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Membership/Public Relations Committee
TCMA
Membership Committee Members of the Committee present were: Chair: Paul Parker, City Manager, Lufkin; Vice Chair: Darron Leiker, City Manager, Wichita Falls; David Harris, City Administrator, Hill Country Village; Jeffrey Howell, City Manager, Kilgore; Lambert Little, City Administrator, Hico; Terri Johnson, City Manager, Friona TML Staff: Kim Pendergraft and Kyle Jung Paul Parker, City Manager, Lufkin and committee chair, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. welcoming and thanking committee members in attendance for their support. 1. Membership Growth. Paul Parker noted the membership goals set forth by the TCMA Board in the Strategic Plan.
Kim Pendergraft, TML, reported that when a non-TCMA member is appointed to a city manager position a congratulations letter is mailed. Many of these appointments are announced in the Connect News. A membership application and a list of TCMA full members in their region are enclosed with the letter. In addition, a copy of the letter is sent to the region president. David Harris, City Administrator, Hill Country Village, mentioned that many of the duties within the TCMA regions fall to the region president. He suggested that recruitment of new members become the responsibility of TCMA regional vice presidents. Darron Leiker, City Manager, Wichita Falls and committee vice chair, stated the difficulty of recruiting department heads into TCMA. These individuals are members of their professional organizations making additional membership fees and time commitments difficult. David Harris suggested inviting a friend to lunch at the region level. The committee approved a proposed membership drive. Paul Parker will present to the Board and request approval for a membership drive February 1, 2007 – June 30, 2007. This program would be reflective of the ICMA membership drive of TCMA members. Free membership will be offered for one year to first time members who join TCMA between February 1, 2007 and June 30, 2007. The committee asked Kim Pendergraft to provide a cost analysis for this program and a list of all non-TCMA city managers and assistant city managers by region. Kim was also asked to publish the region presidents in the November TCMA Management Messenger. A draft copy of the new membership application was reviewed. The new application was redesigned to provide more writing space, include one endorsement per TCMA Constitutional change, and removal of affiliate membership classification. A section regarding mandatory ethics training will be added after the logistics are finalized by the TCMA Ethics committee. 2. TCMA En-Quire: Kim Pendergraft provided a brief question and answers session regarding the TCMA En-Quire list serve. All committee members were familiar with the new service and were currently utilizing it. 3. Scholarships: The committee reviewed the application process for the Clarence E. Ridley and Barney L. Knight CPM scholarships. Kim Pendgraft reported that Clarence E. Ridley scholarship applications had been sent to universities with MPA programs throughout Texas. TCMA members were also notified by e-mail and the TCMA Management Messenger of application for both scholarships. The application deadline is Noon, December 15, 2006. 4. Professional Awards: Wording for the monetary scholarship for the recipient of Administrator of the Year was approved and will be added to the application. “Award recipient receives reimbursable scholarship up to $2,000 to attend professional development training.” A deadline of February 16, 2007 was set for all professional awards. Applications will be sent out during the month of November and noted in the TCMA Management Messenger. 5. In-transition Services: A list of in-transition members and openings for city manager positions was reviewed. The committee approved verbiage for a letter to be sent to those who have been on the in-transition list for more than one year. The letter will request that the member provide an update on their status and offer assistance in securing a position. A deadline for appeal was set at 30 days from the date of the letter. An invitation to renew membership at a Cooperative 1 level will also be extended. 6. The next committee meeting was set for Friday, February 23 at Love Field. Clarence E. Ridley and Barney L. Knight CPM scholarship applicant interviews will be conducted and a recommendation to the TCMA Board will be made. Applications for TCMA Professional Awards will be reviewed and a recommendation to the TCMA Board will be made. 7. The meeting adjourned at 1:00 p.m. TCMA
