07/08/1991 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

-- . cate the issues honestly. Mr. Nicholson said it was difficult to say any- thing without communicating a political premise. Ms. Bascom said that at times each of the individual departments of the City find themselves "out front" requesting funds. She said it is important that the staff of such a department understand its place in the overall budgetary picture. Mr. Gleason said institutional decisions are important for employees to un- derstand. He said that if the employees of an institution understand an issue, they enable change to take place which could probably not occur with- out this involvement. Mr. Gleason said that if employees such as fire fight- ers understand the City's decision-making process, they will support such issues as the need for a new Library. Mr. MacDonald added that it was important that service-level employees commu- nicate with their supervisors. Mr. Gleason said some departments of the City facilitated this kind of communication and some did not. Mr. Gleason noted that the City makes decisions based on customer needs be- cause the community expects this kind of service. Mr. Nicholson said the character of communication was at issue. He asked if Mr. Gleason expected 40-60 percent of the City staff to understand the City's political process. Mr. Gleason said staff should know the role of the coun- cil and the executives. He said an autonomous institution requires increased e knowledge and that the City does not spend enough time educating its employ- ees about how the organization works. (Ms. Ehrman arrived at the meeting.) Mr. Gleason noted that the general public is uninformed about the services of the various departments of the City. He said it is ironic that the more the City becomes involved in intergovernmental relations with other jurisdic- tions, the more confused the public becomes, although these relationships are cost-effective. Mr. Gleason stressed that executives are in agreement that intergovernmental cooperation alone will not resolve all the issues raised by the Eugene Decisions process. B. Summary of the Council Leadership SWOT John O'Connor of Human Resources and Risk Services (HRRS) served as facilita- tor for this discussion. Ms. Bascom referred to an item listed in the Summary of Council Leadership SWOT which stated: "The City should enable the private/nonprofit sector to address social service needs rather than attempt to address these needs with limited financial capacity." Ms. Bascom said it was important for the City to remember that it could not offer substitute social services for the private/nonprofit sector. Mr.' Bol es e MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 8, 1991 Page 2 ~