Victoria MN Newspaper

NEW SEASON IN CITY OF VICTORIA

BEGINS WITH DIALOGUE

A workshop was held on Monday, November 10th entitled "Onboarding the City Manager." Purpose was to help Laurie Hokkanen get on board as the new Victoria City Manager. Her first day on the job was that very day.

The workshop was conducted by Richard Fursman, whose company had also conducted the candidate search, reviewed the applications, and interviewed the applicants. All councilmembers were in attendance at the workshop as well as Laurie Hokkanen.

"This is intended to be a dialogue," said Mr. Fursman, who passed out results from a staff and council survey as to expectations of the new manager. "This looks at the relationship between staff, councilmembers, and Laurie. It looks at the clarity you want to provide. I met with the staff earlier today."

"You certainly expect the manager to have a relaxed and open atmosphere," said Mr. Fursman. "You're not expected to be best friends, but when I was in management I made some of my best friends."

He commented on the survey of city staff. "There are divisions among staff and not the trust that is needed. Laurie can be the conduit for that. There is some division of labor that seems to be overlapping. People need to understand their roles. We need that clarity."

Said Laurie, "If they have problems and questions, they should come to me with all of that."

One of the questions focused on how items get included in the council packet. Councilmembers may ask for items to be included on the agenda or they can be part of a councilmember's report at the end of council meetings.

Stated Mr. Fursman, "But things can't be put on the agenda to postpone an action. This hasn't been a problem in Victoria. Council prioritizes items at strategic planning sessions. A majority of city council direction comes with the vote. Also, there is a certain amount of implied direction."

Councilmember Jim Crowley said to Laurie, "You are in control of operations."

Agreed Councilmember Tom Strigel, "I don't think it's important for any of us to direct staff individually."

Said Laurie, "Initially I'd like everything to come through me. You are the eyes and ears of the community."

Another focus question of Mr. Fursman, "What if an employee disagrees with an honest and fair directive of the city manager? Are there instances when council should be involved in something like that?"

Replied Councilmember Crowley, "Before we acquired the city manager form of government, we had a Personnel Committee. My expectation now is that the city manager would go to the mayor and say what do you think -- if she felt something was controversial, like a particular request from another councilmember to put something on the agenda, for example."

Said Councilmember Joe Pavelko to Laurie about potential disagreements between Laurie and an employee, "This is your gig. Leave us out of it."

Agreed Mayor Tom O'Connor, "The more we'd listen to those things, the less authority Laurie has."

Councilmember Lani Basa added, however, that she would like a safety valve for employees for a major issue such as harassment, for example.

Suggested Councilmember Strigel to Laurie, "If you see issues that could get bubbling, that could be part of a report."

Said Mayor O'Connor to the new manager, "We have a council packet and agenda with an order of doing things that we're comfortable with, but we're not wedded to it. It's your obligation to tell a councilmember if you disagree. If you can't get your work done because a councilmember is taking up your time, tell us and close the door."

Laurie commented that even when there is a split vote on an issue, "council can still rally and all get together behind a project."

As for how Laurie is doing on the job, Mr. Fursman stated, "There is formal and informal feedback. He suggested that council sit down collectively with Laurie after 30 days or so and talk about things.

Stated Laurie, "Please feel free to reach out on an informal basis."

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