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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTION 1977-52Ire - ----- ,_ . , ~. I . ~ "`, _i CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. ??-52 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, THAT THE FOLLOWING TRANSFER OF MONIES BE MADE WITHIN THE 1976-?7 GENERAL FUND BUDGET. FROM: City Manager -Transportation (250) TO: City Manager -Miscellaneous X250 The purpose of this resolution is to transfer funds within the City Manager's Budget to purchase training materials from the International City Management Association for Small Cities Management Training Program. PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 6th daq of April, I9??. ATTEST: Su .Peter, City Clerk i ~ _ _ _ _ _ ,_ _; _ _ ~ _-_ _ ~ _ . -- ~a y l ~ • '} 11Z t ~+ It ~t ~P ~ e~~,~. International City IVlanagement Association MEMORANDUM ~ _.. _ -- -- -- - - ttao -- - ,_._ --- -- nee coax 2oz.. Connecticut ~' 293.2200 Avenue NoHhwest Washington OC 20038 F;~r~~+ March 14, 1977 TO: Alaska Municipal MF~nagement Association Members FROM: Betty Cheatham .;~~!~ ~f~~-~J'~~ SUBJECT: Orientation Session on ICMA Small Cities Management Training Program Arrangements have been worked out with Bill Curtis, President of the Alaska Municipal Management Association, to offer an orientation session on the ICMA Small Cities Management Training Program during the upcoming annual meeting of the Association. The small cities session will be held Thursday, March 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Baranoff Hotel in Juneau. Del Borgsdorf, City Manager of Alma, Michigan, who has already itnpletnented the training program in his city, will be on hand to lead the discussion. I am enclosing a brochure describing the training program. The program was designed specifically for managers and department heads in small communities. It can be implemented by the staff of a small city, without the aid of outside trainers or consultants. Generally, it takes about 'six months to complete the entire program. ICMA provides a package of training materials, including twelve booklets and a cassette. The role of the manager or city administrator is to get the program organized. Leadership for individual sessions is rotated from one department head to another. This training approach and the package of materials was tested extensively over a two-year period in five regions of the country, with more than 70 small cities participating in its test phase. It is by far the most care- fully tested training program that ICMA has put out; we were very anxious to make sure the training approach was tuned in to the needs and problems of a typical small city. The final product came out just over a year ago, and• is available now to any small city that wishes to participate. Last month I received a copy of an article written by the City Manager of Silver Ci~y, New Mexico (population: l3 ,1,00), who recently completed the training prograra. This article gives a good idea of how the training program works, and I am enclosing it for your further inf _ ~. ~'~ ~ . ~~ .- .R .. '1 "- "- -~ ,^ .-2~ TRAINING PACKAGE I am enclosing, under separate cover, one (1) set of the ICDlA Small Cities Management Training materials for use at the orientation meeting. Prior to the meeting I would suggest you read the following pieces in the training package: 1. The first 15 pages of the "Training Guide and Introduction;' which explains how the program works. 2. The booklet on "Personnel Administration" (Unit No. 3). Thie will be used for demonstration purposes during the seminar. An invoice for the training materials is being sent under separate cover, in the amount of $40. This is f.or the purpose of controlling our in- ventory of training packages. If you decide after the orientation session not to use the program in your city, you can return the materials and in- voice to ICMA, and there will be no charge. If you want to move ahead and implement the training program with your staff, you can order three or more additional training packages for your staff at a reduced rate of $35 per package (provided your order is placed within 10 working days of the orientation meeting). If there is anything further I can do to clarify the program and how it works, please drop me a line or call me at ICMA at (202) 293-2200. T:nclosurea cc: Mr. Del Borgedorf ~~~ ~~~~ /~~ ~ _ a ~~ .. ,~+, Have you held mec~~~gs for your Lop manayca ant peg, le and noticed a certain ennui settli~•g in, characterized by vacant :tares, bored erpressi.ons, or whispered conversations? Or have you been concerned at the all-tao-cournon tunnel vision of good and well-intentioned departments heads, but some}~ow you wis}~ed, as a city man4ger, that t}iey shared some of the bro~:~~r,vision you must work with in approaching city-wide problems which affect all of them? And perhaps you've noticed a lack of team spirit or a "we" attitude among your top management people and wished they felt like they belonged to an organization above and beyond their own departments. Perhaps you also wished that each department head did not regard their department as the final resting ground of all their thoughts and desires. Silver City, New h:exico, a town of 10,000, with 100 employees and 10 departments, had these problems to one degree or another. Due to our participation fn a successful pflo~ program offered by the International City Management 1lssociation a fundamental change has taken place. As the first city in the State of hew Mexico to conduct the IGvA's Small Cities Management Training Program, we found that the