Local government should implement decisions and follow processes that make the best use of the available people, resources and time to ensure the best possible results for their community.
- CONSIDERATION OF THE PSO MODEL: As a platform item, I have addressed where I stand on the PSO Model in a separate blog post. I'll just say that I believe it is up to the Public Safety Strategic Plan I noted above to help us determine the way forward on this plan. I can't confidently recommend specific numbers or actions until we have this plan -- and the background data, resident input and environmental scan which will inform it.
- CONSIDERATION OF FULL-TIME vs. PART-TIME MAYOR: The Part-Time Mayor question was removed from the annual Council Goals document after it failed to gain traction in a Fall 2017 Committee of the Whole discussion. During my first term, I will work diligently to prove that the Mayor role could be reduced from full-time to part-time, as is the case in every other Iowa city employing a city manager/administrator -- even Des Moines. The City Council has the deciding authority to approve this change or not, which was recommended by staff during the 2015 reorganization and establishment of the City Administrator. I will seek to demonstrate that the city does not require both a full-time Administrator at ~$190K + benefits and a full-time Mayor at ~$90K plus benefits. Since I believe that it's wise for the city to employ a professional manager, the natural choice is to change the mayor to part-time.
- THE MAYOR AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Whether the Mayor is a full-time position or not, I firmly believe that as Mayor, the 'buck stops here'. A key charge for me as Mayor will be to ensure that the administrative arm of the government (city staff, under the City Administrator) is effectively carrying out public policy, but not taking on the policy-making function of government (that responsibility belongs to City Council). The Mayor must remain independent of (and provide active oversight of) the City Administrator in order to retain the distinction of the two roles. This oversight includes the preparation of annual performance evaluations of the administrator, as required by law. My goal as Mayor will be to protect city staff from the "politics" of government, allowing them to focus on the daily execution of their duties.
- REFORM OF CITY DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES: As Mayor, I'll work to change the city's disciplinary practices to provide greater fairness and equity to city employees who are being investigated. You can see details of these reforms toward the end of my blogpost about the Fire Captain Lux investigation. This will include provisions for staff to safely come forward to me, as the city's Chief Executive Officer, to report actual or suspected instances of waste, fraud, or abuse in local government.
- DEALING WITH THE UPTICK IN GANG-RELATED CRIMES. The recent increase in violent crimes in Cedar Falls is partly related to gang activity. I support an increase in gang surveillance and continued partnership with the Waterloo Police Department to deter, detect, and defuse gang activity in our city. We must deal with this problem before it takes hold in our community, as a matter of public safety and security.