Even before our new City Council members have been sworn in, attempts are being made to “fix” the relationships between those who will govern and staff our island’s City Hall in 2008. After last week’s personal growth workshop for Council and staff, one has to wonder what might be rolled out in 2008. At the risk of being glib, might we recommend a weekly massage? Or perhaps gourmet catered lunches? While in theory these might raise morale among City employees and electeds, it is hard to imagine that taxpayers would be willing to foot the bill for either. Are they any more likely to support personal growth workshops held on City time and paid for by taxpayer money? And is there even more at stake here than consultant fees and lost productivity?
These are questions worth asking, as it appears that the recent workshop may be only the beginning of taxpayer-funded group therapy for COBI staff, elected officials and even private citizens. While Mayor Kordonowy’s recent decision to spend nearly $25,000 for the current 5-day workshop caught the public by surprise, her plans for additional workshops, and purportedly to provide workshop vouchers to private citizens, will not enjoy the same stealth cover. In fact, come December 12, we will see whether funding for future sessions will survive City Council scrutiny of the 2008 Executive Department budget.
On the Agenda...Joy
The workshops in question are truly “training” Bainbridge style. Where else could one imagine the Mayor inviting a group of city officials, staff and private citizens to attend an intensive 5-day personal growth workshop that, according to the program’s website “provides a beacon for people to awaken to the possibility of living life from their own soaring spirit” and that will help participants “deepen their foundation of connection with one another, with community, to expand their vitality, power, and heart across all aspects of their lives”?
A local firm, Gale Consulting, is facilitating this “Heart of Leadership” personal growth program that began last week and concludes with a two-day session in December. According to the Mayor, the workshop’s focus on “collaboration and communication” justify the commitment of valuable City time and resources to make it happen. That significant morale and communication problems exist at City Hall was well documented by the 2006 Benchmarking Study. Based on interviews with key stakeholders, including 90% of City staff, the study noted, for example, an unusually high turnover rate for regular employees – almost double the norm. And the communication breakdown and role confusion between Council and the Administration is an accepted fact.
But this is much more than a “communication” workshop. It is an intense and very personal interactive retreat designed to empower individuals to find “Heart, Spirit, Joy and Accomplishment in the Workplace.” Amba Gale, the owner of Gale Consulting and moderator of the workshop, appears to be a well-seasoned “transformational consultant.” Of note, Ms. Gale has worked for the Hunger Project, a program developed in the 1980s focusing on ending world hunger, and which was the brainchild of Werner Erhard (founder of the infamous Erhard Seminars Training or “EST”). The EST goals of achieving personal transformation and enhanced power in participants’ lives are not dissimilar from those described in the Gale Consulting marketing materials.
Building a Circle of Power
In late October of this year, the Mayor sent out workshop invitations to 24 invitees, which included approximately 1/3 each of senior staff, current/emerging City Council members and selected private citizens (amazingly, this included some but not all of the then Council candidates). Shortly thereafter, as legal questions emerged about the propriety of funding such a highly personalized program for private citizens, that invite list shifted. Citizen invitations were withdrawn and the final list included only two sitting Council members, three Council members-elect, our Mayor, seven City Directors, and six senior staff members.
The timing of the event tells more about who was really invited than the invitees themselves. Consider that, rather than wait for the new year, Mayor Kordonowy opted to hold the first three days of this 5-day workshop on the heels of Thanksgiving, knowing that long-time City Council member Bill Knobloch would be on a vacation scheduled months in advance. Even after learning that the other senior Council member Debbie Vancil would also not be able to attend at that time, the Mayor scheduled the first session for November 26th-28th.
Selecting workshop dates that excluded the two most experienced Council members raises a question as to whether team-building was ever a true workshop goal. But because Vancil and Knobloch were absent, the Mayor was assured that the proceedings would be private. With fewer than four sitting Council members in attendance, the public could be legally excluded.
What’s the Real Cost?
What will be the cost “to create extraordinary relationships” among these folks? Certainly the tangible costs to the City and community at large for these consultant-facilitated therapy sessions are much greater than the contract price. Consider that:
> The workshop takes place on workdays (7:30 am to 5:30 pm). Taking into consideration regular salaries, exclusive of perks, outlays to the 14 City employees in attendance for five full workdays conservatively totals over $24,000. [Not included is the gratis time of the sitting and recently elected Council members.]
>Add to this the “opportunity cost” of lost productivity. What fell off the table or was delayed because staff was unavailable?
> There’s another hidden redundant cost. Two attendees had been through the course once before at taxpayer expense – the Mayor and City Administrator. In addition to participating twice, our City Administrator won’t even be on the City payroll by year’s end.