Membership Committee Members of the Membership Committee present were Charles Windwehen, Vice Chair and Assistant City Manager, Victoria; Mike Castro, Assistant City Manager, Longview; Tommy Hudson, Assistant City Manager, Midland; Ron Patterson, City Manager, Kerrville; Mike Rhea, City Manager, Ingleside; and Chip VanSteenberg, Assistant City Manager, Conroe. The TML staff member present was Gwena Cearley. Charles Windwehen called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. Charles explained the process for interviewing the six finalists for the Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship and the Barney L. Knight Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Scholarship. The group also took some time to review the finalists’ applications collectively. The interviews began shortly before 10:00 a.m. and concluded at 1:00 p.m. The committee took a brief lunch break, after which they conducted a lengthy discussion of all the candidates and information learned during their interviews. The committee then reached unanimous decisions on recommendations for the recipients of both scholarships. The names of those individuals were forwarded to the entire Membership Committee for their approval and will be submitted to the Board for final approval at their meeting on April 1. The committee next reviewed the fourteen nominations from the TCMA regions for the 2005 Professional Awards (5 nominees for the Lifetime Achievement Award, 6 for the Administrator of the Year Award, and 3 for the Mentoring Award in Memory of Gary Gwyn). After much discussion, the committee unanimously identified recipients for each award. Again, the names of those individuals were e-mailed to the entire Membership Committee for their approval, and the committee’s recommendations will be presented to the Board for final approval at their meeting on April 1. Charles adjourned the meeting at 2:45 p.m. TCMA
Membership Committee, Members of the Membership Committee present were Mark McDaniel, Chair and Deputy City Manager, Tyler; Charles Windwehen, Vice Chair and Assistant City Manager, Victoria; Terri Johnson, City Manager, Friona; Tommy Hudson, Assistant City Manager, Midland; Claude King, City Manager, Lewisville; Mike Castro, Assistant City Manager, Longview; Chip VanSteenberg, Assistant City Manager, Conroe; and Ron Patterson, City Manager, Kerrville. Members of the Mentoring Task Force present were Matt Benoit, Chair and Assistant City Manager, Wichita Falls; John Gayle, City Manager, Snyder; Sheri Campbell-Husband, Assistant City Manager, Burleson; Linda Groomer, City Manager, Farmers Branch; Ron Cox, City Manager, Friendswood; Ivan Langford, City Administrator, Dickinson; Chip VanSteenberg, Assistant City Manager, Conroe; Stephanie Garcia, Assistant to the City Manager, San Marcos; Collette Jamison, Director of Administrative Services, San Marcos; and Jack Hamlett, City Manager, Seguin. Members of the Ethics Task Force present were James Fisher, Chair and Village Administrator, Bee Cave; Vince DiPiazza, City Manager, Dumas; Marcus Johnston, Assistant City Manager, Midland; Randy Whiteman, City Manager, Coleman; Lyle Dresher, City Manager, Keller; Erin Kasal, Assistant City Manager, Carrollton; Courtney Sharp, City Manager, Mount Pleasant; Nick Finan, Executive Director of Community Services, Pearland; Courtney Hendricson, Assistant to the Assistant City Manager, Austin; Jose Madrigal, Assistant to the City Manager, Cedar Park; Hugh Walker, Assistant City Manager, Bryan; and Terry LeBlanc, Finance Director, Ingleside. TML staff members present were Frank Sturzl, Gary Watkins, and Gwena Cearley. Mark McDaniel called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. Mark distributed a letter he mailed in January to non-TCMA City Managers and City Administrators. In the letter, Mark invited these professionals to join TCMA and highlighted the discounted TCMA Annual Conference registration fee available to new members. He also included a membership application with the letter. Mark provided a list of those who received the letter and encouraged committee members to personally contact the individuals in their respective regions. Charles Windwehen reported that the TCMA Board, at its meeting on November 12, passed the Membership Committee’s recommendation to 1) eliminate the two organization categories of the TCMA Professional Awards, and 2) change the name of the TCMA Professional Development Award to the Mentoring Award in memory of Gary Gwyn. Charles also asked members to encourage their regions to submit nominations for the three individual Professional Awards. Mark added that Pat Gwyn will attend the TCMA Annual Conference in June—where the Professional Awards winners will be announced—in order to present the first Mentoring Award in Honor of Gary Gwyn. Mark also anticipates that testimonies about Gary’s influence as a mentor will be given at that time, and he will coordinate this with the Conferences Task Force. Matt Benoit reported on a conference call held by the Mentoring Task Force in December. During the call, the task force members agreed that, for the Mentoring Program to be effective, there must be an adequate number of mentors to ensure a match with every mentee. They also agreed that prospective mentors need a clear explanation of expectations, so the task force came up with these expectations: 1) mentors should contact their mentees at least twice a month; 2) mentors should serve as a friend and provide guidance on specific issues; and 3) mentors should encourage mentees to consider becoming a City Manager someday. The conference call participants also discussed the merits of requiring a mentor to be either a City Manager or retired City Manager, and the committee members continued this discussion at the meeting. Ron Cox made a motion that a mentor must be either a Full TCMA Member or a retired City Manager. Linda Groomer amended the motion to add “prospective mentees will be given the opportunity to indicate on their applications their preference for either a Full TCMA Member or a retired City Manager.” John Gayle seconded this amended motion, and the motion passed. Matt concluded his report by noting that the Mentoring Task Force would like to sponsor a roundtable session at the Annual Conference, in