Crandall Jones, ICMA-CM
Municipal Administrator
Norristown, Pennsylvania
cjones@norristown.org

Other than producing a sustainable budget, I have two big challenges ahead during 2017.

The first will be successfully undertaking labor negotiations with our borough's police union in a tough economic environment, where there are mutual concerns related to personnel, equipment, and facilities.

The second--an exciting challenge--is to successfully implement "Year One" of Norristown's first-ever major capital improvement plan.

Infrastructure, facilities, and equipment have gone unattended—some of it for decades—so aligning operational needs, council desires, and community expectations with a sustainable capital budget will be an interesting undertaking,

 

Jennifer Phillips
City Manager
Saint Helena, California
jenniferp@cityofsthelena.org

Looking ahead to 2017, I plan to continue focusing on building trust with the community. St. Helena had not made proper public administration a priority for 20 years.

During my first two years as city manager in St. Helena, I guided the city council and community through numerous financial, human resources, grant, operational, and project management issues that have shocked and upset many residents and business owners.

Through open and honest communication, I have tried to authentically include the community in understanding the problems, identifying solutions, and acknowledging improvements.

Trust in government is something we earn. Through effective community engagement, creativity, innovation, and proper public administration, my goal is to show the residents they can begin to trust their local government.

 

Gary Meagher, ICMA-CM
County Administrator
Reno County, Kansas
gary.meagher@renogov.org

I see several work-related challenges during 2017, but I believe the two biggest are the changes that came after the 2016 Kansas state and local elections in November and a new statewide tax lid on local governments.

The 2016 elections resulted in a change in a majority of county commission members, which will have an influence on our organization. This and the new tax lid will impact the preparation of the next county budget and the services that we offer.

My goal is to ease the effect of these changes on the organization and work with the commissioners, elected officials, and staff to move forward.

 

Jill Goldsmith, ICMA-CM
Town Manager
Chatham, Massachusetts
jgoldsmith@chatham-ma.gov

Chatham, a coastal community rich in commercial fishing tradition, has a vibrant tourist economy. Year-round population is 6,200; 25,000+ seasonally. Our challenges for 2017 relate to the town's aging community and workforce demographics.

It is the second (demographically) oldest municipality in the state, somewhat isolated, and also has one of the highest property valuations. Having just completed a community needs assessment, my focus will be on identifying service needs of the aging-in-place residents and continuing to engage and retain the non-retiree population.

The town’s workforce is similar to its demographics, so a focus will be on succession planning and retention. Funding of other post-employment benefits beyond annual valuation is also a priority.

We raised these issues at our annual budget summit in October 2016 and used the (ICMA) IndiKit to present trends to identify emerging issues and long-range considerations for the budget review process.