As the Mayor and Council prepare to interview candidates and select Cincinnati’s next City Manager, the questions arises, what should we be looking for in a City Manager? The City Manager runs the city. A City Manager oversees an annual operating budget over $350 million dollars, the delivery of basic city services, and the development and construction of major projects throughout the city. Candidates should have significant experience in management.
Independence: The City Manager is the Chief Executive Officer of the city and that person should have both the appearance and the practice of independently running the city on a day-to-day basis. The Mayor and Council per our Charter should act as the Chair of the Board and the Board of Directors leaving the City Manager to make personnel decisions and to present projects in a clear and unbiased manner.
Accountability: A City Manager needs to be held accountable and he needs to hold each department and staff member accountable. In order to do this, the city needs to do a better job of tracking data, measuring outcomes, and using those tools to improve the delivery of city services. Creating accountability measures should be a priority for the City Manager.
Transparency: A City Manager needs to be able to both run the day-to-day operations and effectively and accurately report to the public, the Mayor, and Council. Deals should not be made behind closed doors. Details should not be withheld. The public should be able to trust their government.
Fiscal Responsibility: The budget process has typically been contentious and flawed. A priority for a new City Manger should be to create and implement a budget process that will be followed. It needs to be clear how to participate, what participation can affect, when the budget will be presented, and when Council will vote. Processes for awarding money to agencies, for increasing or decreasing departmental funding, and for prioritizing projects should be clearly defined and followed.
Regional Cooperation: There are shared service opportunities throughout this region that could save taxpayer dollars, and increase the effectiveness of city government. The next City Manager should present to Council on a regular basis shared service opportunities for an up or down vote to create greater regional cooperation and strengthen this region.
Equity: While some areas of Cincinnati have seen improvements, the success has not been shared. The City Manager should ensure that all projects are fair and impartial by creating, updating, and following agreed upon processes for the distribution of funds, contracting and prioritization of projects.
Continuous Improvement: A strong commitment to continuous improvement of city services should be achieved by implementing a new system for tracking and utilizing data. The City Manager should not be satisfied with business as usual, but constantly questioning and challenging assumptions by collecting, analyzing, and making decisions based on data. Processes in every department could be improved by defining key metrics and making administrative decisions based on work to improve those outcomes over time.
Independence: The City Manager is the Chief Executive Officer of the city and that person should have both the appearance and the practice of independently running the city on a day-to-day basis. The Mayor and Council per our Charter should act as the Chair of the Board and the Board of Directors leaving the City Manager to make personnel decisions and to present projects in a clear and unbiased manner.
Accountability: A City Manager needs to be held accountable and he needs to hold each department and staff member accountable. In order to do this, the city needs to do a better job of tracking data, measuring outcomes, and using those tools to improve the delivery of city services. Creating accountability measures should be a priority for the City Manager.
Transparency: A City Manager needs to be able to both run the day-to-day operations and effectively and accurately report to the public, the Mayor, and Council. Deals should not be made behind closed doors. Details should not be withheld. The public should be able to trust their government.
Fiscal Responsibility: The budget process has typically been contentious and flawed. A priority for a new City Manger should be to create and implement a budget process that will be followed. It needs to be clear how to participate, what participation can affect, when the budget will be presented, and when Council will vote. Processes for awarding money to agencies, for increasing or decreasing departmental funding, and for prioritizing projects should be clearly defined and followed.
Regional Cooperation: There are shared service opportunities throughout this region that could save taxpayer dollars, and increase the effectiveness of city government. The next City Manager should present to Council on a regular basis shared service opportunities for an up or down vote to create greater regional cooperation and strengthen this region.
Equity: While some areas of Cincinnati have seen improvements, the success has not been shared. The City Manager should ensure that all projects are fair and impartial by creating, updating, and following agreed upon processes for the distribution of funds, contracting and prioritization of projects.
Continuous Improvement: A strong commitment to continuous improvement of city services should be achieved by implementing a new system for tracking and utilizing data. The City Manager should not be satisfied with business as usual, but constantly questioning and challenging assumptions by collecting, analyzing, and making decisions based on data. Processes in every department could be improved by defining key metrics and making administrative decisions based on work to improve those outcomes over time.
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