Brenda Garton

VLGMA August eNewsSupporting local government managersbuilding great communities throughinclusion, innovation and leadership

In This IssueBrenda's Bytes

Tedd's Take

Certificate News

Cindy Mester Receives Outstanding Assistant Award

ICMA and Partners Esri and MindMixer Host Second Local Government Hackathon

A DAO in the Life

Innovation Edge

Mel's Poetry Corner

Save the Date

Calendar of Upcoming EventsBrenda's Bytes

Brenda's Bytes

I quote my maternal grandmother, aka Nanny, a lot. It ispossible that I will bore you to death quoting my Nanny.There's a reasonable explanation for this. Nanny lived withus while we were growing up. My parents were divorcedwhen I was six or so, my mother was a working, singlemother during a time when that was way less common thanit is now, and my grandparents lived with us. So, it waslike we got a bonus -‐ all that Grandmotherly andGrandfatherly love. There's nothing like it on this earth. Granddaddy was the silent but playful type. He didn'tsay much, and most of the time what he did say was rich

with meaning. For instance, when asked by my Nanny if he wanted more friedfish, which he didn't like, he'd just say, "Well, if that's all you've got, I'll takesome." Or, when suggesting a family picnic on Skyline Drive after church, he'djust say, "Do ya'll want to go up on The Drive?", which, translated, means, "Helen[aka Nanny], get in the kitchen and make some fried chicken, potato salad, anddeviled eggs! After church, I'll take us on a long, wonderful ride on Skyline Drive,and we'll have a picnic, even if it's in the car because it's pouring down rain!" Or,if he wanted to go fishing, he'd say, "Let's go dig up some nightcrawlers.",meaning that we were going to one of Granddaddy's secret worm spots, digaround under rotting leaves to fill a container of worms, and go fishing -‐-‐somewhere. What an adventure! Nanny, on the other hand, was a fount of information and wisdom. "Sit still

while it's thundering and lightning. This is God's work. God is quiet while wework, so we need to be quiet while He does His work." And we did. Sit in a chairthat is. And try to be quiet. "Don't stand on your head. Your liver will turn upside down." Now, any goodparent knows that if you want your children (or grandchildren, as the case maybe) to stop doing some obnoxious behavior -‐-‐ like, say, standing on your head onthe living room sofa and making shoe marks on the wall -‐-‐ you get to make upanything that will make them stop. I daresay we didn't know what a liver was, oreven if we had one, and weren't sure it could turn upside down if we DID haveone. But, better not take any chances. "Don't cross your eyes. They'll get stuck that way." Same reason. Don't tell meyou've never used THAT one! "He's/she's so ugly he'd/she'd scare the buzzards off a gut wagon!" This is mypersonal favorite Nanny-‐ism. You have to know what a gut wagon is -‐ the horsedrawn wagon taking entrails and such from the slaughter house to wherever theythrew that stuff in the old days. I'm afraid to ask, but I don't expect that it was anactual Landfill. And, I am pretty sure that in those non-‐euphemistic days, if itWAS to a specific site, it was likely called "The Dump", and not "The Landfill" or"The Convenience Center". So, you know he/she is ugly if he/she is scaringbuzzards off a gut wagon! So, what's the point, you're asking? Well, if I have a point other than story-‐telling, it is that there is a lot of wisdom and humor in grandparent-‐aged folks.We don't sit around on the porch talking and listening like we used to. When I waslittle, we didn't have air conditioning. So, in the summertime, we all gathered onfront porches, waiting for the night to fully settle and the temperatures to dropso you could sleep comfortably. We told ghost stories and listened to stories ofwhen they were young. And, yes, learned about such esoteric topics as gutwagons and God's work. And, we told ghost stories and horror stories. I had manysleepless, nightmare-‐filled nights over those stories. Do we really hear the wisdom that others have to offer? Do we really listen? Most of the time when a really, REALLY irate citizen calls my office, demandingto speak to the County Administrator or "whoever is in charge", what they reallyneed is someone to listen -‐-‐ someone to understand that the issue they aredealing with, right now, is THE most important thing in the world to them. Theywant a listener who will sympathize with the sheer frustration and anger they arefeeling. I find that by truly listening and truly caring about their issue, and thentrying to find out if we can change something about the situation to improve theoutcome from their perspective, it goes a long way toward conveying that wereally are here to help and that local government really is comprised of goodfolks! Can't good customer service really be boiled down to three simple steps: (1)listen until you understand the issue, (2) seek to understand the other person'spoint of view, and (3) see if you can help? I know that smacks of Stephen Covey,but truth is truth. Listening is really hard to do. Most of us (me included) are not really very goodat it. I work on it. Daily. Because, after all, isn't that what we ALL need andwant? Someone to listen and really HEAR what we have to say? Or put another way, as Nanny would say, "God gave you two ears and onemouth for a reason."

