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We have a nice lull with no meetings this week, so
catch up on what's coming next year starting in January with the advent of
Cap and Trade. Rarely do all the policy makers (with their thinking
on display) get together in one place for public consumption and they did
so in a video for the Public Policy Institute of California recently to
discuss some big changes for CA in 2015. We will see the effects on
the ground, in business and in our personal lives. Go to Good Government and scroll down to the
video under Climate Change.
Then, check out Restoring Client Trust: 2014 Report from
the Financial Times. I was struck by how similar our governance
implosion was to the financial implosion during the Great Recession, how
people had lost trust and sought more transparency, how badly both
implosions (scale notwithstanding) had been managed and how both contexts
need to understand that technology now makes every customer/constituent a
real part of the process, like it or not. It goes neatly through the
prescription for fixing things and creating a new environment in which
people can again believe they will be included, treated equitably and truly
represented. Note that attorneys lead the field as the most trusted
source of technical knowledge and we have two running for Council seats in
November. Good.
Apologies for the wrong photo last time for Jennifer
Phillips, our new City Manager, who will be on the job in August -- this is
the real Jennifer. She has a lot of professional public admin
experience and at the last Council meeting was very enthusiastic about
being here, so the hope is that we will have a positive, professional and
forward thinking person for the next round. We will have a hiring
spree soon to fill the other department head positions, at least
four. Let the Council know that public participation should be part
of the process -- it's not been on the agenda so far.
Sandy
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