Public Officials Training-Not as Boring as It Sounds

Last Wednesday, (Feb 18) there was a Public Official’s Training. Though designed for Public Officials, like town council members, it was available to everyone. I found it most informative and interesting, which came as a bit of a surprise as I expected to have to keep smacking my face to stay awake. This article will point out what stood out to me.

Darin Bushman, Director of Services Offered At Five County Association Of Governments (FCAOG), discussed what those services include which were very impressive and actually gave me a sense of, well, something akin to patriotism. I was able to refer the information to a friend. I know, as a society, we mess up a lot but caring for the less fortunate is absolutely a characteristic most of us share and value, even if not always done well. Listening to resources available, I was almost weepy.

Amongst the agenda items were discussions of how to handle potential conflicts, instruction on how to make a motion (not as easy as you might think), stressing the importance of having a designated records officer, and reminding all about the necessity of advance notice for public hearings. I am pleased to report our leaders in Springdale excel in all of these, and other, areas. Applause and appreciation to them.

Now this was fascinating: “No action can be taken in a closed meeting.” Yes, votes and final decisions are all “actions.” Situations where this did not occur in Springdale include hiring Tom Dansie as Town Manager, voting to take the parcel next to town hall under threat of condemnation, and a host of others. Making no comment about the quality of those decisions (yay, Tom), the appropriate method was not followed. I expect it will be from now on as all the members of council, much of commission, and many town staff members were all present at the same meeting. My impression is they are trying to be rock stars when it comes to following the letter of the protocol laws, as it were.

A LITTLE BIT MORE:

Mr. Carter brought up the topic of the two styles of leadership. One where elected representatives feel it their duty to generally follow the will of those whom they represent. The other is for them to say, “I was elected to make the decisions so I will do so.” The Springdale Sun has written about this before. It seems clear that neither method is appropriate to rigidly follow all the time. Choosing either way exclusively is simplification bordering on bad governance.

The more local the government, the more citizens should have the final say. Several problems with that including how does one ascertain what the majority want? Even if the majority always get their way, someone won’t be happy. As a local governing body, knowing when to follow (and whom to follow) vs when to lead, well, it’s not easy.

This article wraps up where Mr. Carter wrapped up. To council and commission members he said, “BE BOLD.” That can take the form of making unpopular decisions. It can also take the form of making needed changes. He concluded the “be bold” directive with how vital public trust was, thus his final and most important admonition was, “Whatever you can do to get Public Trust, DO IT.”