Tedd Povar

Stephen King

I would like to take a moment to recognize our new VLGMA member: RichardW. Peters, Jr., Botetourt Director, Parks, Rec & Tourism. -‐Brenda Contact Brenda Garton Tedd's Take

When "Google-‐ing" theweb, you stumble onthings that grab youreye. In this case, it wasa Pew study conductedin 1998 titled"Deconstructing Distrust"(of the federalgovernment). Let's set the scene in

1998: Bill Clinton was starting hissecond term as president, and theeconomy, particularly the technologysector, was strong. The major nationaldistraction was the Monica Lewinskiscandal, and talk of impeachment wasrampant. The Pew study found the following -‐ "For the most part, Americans remainopen-‐minded about government. Mostthink it can do better. Increased positivepublic evaluations of the Post Office andthe military during a period in whichtrust in government is at a very low ebbgive testimony to the public's "show me"willingness to change its mind. Indeed,most Americans agree that the federalgovernment is basically sound and needsonly some reform. What's more, nearlyall Americans express confidence thatthe government can work better." More importantly, they concluded -‐"In many ways, the Pew surveysunderscore the importance ofgovernment performance to improvedpublic attitudes about government.While acknowledging the difficulty ofmany of the problems with whichgovernment deals, perceptions aboutpoor performance are still seen as aprimary reason for government failures.Despite some concern about misguidedgovernment objectives, most people say

A DAO in the Life

"If it isn't writtendown, it didn'thappen"; advice givento me by the first citymanager I worked forwhen I got into thislocal governmentbusiness more than 20years ago. Thatwasn't anything newto me. I had heard that advice manytimes in the past. This was the firsttime however that the suggestion wasmade to avoid written documentation. If it's not written down, they can't proveyou did it. They can't prove you playeda role when something goes wrong. That manager served in the position foronly a year. Shortly after his start, the new citymanager advised me that "if it isn'twritten down, it didn't happen." I hadto laugh to myself when I heard thisadvice, again. In this instance, he wasrecommending the more traditionalapplication. He wanted me todocument approaches, decisions,actions, etc., so that those who cameafter us would be able to follow thelogic, be able to understand thecircumstances that lead to decisions, beable to point to past practices andpolicies. Likely because I was inagreement, this has been my practiceover the years. There is however a balance betweenleaving a proper historic record andsaturating the record with informationof limited value. Overloading inboxes(paper or electronic) and files (paper orelectronic) with useless information cansometimes be more problematic thanhaving no information at all.

it is performance that determines theiropinions." While the rating of and trust in thefederal government is now at all timelows, and dramatically lower than 1998levels, one thing that is consistent thenand today is that "performance" is thefundamental measure that determinesgovernmental satisfaction, not taxes. Ifone equates performance with "value"defined as bang for your buck, itremains THE KEY to citizen satisfactionwith government, at all levels.Contact Tedd PovarCertificate News

The summerCertificate classesare finally over andour students (andprofessors) will getto enjoy a brief respite before the fall.Our students continue to do a great jobin both their courses and theirprofessional careers, and they will bewelcoming another large class of newstudents this fall. This continues to showthat the need for professional localgovernment graduate education is vitallyimportant to Virginia. One of the great boons of beinginvolved with the Certificate program isgetting to see the Next Generation oflocal government leaders begin orfurther their careers. Brandon Gann, arecent MPA and Certificate graduate, hasjust accepted his first full time localgovernment job as a buyer for RoanokeCounty. While to most people, this maynot seem like much, Brandon is a specialcase. He has proven himself surely to beone of the future stars of localgovernment, and he has made his firststep. He has interned twice with theTown Manager of Vinton and has madehimself known throughout theprofessional world. Now that RoanokeCounty has given him his first chance,he will have every opportunity to learn

In an effort to avoid creating adocument that in itself contradicts themessage, here's the summary. Whatinformation will I need in the futurewhen I'm trying to understand whydecisions were made and why actionswere taken as they were? Whatinformation will help County staff andthe Boards of Supervisors that follow 10,15, 20 years from now? And conversely,what information is not needed, isn'trelevant, is too editorial in nature, orunnecessarily clouds the story? If it'simportant, write it down. If it isn'twritten down, it didn't happen. Contact Stephen KingInnovation Edge

Recently I metwith Frank Bossio,countyadministrator ofCulpeper County.