Readers might be wondering how this happened without public comment and why Council ever approved the contract. The fact is that all aspects of awarding the contract occurred outside of the public eye. It was Mayor Kordonowy who single-handedly negotiated and signed the contract for the workshop. The $24,900 fee was paid out of the Executive Department’s 2007 budget. Interestingly, the workshop’s price tag is a mere $100 shy of the $25,000 limit on the Mayor’s contract signing authority.
The PostScript has written previously about the Mayor’s broad contract signing authority. The Mayor has been free to enter into such contracts since April 2007, when Council expanded her authority for signing “professional or nonprofessional services” contracts from a value of $10,000 to $25,000 per contract. Unfortunately, Council didn’t stop there. Under the same Ordinance, the Mayor’s contracting authority will increase in 2008 to an unprecedented $100,000. There’s no stopping this expansion of the Mayor’s discretionary spending unless our City Council takes back their legitimate authority in 2008. But will there be the will to take such action after having made a commitment to the Heart of Leadership program with the Mayor and whatever that entails?
If You’re Not With Us...
Gale Consulting promises to “facilitate processes which generate authentic quality of relationship between people, including people who have had previous conflicts with one another”. A more than laudable goal, especially for an organization with a long history of distrust and conflict. But where was the conflict between incoming Councilpersons, who have yet to be sworn in, and the Administration? Is this really an attempt to correct an existing conflict, or is it an attempt to commit our incoming Councilpersons to a good behavior compact, or even a “bonding” so that they, as one veteran of the program has swooned, “will do anything for one another?” And this at a time when what is most needed, and justified, is a firm pushback from the Council against a Mayor and Administration that has by their own actions earned the distrust of so many in the community.
One of the most puzzling aspects of this program is how it’s possible “to create relationships that are founded in trust, partnership and alignment” without discussing any of the facts surrounding the basis for the existing distrust and conflict. Apparently, one of the workshop’s ground rules is that no City issues be discussed. And if the goal really is to improve the relationship between Council, Staff and the Mayor, how can that be accomplished without the involvement of Councilpersons Knobloch and Vancil, the only sitting Councilpersons continuing on in 2008 who have expressed public reservations about the Mayor’s agenda?
We may never know what the Mayor’s real purpose is in enlisting the services of Gale Consulting, and we have little choice but to have faith that our newly elected Councilpersons will make decisions in the new year based on the best interests of the community rather than any perceived obligation to the Mayor or to maintain an appearance of “getting along”. Whether or not the Mayor honestly believes that personal growth workshops can cure what ails City Hall, the question remains – should a City strapped for funds approve a 2008 budget that allows our Mayor to contract for future City group therapy sessions or related activities? Increasingly, taxpayers are saying “stop.” The time has come for our City Council – the legislative and policy making branch of City government – to do what is necessary to responsibly take back control of the public purse and our City.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
I almost dropped out of my chair upon reading this post. At first I was inspired by the idea of a "get-down" transformational process for this administration yet felt some suspicion about whether or not it might be another "facade" initiative akin to Winslow Tomorrow.
Then, when I read that the scheduling omitted Council members Knobloch and Vancil and one of the workshop’s ground rules is that no City issues be discussed - that suspicion seemed confirmed.
If this process can't get to the truth behind what has passed these past few years as a deliberate, speculative growth agenda and attempt to face-lift Winslow at great cost to this community WITHOUT a vote of its citizenry, then it seems the most important "truth" inherent in the process will be absent.
Having actually worked on staff with Werner Erhard and knowing transformational process up close and personal, the absence of foundational truth does not a transformation produce as I see it.
BI Postscript -- now wait a minute. Didn't you read Barry Peter's long article in the Bainbridge Review saying how wonderbar the communicating jamboree was. The best part of his silly letter in defense of the costs was his FAILURE to list the cost: $24K. Slam -- next case.
It would be interesting for the Bainbridge Postscript to provide the
years and dollars spent by the Mayor Kordonowy on various methods of
"fixing" the dysfunction in City Hall. The Mayor has brought in a
succession of consultants when city council members do not agree with
her plans, times that have been numerous during her tenure.
If the Mayor needs therapy, counseling or some sort of interpersonal
relational expertise she should do this privately with her own personal
money. In the meantime, taxpayers will continue to see consultants
feeding at the public dollar trough.
Thank you to this blog’s commitment to exposing the insider deals and
spiels that fan out under the island news radar.
If Mayor K, her staff and/or COBI Council need skills to get over dysfunction, that therapy should be obtained using the very generous mental health benefits of their benefit package. Also there are many fine self-help guides on many flavors available at the WalMart bookstore.