which seasoned City Managers would be available to answer questions from students and individuals new to the profession. Matt volunteered to facilitate this session. Mark will follow up on this suggestion with the Conferences Task Force. James Fisher reviewed the two guideline changes to the ICMA Code of Ethics that were adopted by the ICMA Board last summer. James reported that the Ethics Task Force held a conference call on February 3 to discuss these changes and to vote on recommendations to make to the committee. James said that the consensus of the task force was that the Membership Committee should recommend that the TCMA Board adopt the new guideline added to Tenet 3 (which remains the same). The new guideline reads: “Reporting Ethics Violations. When becoming aware of a possible violation of the ICMA Code of Ethics, members are encouraged to report the matter to ICMA. In reporting the matter, members may choose to go on record as the complainant or report the matter on a confidential basis.” After much discussion, particularly about the phrase “confidential basis,” James Fisher made a motion for the Membership Committee to recommend that the TCMA Board adopt the new guideline to ICMA Tenet 3, while making the guideline wording clear that complaints must be in writing, signed, and with an option for the complainant to have his/her identity withheld from the respondent. Nick Finan seconded the motion with the amendment that any complaint can be confidential, not just a complaint by a TCMA member. Randy Whiteman seconded the amended motion, which passed. James then reported that the task force voted to advise the Membership Committee to recommend that the TCMA Board adopt the new guideline added to Tenet 11 (which remains the same). The new guideline reads: “Equal Opportunity. All decisions pertaining to appointments, pay adjustments, promotions, and discipline should prohibit discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, political affiliation, disability, age, or marital status. It should be the members’ personal and professional responsibility to actively recruit and hire a diverse staff throughout their organizations.” James Fisher made a motion for the Membership Committee to recommend that the TCMA Board adopt the new guideline to ICMA Tenet 11. Sheri Campbell-Husband seconded the motion, and the motion passed. James Fisher also reported that the Ethics Task Force would like to review and possibly suggest changes to the TCMA Rules of Procedure for Enforcement. During the discussion about ethics, several individuals mentioned their desire to be informed about the status of possible ethics violations about which TCMA is aware. Gary Watkins told the group that staff could include such information, in very general terms, in the Management Messenger. The committee agreed that this periodic addition to the newsletter would be helpful to TCMA members. Also, a question arose about whether TCMA in general and materials in TCMA ethics-related investigations in particular would be subject to the Open Records Act. Gary Watkins advised the group that he would ask TML’s General Counsel and report back to the committee. At 11:30 a.m., the committee broke briefly for lunch and then heard a report from Frank Sturzl, Executive Director of the Texas Municipal League, on the status of the Legislative Session. Gary Watkins asked the committee for comments on mandatory ethics training for TCMA members. The group was favorable to such a requirement, as long as the training could be accessed easily and was reasonably priced. Charles Windwehen reported that a subcommittee of the Membership Committee is reviewing the five applications TCMA received for the Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship and the three applications submitted for the Barney L. Knight Texas CPM Scholarship. Next week, the subcommittee will forward recommendations to the Membership Committee, which will interview the finalists and vote on recommendations to make to the TCMA Board. Mark McDaniel informed the committee that the Ethics Task Force will be reviewing several types of ethics training. The task force would like to identify high quality training that the Membership Committee could recommend to the TCMA Board for its members. Mark reminded members of the Membership Committee that they will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 18, at the TML office. At that time, the committee will interview the top candidates for the two scholarships, review nominations for the TCMA Professional Awards, and decide on recommendations to make to the Board. These will be the only items on the agenda at the March meeting. Gwena Cearley noted that, beginning with the February issue of Management Messenger, links are provided in the second paragraph of the newsletter to both the Code of Ethics and its Rules of Procedure for Enforcement. Gwena also distributed a document detailing the TML Staff role in TCMA Ethics-Related Activities. Mark adjourned the meeting at 12:40 p.m. Texas