He told me of a program calledEntrepreneurial Energy (E Squared) thathas shown a great deal of innovation andsuccess in the county. High schoolstudents interact with local businessleaders in a daunting assignment tocreate a business, on paper, that makesand markets a real product or provides areal service. The students are given theopportunity to learn about the businessworld and in turn are rewarded withscholarships for their hard work andcollaboration. Read more in the JulyAlliance Newsletter. Questions? Comments? Please reachout to me saburnett@transformgov.org,or 800-‐777-‐2509 with any questions. Visit the Alliance for Innovation formore information.Mel's Poetry Corner

Summer Relief

This summer day of heatand humidity

and lethargic, dormantinactivity.

Stephen King presentingCindy Mester with

Outstanding AssistantAward

Mel Gillies

the ropes and shine. Keep an eye onBrandon and other Certificate studentsas they begin changing the world littleby little. Preparing to change the world is theessence of the Certificate program.Seasoned managers pass along their hardearned information to the NextGeneration so that we all can benefit.Even though the deadline has passed forfall enrollment, now is the perfect timeto start thinking about the springcourses. While Bob Stripling will betorturing...I mean...teaching studentsthis semester, he is always willing towax poetic about the Certificate. He canbe reached at chars08@vt.edu or 540-‐448-‐1102. Find the Certificate online:

Cindy Mester Receives OutstandingAssistant Award

AssistantCity ManagerCindy Mesterwas recentlyawarded theMarcia MashawOutstandingAssistantAward by theVirginia LocalGovernmentManagementAssociation.Each yearVLGMApresents this award to an assistantmanager who has demonstratedoutstanding performance, particularlywith a special project or during a periodof unique conditions and circumstances.Mester was nominated by City ManagerWyatt Shields for a number ofaccomplishments, including her

No residue ofinspiration for creativity

is drowned inperspiration.

An oppressive stagnancy

settles inand even the birds do

not sing.Every moment put on hold.

Inertia of body, mind, and soul.

What will it take to animate

this paralyzed state?The willingness to be vulnerable

and entertain the incomprehensible?

Out of no where ness, a premonition,a spark in this oppressive condition.

From the infinite Source within,this impulse begins.

Distant rumblings herald relief,hope arousing apathetic belief. Spiritual energy begins to flow

into slumbering soul.

Watching, waiting patiently,for the grace of a

rain fulfilled prophesy.Soul aroused, grumbles and peeks

at a vision beyond belief.

In a grand thunderous in-‐lightning display,

Mother Nature saves the day.Soul awakens and welcomes in

the rainbow Light where once all was dim.

Contact Mel GilliesSave the Date

Save the date forthe VRAInfrastructure

leadership role in establishing theTinner Hill Historic Site. Read more... Contact Cindy MesterICMA and Partners Esri and MindMixerHost Second Local GovernmentHackathon

Event to be heldin conjunctionwith ICMA's 100thAnnual Conference in Charlotte.WASHINGTON, D.C.-‐ICMA, theInternational City/County ManagementAssociation, together with its long-‐timestrategic partner, Esri, and MindMixer,will join together to sponsor Hackstockfor #LocalGov, a two-‐day event duringwhich computer programmers willdevelop new technology applications foraddressing community problems andengaging citizens in communitydialogue. The event will take placeSaturday, September 13 (9:00 a.m. to5:00 p.m.) and Sunday, September 14(9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) at the CharlotteConvention Center. For more information, visit theHackstock for #LocalGov page on theICMA Annual Conference site. Thenregister here for Hackstock for#LocalGov today!

Financing Conference December 10-‐12,2014 in Roanoke. Contact Jean BassCalendar

Upcoming Events

PDC Meeting -‐ August 29 at theStonewall Jackson Hotel VLGMA Executive Committee -‐ Oct. 6 inRoanoke as part of VML ConferenceMore Dates Future Newsletter Articles

A goal of this e-‐newsletter is tokeep youinformed onactivitiesrelative to ourprofession. Aswith any membership-‐basedorganization, contributions by membersare welcome and encouraged. Topicscan range from a recent achievement inyour locality to an upcoming event withnetworking potential to human intereststories about current or retiredmembers. To contribute simply sendyour brief e-‐newsletter content (~5sentences or less) via email to MollyHarlow.

Quick LinksVLGMA WebsiteICMA Website

Alliance for InnovationVirginia Municipal LeagueVA Association of Counties

Weldon Cooper Center for Public ServiceWebsite Contact

Forward  email

This  email  was  sent  to  mjh3a@virginia.edu  by  mjh3a@virginia.edu  |    

Update  Profile/Email  Address  |  Rapid  removal  with  SafeUnsubscribe™  |  Privacy  Policy.

VLGMA  |  P.O.  Box  400206  |  Charlottesville  |  VA  |  22904