These individual are by and large college educated and in the case of COBI Council, they come with "real-world" experience. All COBI employees and Council can read position descriptions or read the organization chart.
Why in the world did we need a $114K Benchmark Study and follow-on $500 hr. group therapy session to make adults work productively? There is something very odd going on here where it is a group "victimization" racket when in fact the taxpayers have long ago tired of the excuses, the stalled process and the self indulgence. If this was just a private company, the market would quickly dispatch with the crazy dysfunction but because this is a public entity, we keep getting stuck with the bad results and the mounting bills AND we see no relief.
HELP !!!
Having attended two previous COBI workshops (different consultant), I came away with two significant impressions.
The first workshop was generally a discussion about the roles of the parts of governments. It's a who is responsible for what chat. Anyone who is elected to the city council had better know this basic material before walking in the chamber. It was presented at about a college Business 101 level, and seemed like a basic organization chart discussion with a few stories thrown in to keep it interesting.
Then, leadership. Their idea of leadership is set a vision and stay the course. Rise above public opinion, because leadership is doing something (having a vision) that the public may or may not support. But most importantly, once you set course on that vision, stay the course. Leadership is moving toward the goal. Questioning the goal after it has been set is counterproductive. Don't revisit a decision. Leadership is in front of you, not behind you.
It sounded like a FOX news pitch to support the Iraq war and don't question the decision. But of course it was about Winslow Tomorrow. Raise about the fray and stay true to the vision. That's what was voted on, and that's where we need to go.
And there is strength and power in unanimous votes, so get there if you can.
Winslow Tomorrow was approved in November 2006 with a 7-0 city council vote.
This is the kind of civic performance that makes consultants worth the big bucks.
So now it's time for the new council members to get some of this same type motivational education I suspect.
This post and the comments raise some legitimate questions, especially about why this was done at the busiest time of the year, without Vancil and Knobloch. And what role selected private individuals played in this effort.
But ouch! The one thing most of us would like is a little more candor and authenticity in our public servants. For many people in high-profile positions like these, it's nearly impossible to let down the guard long enough to listen well, use common sense as well as laws and rules, and be courageous enough to admit to mistakes.
Whether or not this workshop will improve integrity and communication at City Hall, it's certain that public ridicule won't help at all. There's a huge difference between skepticism and cruelty.
Let's have an ice cream social!
For the approximate cost of $2 for every man, woman and child, imagine the joy, fellowship and general feelings of good will we could create by bringing 24,000 people eating ice cream. Yep, about the same cost as the recent EST-Fest. Where do I get in line?
recall anyone?
Anonymous (December 6, 2007 6:06 PM) responds to Althea's charge of cruelty to Council and Mayor K.
I have read the comments and can find nothing "cruel." Stating public monies is being wasted -- a fact. Stating the COBI Council members know how to read, write and communicate as a requirement to being elected is also accurate.
Why shouldn't the public (or at least this Anonymous) have the right to challenge $114K, $24,999.99 and $500 hr follow-up sessions? These figures are outrageous and an insult. Furthermore, these costs are just fractiles of other full-consultancy-dependency that goes on routinely with COBI.
And is it cruel to point out Barry Peter's article in last Saturday's Rewiew failed to mention the cost ($24,999.99) that he tried to defend? Impertinent and meant to ridicule, yes, but not cruel.
Frankness is called for with respect to the ways of COBI Council. These leaders need to get their own acts together and not be wasting huge sums of public monies on what is essentially personal choices on how they want to interact. COBI Council is not a victim. Is that cruel?
What's a little old 25 grand when special interests have been directing this City, "avoiding" imposition of laws for vegetation clearing and clear cutting, when the same interests have access to COBI staff and law mamking, while average citizens get hostililty, runarounds and worse and where COBI has spent over a million in various aspects of packaging and selling Winslow Tomorrow?
"Cruelty" is what has been foisted upon the people of Bainbridge by those we trusted and in whom our protection was vested.
Why not have the new Council clear the air by requesting a full scale,outside investigation of government expenditures and code enforcment or alarming lack thereof in the past four years? That kind of open, public scrutiny and governmental transparency would go a long way to curing the skepticism to which commentor has objected.
I’m confused by Althea’s comments which, on the one hand, beg for “more candor and authenticity in our public servants,” and then proceed to label as “cruelty” this article’s truth telling about the Mayor’s extraordinary choices for spending our tax dollars and her decision to exclude key people by hosting the HOL session during this holiday period. Yes, the truth can hurt, but “cruel” this article is not.
