My Plan

In the first 100 days, with the consent of the council, I will:

1. Initiate a commission to establish a Code-of-Ethics which will apply to everyone who represents or is otherwise paid by the City of Belle Plaine.

Details: Establishing a code-of-ethics will promote the values of the residents of this city in every action that the City Government initiates. While the city has to an obligation to comply with entities such as Scott County, the Metro Council and the State Legislature, how they comply has not been prioritized against what is best for the residents.

Guiding Principles: The US Declaration of Independence explicitly states that, “Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed...” When we look at any government, to include municipal, this should be out guiding principle. “All politics are local,” was a phase made mainstream by former Speaker of the House “Tip” O’Neill in the 1980s. Its more than a saying because those issues that are most important and impactful on people’s lives are the same issues that are locally controlled. Since the beginning of time and organized cultures, the foundation of all government has been local representation. Today, we also have governing bodies outside the municipal boundaries (county/state/national/etc.) that must be satiated. However, the means by which they are satisfied must always be maintained within the will of those who are locally governed.

Roles: The Mayor and City Council are, and ought to hold themselves out as representatives of the majority of the City’s residents. As the election of Mayor requires the preponderance of the electorate (comparatively to each City Council seat) the Mayor should set the tone and the agenda. All members to include the Mayor and the City Council ought to seek out the will of the population (in a timely manner) on specific issues through direct and indirect means. Stakeholders are those within the community that as individuals or in groups represent blocks of interests that affect and are effected by public policy. These stakeholders come in many forms, but their voices should be heard from within the council chambers. They should be consulted regarding policy decisions, even though they do not get a direct vote. Still, we should not confuse advocacy for representation; what is desired by the population must often be established as an outcome. How that outcome is achieved is the work of the Mayor, the City Council and the city staff. The full-time city staff is a supporting body; they take no actions except those permitted by the council. However, they should stand ready to do more than simply act upon those imperatives that come from council body. They are also advisors, whose expertise is necessary to guide the execution of the councils intent. City staff should be bound to an ethos that demands that they find ways to say, “yes” rather than “no.” The only “no” that is genuinely acceptable is in seeking greater understanding when the intent of the council is genuinely in doubt.

Means and Methods: Decisive action will render decisive results. Indecisive action will almost always fail to achieve its intent. The point of representative government is to represent the will of the majority in effectually facilitating the needs of the population, while not unnecessarily impeding upon the needs of those who dissent from that trajectory. It should be recognized that while the interests of all residents should be a consideration, any representative that seeks a solution that makes everyone happy, will fail to be affective.

The line-item details of this Code-of-Ethics will be the responsibility of the commission assigned to create them.

2. Initiate a commission to transform the Budget into a Standardized Balance Sheet.

Details: This is about transparency in our city’s expenditures – This commission will take the existing budget in the format that the city publishes it and turn it into a balance sheet that any accountant can read. Transparency takes away the ability to obfuscate (or hide) the actions and illegitimate priorities of full-time bureaucrats. Right now, we have accountants who can’t even tell us exactly what the city is doing.

3. Initiate a commission to reform Transparency and Accountability within the City Staff’s processes.

Details: Once we have the budget in a balance sheet format, we need to audit that budget in its entirety. We need a top-down evaluation of every employee and every line item that the city pays for. We have to redefine the processes of the city in a way that makes the city work for the residents (and in compliance with a Code-of-Ethics). Business growth and success must be the first consideration of those who work in City Hall, and the only balancing act we should see is when we question whether what is best for our community’s businesses may need to be counterbalanced by what is best for the residents themselves.

We need to baseline all employee wages against the prevailing wages of communities of similar size and proximity to the cities. If necessary, we may have to find a reasons to terminate and rehire those who chose to stay.

There is not enough direct accountability nor transparency where city projects are concerned. All project management should conform to the PMI (Project Management Institute) PMP (Project Management Professional) standards. This will require transparency in Time, Scope and Costs associated with any project initiated. The granularity of accounting must also be addressed so as to create uniformity in itemized reporting of results and equitable costs to residents.

4. Initiate a stakeholder commission to establish voices and perspectives outside the city staff to advise the city council; these may include a Business Council, an Agricultural Council and perhaps councils from individual populations from within the community (the trailer park, the nursing home, etc).

Details: We need the voices of underrepresented members of the community to be involved within the advising of the city council in the same way that city staff currently has the ear of the council. If we have questions pertaining to the effect of an action upon law enforcement, we have the Chief of Police (or a representative) in attendance at the council meetings. If we have a question on things that affects our communities business or agricultural environments, or if we are looking at a city project that will impact a population that is community stakeholder we need representatives of those stakeholders to balance what city hall has to say. This is basic stakeholder management.

5. Initiate a commission to establish a Home Rule Charter.

Details: Initiating a commission to propose a City Charter will allow us to explore the process by which we can have a resident approved (and voted on) set of guidelines for the future. Real changes in the way that the city does business cannot occur without rewriting the way the City Government is required to do business. I do not want to remain in city government forever to keep things on track and avoid a situation where this level of mismanagement returns. At some point we need the political infrastructure in place that mandates the values and structures that place the needs of residents over the needs and wants of all others.

We need to make these changes in such a way that a future administration will struggle to reinstate the same political machine in the ways that we have seen the past 10 years, without the will of the residents. We need radical transformation of the way government works, and we need to make sure that in two years it can’t just be reversed.