City Council 101: Insider's Guide for New Councilmembers

By Debbie Peterson

Local government can be fascinatingly intriguing, significant, and captivating. This book grew out of years of determination while I was a Mayor, Councilmember, and Planning Commissioner to make local government and public meetings approachable, friendly, customer-oriented, accessible, accountable, and understood. It is a process that needs work

• Language: English
• Publisher: South Third Street Publishing
• Release date: Dec 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986219547

Debbie Peterson

Making an Impossible love quite possible after all... I am an author of paranormal and fantasy romance. I have (and have always had) a soft spot for fairy tales, the joy of falling in love, making an impossible love possible, and happily ever after endings. I love music, art, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, and thunder storms. When I'm not busy conjuring my latest novel, I spend time with the members of my very large and nutty family here in the lovely, arid deserts of southern Nevada. I also pursue my interests in family history, mythology, and history.

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Introduction

Wherever the people have found a leader who was loyal to them; brave; and not too far ahead, there they have followed him, and there has begun the solution of our common problem; the problem of the cities, states, and nations—the problem of civilized living in human communities. —Lincoln Steffens

Local government can be fascinatingly intriguing, significant, and captivating. This book grew out of years of determination while I was a Mayor, Councilmember, and Planning Commissioner to make local government and public meetings approachable, friendly, customer-oriented, accessible, accountable, and understood. It is a process that needs work on all sides of the dais—by the public, by staff, and by elected representatives.

As the first directly elected female Mayor of my town, I achieved all of the goals I set for my two years in office except one: I wanted to set up a course for new Councilmembers to teach them their roles and responsibilities as directors on the many Boards on which they sit. This book is my fulfillment of that goal. Boardsmanship is an art, a science, and a learned skill that isn’t taught, but which would enhance the service we provide to those who elect us if we understood how to do it well. If I can serve your organization, conference, or seminar by consulting or speaking on best practices in local government, I would be delighted to do so. Please go to my speaking and workshop page at DebbiePeterson.com for more information.

I became familiar with local government practice and process by osmosis over the course of thirteen years. You can do that too, but you will be much more effective and waste much less time if you learn how it works before you take up your role. This book gives you the background, the job description, and the playbook to hit the ground running.

In local government, as in any communication, there are sending and receiving sides. In this case, The People of a community are the senders, and you, as their elected representative, are the receiver. Representatives must know what the represented want.

The more informed you are, and the more the senders communicate with you, the better the quality of life for all of you.

The problem is that there is no playbook, no job description, no education for newly elected representatives or for the public that explains what is expected of us and what our jobs are. It’s all happenstance. The electeds get thrown in at the deep end, and their constituents often don’t even get to the pool, or they check in with their representatives in a haphazard way.

It took me six years in public service to understand all of this. The California League of Cities, of which many Cities are members, holds conferences twice a year and offers good training, but attendance is voluntary, and it is hit and miss, as not all Cities are members, and not all Councilmembers attend, and if they do attend, not all Councilmembers attend government training.

I share, as an insider, a former Mayor and good government advocate, what nobody tells us going in—your roles and responsibilities. Both are critical if we are serious about governing well.

The relationship between the govern-ers and the governed is often perceived as adversarial or actually is adversarial. Neither the public nor their representatives understand how City Hall works. As a result, mistrust develops at best, and apathy at worst. Government staff and electeds may not think in terms of how to engage the public, or they may want to avoid embarrassment and get on with their work, viewing the public as a nuisance, and finding ways to do things without involving the public.

But it didn’t start out this way, and it isn’t intended in our national or State Constitutions to be this way. We The People created our form of government to serve us. The very first amendment in our federal and in most State Constitutions, is FREEDOM OF SPEECH. The governed are to speak their truth. We are to be a government by committee. The institutions of our government belong to those who are governed. They are in charge. Your job is to serve them.

I will suggest exercises that will enhance your knowledge: something interesting or entertaining to think about, google, complete, or watch.

I will provide you with:

How-tos

Practical actions that get results

Helpful exercises

Real life examples

Occasional comic relief

Worksheets—Food for thought

A template for public records requests

Before we get started you should know a little bit about me:

I was the Mayor of the small town of Grover Beach, California for two years. From 2004 through 2019 I served as an appointed Planning Commissioner, elected Councilmember, and Mayor. As a directly elected Mayor, I now carry the lifetime title of The Honorable.

I have written four books, the most recent of which chronicles my time in office.

I have a Communications degree in Public Relations.

I have worked alongside hundreds of people who want to improve their communities.

I was named the Young Business Personality of Scotland.

I worked for development agencies as a consultant to startup companies and companies repurposing in restructuring, marketing, product development, manufacturing, and food production.

I was taught Boardsmanship by the chairman of an international bank.

I set up my first Board at the age of twenty-four.

Here’s what this book is and what it isn’t:

It is based on my personal experience as an active participant in local government.

The stories and examples are real situations that occurred while I was in office.

Public discourse can be disconcerting, and the truth can be ugly. My objective is to provide Positive, Constructive, Win-Win outcomes.

It is not intended to be party political. In fact, it is the opposite—it is nonpartisan.

‘Nonpartisan’ means that solutions are based on the premise that we all have a part in problem-solving on a local level that transcends the limitations of political maneuvering.

It is the story of everyday people who serve their communities and have the power to set up good government.

The most effective local governance happens when Councilmembers, Citizens, and City Hall participate together to improve our communities. Local government affects our day-to-day lives more than any other branch of the government, and yet, I never learned anything about it in school, and as far as I can tell, it is not taught now, either. It is the one level of government that we are most able to impact, that in turn will influence government up the line to County, State, and federal levels. In City Council 101 you will discover how to change our political present and future, and you will be equipped to do so.

I have organized the book in the order I think is most helpful in coming to grips with what it means at a local level to be a government of The People. You do not have to read the book in order or from cover to cover. We all come to the dais with unique experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. You may already know or understand some of the information. You may find that what you thought you knew doesn’t work in a government context, so come with an open mind. You can skip back and forth between the topics.

Communication has been my life’s work, whether it’s marketing my business, or being forever changed by experiencing a new culture, or somehow finalizing a real estate transaction when it seemed the parties would never find a way through, or writing a book, or as a public servant seeing that often people are totally in the dark about the work of their government, whether by default or by design. For those who begin their service completely uninitiated in politics or government law, as I did, herein is how it works, when it doesn’t work, and how it could work.

REFERENCES

United States Constitution, State Constitutions—Free Speech

The Brown, or ‘Sunshine’ Act (California)—Open Meetings

Fair Political Practices Act (U.S.A.)—Finance, Campaign Disclosure

Robert’s Rules of Order—Meetings

You have probably observed by now that I capitalize words that many do not. These are the words that matter in good governance—The People and their institutions.

Part One

Who Do You Work For

In corresponding with his wife, Abigail, a month after the Declaration of Independence was approved by the thirteen colonies, John Adams asserted that in public office the country needs Statesmen, Heroes, and Philosophers. Reflect on your pledge of allegiance and your oath of office in the weeks and months ahead. Which will you be?

Chapter 1

So, You Got Elected. Now What?

This chapter focuses on the roles and responsibilities of local elected representatives. We will explore the job description of these elected officials and how it differs from the other job descriptions and Boards you may have come across.