Cruel means “pleasure in causing pain or suffering,” and the writing of this article offered no such pleasure. Rather, it was with a heavy heart that these truths were told about the goings-on in our City. If this is “cruel”, then perhaps this unique place, our island home, is not what it appears to be.
In the community we value, none of us are above criticism, especially those elected to serve. None of us should be forced by fear of criticism from seeking out the truths, especially when the larger interests of the community are at stake, even if such truths are uncomfortable for some.
No public ridicule here? Calling something ridiculous isn't de facto cruel but there is plenty of snide bwhahaha between the lines of the article and replies. Personally I think the mayor's office deserves it; I'd like to see the whole lot, incompetent staff and mayor, turned out. Althea, it seems, does not.
Hmmm. As the only one posting here under my real name, I hate to get on the wrong side of the crowd. Especially because I often admire and agree with the Postscript’s work. But I'm already in too deep so here goes:
You have asked valid questions. But you could have made all of your points without the innuendo, speculation, and cheap shots that, for me, took it out of the “truth hurts” category and into mean-spiritedness. Such as:
The unsupported speculations about the mayor/administration wanting to pressure "incoming Councilpersons to a good behavior compact";
The innuendo about darker motives behind this workshop: "We may never know what the Mayor’s real purpose is in enlisting the services of Gale Consulting."
And probably the most gratuitous and least substantiated of all were the digs about EST, weekly massage and group therapy.
You make much of the pro-mayor brainwashing you suspect was at the "heart" of the workshop. You write as if you know what was discussed and what kinds of issues were taboo. Yet, you weren't there and didn't quote anyone who was. That's simply unfair, and it diminishes your credibility.
Your post wasn't about Karl Rove or Hilary Clinton who don’t care what some blogger has to say. You're talking about local people who, in the absence of hard evidence to the contrary, are trying their best to work for this hyper-critical community that expects excellence, but doesn’t want to pay for it.
I'm no City Hall booster, and have often written critical opinion pieces, especially of the administration. But I try (and, of course, fail sometimes) to challenge and question, without closing the door completely on those with a different view.
If you really have the goods on someone in City Hall, by all means make your case, show your evidence, and say your piece.
As it is, the venom here overshadows your good questions about the use of taxpayer money, the scheduling and how the City will work through its problems with conflict and poor communication.
Anonymous responds: -- "Athea" is not exactly Hillary or Madonna for rivalry for one-name names. The fact you use a first name is not exactly transparency. I know who you are as do most people know me irrespective of a name. The fact others use "Anonymous" is for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is a cumbersome blog identity program in use. However, I do recall nary a word on the famous BI Buzz about the use of nommes de'guerre.
Althea and other readers:
Thank you for raising the identity issue. I have never used "anonymous" prior to this blog and, at times, the Buzz, and am otherwise a public person with open, sometimes controversial opinions. But I do use this concealed identity discussing issues on matters of public concern in our community.
The reason is simple: I honestly and reasonably believe that there is a possibility of even severe retribution not only from certain special interests who have boasted about "control" of COBI, but also from certain members of our governnment as well. And I don't have to substantiate that here - suffice it is to say that I am a practical person who has been a a very close observer of COBI for quite a long time.
Althea, it was not that long ago that you wrote in the Buzz of your surprise at how you were investigated and even mistreated by government while law enforcement was scrutinzing law abiding, middle age moms as arson suspects. All those same inquisitors are still out there and then some.
Perhaps we will have more open government next year. Perhaps there will be a full scale investigation and truly open records that will let the light shine on the darkest corners of this City. Perhaps confidence will be restored.
I am ever hopeful but concerned and cautious.
Thankfully, we have had exceptional
journalism that you offered through the Buzz and necessary avenues such as that now possible because of the Bainbridgepostcript. Democracy still survives, with sometimes quite harsh criticism of and speculation about a government that has MADE the people wary, silenced and even afraid.
Here's hoping for a different world on Bainbridge in 2008.
Happy New Year, anonymous
RECALL THE MAYOR. ASK HER TO RESIGN.
When will someone else stand up and give concrete testimony with facts at a city meeting instead of blogging politely and doing nothing except wringing your hands over your key board?
Stop wondering which one of the same Joes is commenting this time.
Instead just stand up to the dysfunctional machinery and demand changes in public.
Do something. Anything. Help with the needed change. Just don’t write about it.
Get out from behind your computer, show us that you human voice works at the meeting tonight.
A motivated group of people can make a difference only if their voices are heard. As citizens we have an obligation to steer our government. Seems like too many are passive and asleep at the wheel. Or mesmerized by the glow of computers, and dulled into non action.
IS THAT YOU?????
Post a Comment