ICMA SmartBrief

Reading this on a mobile device? Try our optimized mobile version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXbyCfbwoceOpEmxOdsr

October 18, 2012

Building livable communities that improve people's lives

Leadership and Management

Why cultural vampires have to be terminated
Star performers should be let go if they become a "cultural vampire," Eric Sinoway writes. Such workers collect power, influence and followers, and soon "there's a small army of vampires and zombies attacking the stars, high potentials and leaders who are doing the right thing," Sinoway writes. Harvard Business Review online/HBR Blog Network (10/15)

Mass. city councilor seeks more public forums on grant allocation
A Worcester, Mass., city manager granted a request from a city councilor to schedule more public forums for residents to provide input on allocation of the Community Development Block Grant. After four forums, some residents said they were not given enough time to express concerns, and others said they want a survey on the issue. Worcester Mag (Mass.)/Daily Worcesteria blog (10/16)

Budgeting and Finance

Ga. county's 2013 budget would change fiscal calendar
A budget proposed for Cherokee County, Ga., is up 1.6% compared with last year and would change the fiscal year to Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, from a calendar year. At $193 million, the 2013 budget would be $3.1 million more than the one in 2012. It would add two sources of revenue: pension credit and reimbursement of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The Cherokee Ledger-News (Woodstock, Ga.) (10/17)

Emergency Management and Public Safety

Texas city manager fires police chief after long-term evaluation
McKinney, Texas, City Manager Jason Gray fired the police chief after evaluating his leadership for more than a year and finding issues with department communication, discipline and supervision. For example, Gray cited an instance in which a chiropractor who was accused of sexual assault was not investigated for months. The deputy city manager has taken over as police chief, and police officers and residents have been critical of Gray's decision. KXAS-TV (Dallas-Fort Worth) (10/16)

W.Va. governor fights for more funds from FEMA
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin requested individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for residents in 20 counties who are still recovering from June's derecho. Wood County's emergency-services director said most of the remaining damage from the storm is uninsured. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel (W.Va.) (10/17)

Economic Development, Restoration and Sustainability

Study: Urban-population growth could mean greener, healthier cities
The global urban population is projected to increase from more than 3.5 billion to 4.9 billion by 2030, creating opportunities for sustainable development, according to a study by the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity. "Sustainable urban development that supports valuable ecosystems presents a major opportunity for improving lives and livelihoods," said Achim Steiner, head of the U.N. Environment Program. Reuters (10/16)

Ethics

Fla. city manager faces suspension over retroactive raise
The Haines City, Fla., City Commission will vote tonight on whether to amend the city manager's contract and suspend him for two weeks without pay. The city manager, who agreed to punishment, gave a retroactive raise to his executive assistant, who retired last month. The commission cannot punish him unless his contract is amended. News Chief (Winter Haven, Fla.) (10/17)

Legislation, Policy and Grants

Colo. cities fight order against hanging flags on light poles
City leaders from Lafayette and Louisville, Colo., expressed opposition to a rule against "nonpolicing" objects hanging on Xcel Energy's light poles. Lafayette's city administrator said the city paid more than $150,000 for light poles that are meant to hold banners and flags. The cities want to hang flags for Memorial Day and signs advertising a street fair or a farmers market, but Xcel issued a directive saying all municipalities have to remove banners, decorations and flags from light poles by year-end. Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) (10/15)

Public Works and Infrastructure

Va. county might add electric cabs to fleet
Arlington County, Va., Manager Barbara Donnellan recommended that 40 all-electric cabs be added to the county's fleet of 765 licensed cabs. The cabs would be the Nissan Leaf, with 4G Wi-Fi and an Apple iPad in each for passengers' use. The company that would supply the cabs would also install more than 50 electric-vehicle chargers countywide. The County Board will vote on Donnellan's recommendation Nov. 17. ARLNow.com (Arlington, Va.) (10/16)

ICMA News

2012 conference wrap-up and thanks!
ICMA thanks our 2012 sponsors, exhibitors, planning and host committee members and nearly 3,000 attendees for making the 98th ICMA Annual Conference the best-attended conference in four years! Select virtual conference content will be available for purchase this month. Check out the conference website for highlights, and visit Flickr to see photos from the world's foremost event for local-government management professionals, which this year took place Oct. 7 to 10 in Phoenix/Maricopa County, Ariz. See you next year in Boston!

"Social Media: Are they Engaged or Asleep?" Sign up for this Oct. 25 ICMA Web conference
Your fan page might have thousands of "likes," but are you truly engaging citizens? For a practical Web conference on social media engagement, Juniper Korkie, ICMA's director of digital strategies, welcomes Nannette Rodriguez, chief information officer of Miami Beach, Fla., and Michelle Bono, assistant to the city manager of Tallahassee, Fla. Register to learn how to evaluate your social media strategy, deliver relevant information, creatively promote events, increase audience engagement, manage your social media reputation and measure engagement.

Learn more about ICMA ->

SmartQuote

In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists."

--Eric Hoffer,
American social writer

Subscriber Tools

Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy

Advertise

Associate Publisher: Jim Eubanks 202-407-7822