results and benefits of the program were significant in the areas of management attitudes. There is an euphemism currently in vogue known as the "Attitude Adjustment Hour", formerly known as the "Cocktail Hour". If in your own you would like some attitudes adjusted favorably among your department heads for a time period potentially as long as their emplo}zs-ent, with no false stimulation fn a so-called "Attitude 1djustment Hour", but with genuine interaction and notable results, then read on! When was the last time you conducted a training program? Xes, I mean you yourself leading a discussion among your management people. When was the last time your sanitation chief or parks and recreation superintendent did the same, and have they ever led a discussion concerning another department's activities? Do you think such an experience would broaden the traditional tunnel vision department heads are known for? Do you believe they would enjoy the e~:perience? They did all that and more in Silver City. ,~~. E•---- - ~ ___._, __ T .~-_ __ ~ ~ ,- _ ,., .~ ~- --. Page 2 , ' ~ ~ ~ ~ The essence ~~f the ~mal l Ci tics t~taragement Training Froar:.m i s to discuss 10 functional ar.r.as o~~ city management: e.g., finai~cc~, polico, public works, ~ personnel, part.:, and recreation, etc. A departr~:rnt head leads the discussion for i each functiona] area and he must choose an area that i~ not }iis own. }}e does not become an expert ani. lecturer necessarily, for t}-c group should discuss and }~e should guide and stimulate the discussion if necessary. F'urt}iermore, he is not left alone to accomplish the task, for the Training Program comes equipped with several aids: suggested questions for each area of discussion, case histories, mile p~oying 2.ids, additional bibliography, and even directions on how to do it all. T~is is a do-it-yourself exercise for all your top managers and fs designed to be cor.3ucted in an informal setting as you learn from each other. By so doing, each department head is placed in the position of becoming temporarily immersed in an area of activity outside of his normal field of concern. By creating a rela,:ed and informal atmosphere from t}ie start, our department heads, some of whom were reluctant to even take part, soon found that a vehicle had been provided whereby common problems could be discovered and discussed and solutions for individual problems could be approached. In weekly meetings of two hours duration, we spent six months completing ~` the program, with one to three weeks on each topic. Zn the atmosphere outlined L above, many participan'.s received the satisfying feeling that "Z am r-ot the only one with these problems" and also the feeling that "this has been worthwhile today--I really got something Z can sinY. my teeth into". 7 +; The course is not a program on how to be a supervisor--that fs not the . ~. intent.or purpose. The course material provides up-to-date management ideas fer local government administration. We discovered that our methods were not always ~~ similar to the book approach. Noticing the differences enabled us to analyze why i we did some things differently and assess the reasons for our methods. The results were interesting as we sometiMes justified our methods and ot}~er Limas le~lrned something new and worthwhile. IIut we discovered that rie all basically had the Page 3 , • -e same gcals-•-to accor,rlish a good job for tho city in dclivcrir,r, Chc service.^, we are re~Fonsible for Nroviding. The most important results were tho attit~,de changeG. ny co~~pcratively working and discussing together we created :something of a team spirit and attitude for all. Furtherr.~c~, we strengthened some tear.. building which alrez9y existed in a few departments. In addition, some channels of coT~nunication were opened which did not exist before. Since each one of us presented a discus .ion in an area outside of our own field, we all gained a finer appreciation of the other man's job. As people lost some of their inhibitions in the group and got excited about the town's opportunities and problems, id~•as were discussed which had never been presented before. Some of these ideas no doubt had been there before but had been withheld. To a person, they all expressed the desire, in r~ritiny, to continue on with additional training courses, and we have done so. In reviewing the positive results which accrued to us from this exercise, team building attitudes were one of the most valuable. enhanced communication among ourselves and, hopefully, in our own departments, exemplify other benefits of the program. Communication was extended for one another's problems and understanding of city-wide problems which affect us all, as well as appreciation for some of the complexities we work in and perhaps never fully saw before. Also, there was a lessening of misunderstandings and mispercep~ions of others and, very importantly, some enhanced self-images. Even though this program was not expensive, and we appreciate the grant arranged by the t~ew Mexico Municipal League tl:ro~~oh the Intergovernmental Personnel Act to assist us fn obtaining tlifs program, w;~ether you have the financing to enter into this training program, or others, the ICAfA Small Cities 1•tanagement Training program is a must for discovering some strengths as well as needs of your own management people. Such discoveries may then lead to future training exercises to improve your capability of delivering public service. Through this program, the groundworY. was laid for us to begin improving our rt.:,r,agerial capabilities. -- ~,...._~. __ .J.__.___. ~_ ~ .__,..