisan forums. Refusing to call on certain reporters or media outlets. Fighting FOIA requests. All SHOULD be unacceptable.
There are more sophisticated ways of avoiding the public. Some of them even draw praise when they should be criticized. Look at the so-called “Full Grassley”. While Senator Grassley makes brief appearances in friendly rural counties, he has gone literally decades without answering random questions from the 155,000 people of Johnson County. A friend who would know told me no statewide Republican elected official has been to the east side of Waterloo since WWII.
We have had a terrible run of this with Republicans in Iowa, and unfortunately, I expect it to get worse before it gets better. Voters do not punish them for it, so they are bound to do more of it. There is absolutely no justification for this behavior. But it should be noted that in some places, Democrats do it, too. And it is NEVER acceptable.
You know who understands this? Local elected officials of both parties. State Reps and State Senators can (and often do) hide out. But if you are a member of the local school board? Guess what? You are going to hear what the public thinks. They will email you. They will send you letters. They will call. And often, at public meetings, they will say it for the record. And you will be expected to respond.
And that is good! Yes, there are people in every community who abuse local elected officials. We do not need that. But when you take an oath of office, you take an oath to serve EVERYONE, not just the people you like.
School Boards, City Councils, and Boards of Supervisors of both parties understand and recognize that they have an obligation to take questions from the public. I wish that flowed up to other levels of government.
*Supervisor Expertise and Micromanaging
Every elected official approaches her/his job a bit differently. But at some point, all elected officials have to decide what they believe to be true and act accordingly. School Board members and City Councilors get recommendations from a single point person – the Superintendent and City Manager, respectively. County government is more diffuse, with Supervisors relying upon a series of Department Heads.
You often hear elected officials criticized for being “rubber stamps.” I think this is sometimes fair criticism. Part of the work of elected officials is determining if the recommendations of staff match the needs and wants of the community. If they do not align, the elected officials should definitely act. A bit of disagreement is healthy.
On the other hand, our Department Heads are experts. They have years of education and experience. Frankly, they know more than we do.
The gap between civilian knowledge and professional management is growing. Small cities that used to scoff at the idea of a City Manager now cannot live without one. State and Federal programs have become more complicated; at the same time, volunteer Councilors have less time available to follow along.
So how does an elected official develop trust in appointed managers and department heads? It takes work, plain and simple. You are charged with holding them accountable. You need to talk to a wide variety of people about a wide variety of things.
How are they viewed by people who do the same job in other counties? How are they viewed by their subordinates? How are they viewed by the union? How are they viewed by other Department Heads? How are they viewed by vendors? How are they viewed by accrediting bodies? How are they viewed by regulatory agencies? How are they viewed by the public? Do they keep up with industry trends? Do their actions match their words? Do they follow through? What is the quality of their work? Do they anticipate problems? Do they seem honest and trustworthy?
All of this and much more factors into how much an elected official trusts a manager or department head. Once an appropriate level of trust has been established, the work will look a lot more like rubber stamping, because there will be few disagreements.
The opposite of rubber stamping is micromanaging. Neither is good. In a perfect world, elected officials strike an appropriate balance between the two. I am certain I have been guilty of both offenses at some time during my career.
Micromanaging is a quick way to ruin a work environment. All employees, regardless of their jobs, want a sense of agency. As a manager, your job is to give them that feeling while still maintaining accountability.
Where is the happy medium? The answer, of course, is “it depends.” I think the key is having open, trusting relationships between elected officials and staff. As an elected official, you need employees to feel comfortable telling you if you are out of line. In my experience, that can be difficult to achieve. But it is critical. If someone does it well, keep electing her/him!
*DID YOU KNOW? The Iowa City Area Business Partnership has a shop local campaign that offers great incentives! For more information, see: https://iowacityarea.com/shop-local-campaign-aims-high/.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:00 AM
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