| Workforce News for State and Local Government Professionals |  |
| Public Sector Trends
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- Wave of retirements approaching U.S. cities, experts say
Many city managers in St. Petersburg, Fla., are approaching retirement age and the city could have trouble replacing them once they leave, critics say. More than half of the city's managers have been employed by the city for at least 25 years, during which time they accumulated extensive insider knowledge about how the city operates, this article says. Other cities in the U.S. are experiencing similar challenges, leading the Florida City and County Management Association to refer to the issue as the "quiet crisis." Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
(12/3)
- Ill. city council irons out criteria for next manager
The Champaign, Ill., City Council is finalizing a job description for a city manager as the current manager prepares to retire in March. After officials amassed input from the public and council members, they formed a list of qualifications that thus far includes a public-administration graduate degree, public-sector management experience and a strong track record in initiatives of affirmative action or equal employment opportunity. The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana, Ill.)
(11/26)
    
| Policy Update
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- N.Y. slashes pay for temp workers
New York has arranged a series of new contracts under which a range of temp-service employees will see their wages reduced by as much as 42%. Highly skilled employees like doctors and translators, as well as construction workers and management personnel are among the workers who will be affected. The state hopes to save $60 million over the next five years through the salary cuts. Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)
(12/2)
- Study: Ending public pensions would hurt worker loyalty
Public employers who switch from pensions to defined-contribution retirement plans would likely attract workers who aren't as committed to the employer and who are less willing to learn skills that they can't transfer to another job, a study says. The National Institute on Retirement Security study also found that switching from a pension to another retirement plan would boost worker turnover. BenefitsPro.com
(11/19)
| Career Development
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- Are you a driver or a passenger in your career?
Professionals often think they can rely on their employer to manage their career, track their accomplishments and decide when they deserve a raise or promotion, Dan Schawbel writes. This is almost never the case, so take it upon yourself to seek out opportunities and gain new skills. "You need to be in the driver’s seat in your career, not the passenger’s seat," he writes. The Fast Track
(11/29)
- Historian explores Fla. city manager's 37-year tenure
The late Ken Thompson, the nation's longest-serving city manager, is the subject of a book by a historian in the city he served. In "The Rise of Sarasota: Ken Thompson and the Rebirth of Paradise," Jeff LaHurd examines Thompson's 37 years as city manager of Sarasota, Fla. "Early on, he had a vision of what Sarasota could become, and slowly, methodically ... he helped mold this beautiful city to that vision," LaHurd writes in the book. Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Fla.)
(11/9)
| SmartQuote
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 | It is astonishing what force, purity and wisdom it requires for a human being to keep clear of falsehoods."
--Margaret Fuller,
American journalist and women's rights activist
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