The Schultz Report
The East Side Review article linked a couple of posts ago mentioned that interim manager Copeland was hiring Professor David Schultz (of Hamline University’s Graduate School of Public Administration and Management) to lead a "strategic retreat" and help the council learn to work better together.
To be honest, I was planning to write something snarky about this effort, since at first blush it sounded like Copeland was brown-nosing his former teacher (and buttering him up by offering to pay him 2-3 times his going rate for the work). It now looks like such snark would have been quite misplaced.
What's Left of Maplewood has obtained a copy of Prof. Schultz's report, dated June 16th. It is a frank assessment of the political and interpersonal rifts that afflict Maplewood's city hall. If you were expecting the report to say everyone is now ready to hold hands and sing Kumbaya together, or to paper over the council's problems in its own ranks and in relation to the city staff, think again.
Schultz draws a picture of a council that needs to first "learn how to act like adults." He offers some constructive and specific suggestions (such as adopting a conflict of interest policy, developing policies for e-mail and communication to include everyone, following the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, giving all elected officials a fair opportunity to participate in meetings). The last paragraph of his "Conclusions and Recommendations" section is direct and harsh:
Credit is due to Mr. Copeland for retaining the services of an objective outsider to give the council and the public a portrait of this council's own dysfunctionality without candy coating.
Now will the council have the ears to hear?
Update: The Maplewood Citizens League has scanned and OCR'd the report, and it's now available on their website in its entirety.
To be honest, I was planning to write something snarky about this effort, since at first blush it sounded like Copeland was brown-nosing his former teacher (and buttering him up by offering to pay him 2-3 times his going rate for the work). It now looks like such snark would have been quite misplaced.
What's Left of Maplewood has obtained a copy of Prof. Schultz's report, dated June 16th. It is a frank assessment of the political and interpersonal rifts that afflict Maplewood's city hall. If you were expecting the report to say everyone is now ready to hold hands and sing Kumbaya together, or to paper over the council's problems in its own ranks and in relation to the city staff, think again.
Schultz draws a picture of a council that needs to first "learn how to act like adults." He offers some constructive and specific suggestions (such as adopting a conflict of interest policy, developing policies for e-mail and communication to include everyone, following the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, giving all elected officials a fair opportunity to participate in meetings). The last paragraph of his "Conclusions and Recommendations" section is direct and harsh:
Finally, while the above policies or recommendations will address many of the communications issues, and perhaps some of the trust matters, I do not know how to make a recommendation regarding basic civility and maturity. The meaning of being a professional is placing personal animosities off to the side and learning how to work for a collective good. I encourage all parties to take this advice personally, or consider leaving office.There's a lot more to the report -- I hope it will be online for everyone to see, if not the city's site then a citizen venue like savemaplewood.com.
Credit is due to Mr. Copeland for retaining the services of an objective outsider to give the council and the public a portrait of this council's own dysfunctionality without candy coating.
Now will the council have the ears to hear?
Update: The Maplewood Citizens League has scanned and OCR'd the report, and it's now available on their website in its entirety.
posted by Frostbrand @ 6:00 PM
3 Comments:
At 9:08 AM,
drawnLeftward said…
So, Mr. Fursman issues a report that warns the council about violating the open meeting law and gets fired. The mayor`s handpicked boy handpicks a consultant to help the council operate, who issues a report suggesting the council is still violating the open meeting law.
Mr. Hjelle is the firefighter here, so I will defer to him, but it seems to me where there is this much open meeting law smoke, there just might be...
At 12:23 PM,
Frostbrand said…
Really says something, doesn't it?
Some folks think the complaints about the new council members are because they're conservative or Republican. I don't actually know their personal party affiliation (though Copeland knowing Longrie through Republican politics suggests that she's in that camp), since our municipal elections are non-partisan.
But that's not the issue -- heck, despite our blog's clever name, I think I'm personally more center than left, and where my views veer left they tend to do so out of pragmatism rather than ideology (examples available upon request).
No, this is yet another demonstration that the underlying issues are basic competence and professionalism.
And, as the report says, the triumvirate are reaping what they sow -- the vitriol that went into the election campaign and before (e.g., Mayor Longrie's cable access cronies) has directly led to problems in governance.
At 9:18 PM,
drawnLeftward said…
Cave: (At a recent council meeting, responding to Rossbach`s assertion that each council member, including the mayor, has exactly the same power in a Plan B city) She IS different Will, she`s the Mayor!!!
Schultz Report, sixth recommendation:
Requiring all elected officials to attend an orientation or reorientation program on the duties, roles, and responsibilities of City Council members.
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