Editor:
Simply put, the council/city manager form of government in California intent is that the council and city manager work together as a team (“Rancor, Recalls and a Resignation,” June 5). The council carries out the will of the majority via the staff work of the city subject matter experts and the various commissions. The city manager is given enough responsibility and freedom to manage the staff city functions efficiently and effectively. Public engagement and trust between staff and council is key. Council members should study the Institute for Local Government orientation for newly elected officials.
This council seems to distrust the public, the staff and the city manager. They want to review past decisions and take on research and development tasks themselves despite excellent city and commission staff work. It is bad management practice to diminish staff rather than to build it up.
The staff-endorsed Housing Element was ready to meet a state April 30 deadline but was defeated by a 3-2 vote by the council. Subsequently, the state responded with a May 30 deadline and listed serious penalties for non-compliance. We await the state response to new deadlines extending past year’s end from the Blue Lake City Council. This situation could have been easily avoided by approving the staff-endorsed element. Worst case is that the state and developers can now sue the city.
The city manager’s contract was up for renewal. We have enjoyed nine years of extraordinary city management and leadership. However, after three closed sessions with overwhelming city support for the manager, we learned that this exceptionally talented individual was let go without reasons given. (There may have been Brown Act violations, as well.)
We have important projects this year that require good staff work with a light, but deft touch from the city council. We feel that we need to make a strong statement that working at cross purposes to the public and city staff is unacceptable.
Dennis Whitcomb, Blue Lake
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This article appears in Wide Open.