District 2 Feedback — original pdf

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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM CITY MANAGER SEARCH ADVISORY TASK FORCE-DISTRICT 2 PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS SURVEY BY JULY 1, 2017 A search for a new City Manager is in the initial phase that began with the creation of an Advisory Task Force by the City Council. Our city is part of one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country. The opportunities and challenges associated with this growth must be identified quickly to ensure we preserve the special character of Austin and grow with grace. The selection of the next City Manager is the most important decision the Mayor and Council will make. That final decision should flow from a community process that reaches deep into the community and broadly across the country. The purpose of this message is to give the community an opportunity to help shape this important decision. The Mayor and Council recognize the importance of engaging our community in identifying the kinds of skills, abilities, experience and personal characteristics the next City Manager should possess. Gaining this input on the front end of the process is critical because it will inform the subsequent recruiting process, candidate pool and narrowing of that pool to semi-finalists. The Task Force is responsible for the first stage of a three-phase process that will be utilized by the City Council to select a new City Manager. In this first phase, the Task Force will independently collect public input and, based on the input, develop and submit recommendations with the assistance of the City's selected recruitment firm, Russell Reynolds Associates. To help ensure consistency, the Task Force and the recruiter have identified four core concerns and developed questions around those concerns. Your answers/feedback will be used by the recruiter to develop the profile in selecting candidates for our next city manager: 1. What skills and abilities do you think are most important for someone to manager our city? Progressive, democratic view that matches the culture of Austin. Previous experience and education in city growth Financial knowledge Communication Skills related to attracting and retaining economic growth funds that support community needs. The City Manager should be an integral part in persuading Mayor/Council to stop providing fee waivers and tax incentives to new businesses and committing those savings to supporting the community of PEOPLE that live here and those that new business brings. Each business that relocates will lose employees along the way, many of whom will fall into our social services safety net. If we load all the benefits and supports to enticing new business but continue to fail in our planning for the people who fall along the way – our safety net and ability to assist those families becomes ineffective. A good CM will develop a structure that adds to our General Fund, negotiates fee waivers/exemptions and brings our Council in alignment to supporting our safety net needs. 2. What are the personal characteristics that are most important for our next city manager to lead our unique community? Please think about the attributes that would be essential for someone to thrive in this environment. Thrives on and embraces diversity Seeks community dialogue, approaches situations in a learning, innovative and creative manner, seeks input from all sources, accessible and available Makes appropriate decisions for city for the long term, with a view towards slowing growth for growth’s sake Appreciates and encourages growth for local businesses and middle class. Less focus on big money and investors and more focus on the people who live made Austin the desirable place it is, and who can no longer afford to live here. Someone who isn't full speed ahead and that is comfortable pulling in the reigns when need be 3. What do you see as the most critical challenges to Austin over the next 5-10 years (i.e., affordability, mobility, wages, etc.)? Our next city manager is going to have to have the professional skills and personal attributes to tackle these issues. Disparity, affordability, social justice, roads/traffic, poor planning on development, CodeNext, destruction of neighborhoods in certain parts of the city, but not others 4. Do you have any other feedback about the process for selecting the next City Manager? Bring the candidates to a panel of community members who ask candidate questions. Have our Council present in a listening capacity to see how candidates interact with community members.