City Management Association Those present included: Matt Benoit, Chair I. What expectations are we going to ask of mentors, and how are we going to share them with potential mentors? From a frequency of contact standpoint, the group agreed that a couple of times a month is appropriate. There was little discussion about how the contacts should occur, however I think we are all assuming face-to-face is preferred, followed by phone calls, followed by e-mails. The only other solid expectations that were agreed upon are for the mentor to serve as a friend and provide guidance on specific issues. This is opposed to sharing unsolicited “war stories.” Second, it was agreed that mentors should encourage mentees to think about and consider becoming a City Manager (some day). This expectation is not intended to push someone into a position they’re not ready for, but rather to encourage mentees to aspire towards City Manager positions, and not roundly reject the position as a career possibility. From there, the discussion turned to the obvious implication that only City Managers or members of our profession who have been City Managers serve as mentors. Although this might limit the available pool of mentors (which has been a problem in the past), it was agreed that it would be difficult to encourage the City Manager position as a career goal if one was not or had not been. II. How to conduct an outreach effort to mentors and mentees? It seemed from a previous phone conference that outlining the expectations associated with being a mentor was the most important step. Thereafter, the discussions turned to how best to inform potential mentors and request their assistance in being a mentor for a period of time. It was agreed that the President of each region should take the lead in requesting mentors. Although the President himself might choose to make the request, finding a speaker or an open discussion about mentoring (and its benefits) at a regional meeting might also serve the same purpose. In any case, I offered to write letters to each regional president to request their assistance in our “drive” for mentors. Once I knew the regional president had at least introduced the issue, I will follow up with letters to City Manager’s in the state requesting their assistance. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at (940) 761-7404 or matt.benoit@cwftx.net. TCMA
Membership Committee, Members of the Membership Committee present were Mark McDaniel, Chair and Deputy City Manager, Tyler; Charles Windwehen, Vice Chair and Assistant City Manager, Victoria; Claude King, City Manager, Lewisville; Chip VanSteenberg, Assistant City Manager, Conroe; Mark Watson, Former City Manager, Temple; Ron Patterson, City Manager, Kerrville; and Mike Rhea, City Manager, Ingleside. Members of the Mentoring Task Force present were Matt Benoit, Chair and Assistant City Manager, Wichita Falls; Laura Huffman, Vice Chair and Assistant City Manager, Austin; John Gayle, City Manager, Snyder; Roger McKinney, City Administrator, Slaton; Jim Baugh, City Manager, DeSoto; Sheri Campbell-Husband, Assistant City Manager, Burleson; Linda Groomer, City Manager, Farmers Branch; Van James, Town Manager, Flower Mound, Allan Weegar, City Manager, Hurst; Chip VanSteenberg, Assistant City Manager, Conroe; Stephanie Garcia, Assistant to the City Manager, San Marcos; Collette Jamison, Director of Administrative Services, San Marcos; and Tom Yantis, Assistant City Manager, Georgetown. Members of the Ethics Task Force present were Mark Watson, Chair and Former City Manager, Temple; James Fisher, Vice Chair and Village Administrator, Bee Cave; Jose Madrigal, Assistant to the City Manager, Cedar Park; Georgia Vines, City Manager, Kermit; Lyle Dresher, City Manager, Keller; Jeff Jones, Assistant City Manager, Hurst; Erin Kasal, Assistant City Manager, Carrollton; Nick Finan, Executive Director of Community Services, Pearland; Courtney Hendricson, Assistant to the Assistant City Manager, Austin; and Terry LeBlanc, Finance Director, Ingleside. TML staff members present were Kyle J. Jung and Gwena Cearley. Mark McDaniel called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. Mark explained the new TCMA committee structure. He then reviewed the responsibilities of the Membership Committee (including the duties of the Mentoring Task Force and the Ethics Task Force) as outlined in the TCMA 2004-2006 Strategic Plan. Mark reported that the TCMA Board, at their meeting on August 5, charged the Membership Committee with considering “an appropriate recognition in memory of Gary Gwyn for the support provided by him to members of the city management profession.” After discussion on possible ways to honor Gary, Nick Finan moved that the Membership Committee recommend to the TCMA Board that the name of the “Professional Development Award” be changed to either the “Gary Gwyn Mentoring Award” or the “Mentoring Award in Memory of Gary Gwyn.” Sheri Campbell-Husband seconded the motion, and the motion passed. The recommendation will be made to the TCMA Board at their meeting on November 12. Matt Benoit gave a brief history of the TCMA mentoring program and reported on the current status of the Mentoring Task Force. Recommendations made by the Mentoring Committee at their April 2004 meeting were distributed, along with the current Mentoring Program Application. There was discussion about the need to recruit more volunteer mentors and to provide them with guidelines on how to mentor. A suggestion was also made to develop a session on mentoring for the TCMA Annual Conference. Matt also mentioned that another element of mentoring is succession planning, and Laura Huffman noted that this includes not only finding viable replacements, but also making a statewide effort to locate and develop talent. Gwena Cearley reviewed the time lines and processes for awarding the Clarence E. Ridley Scholarship and the Barney L. Knight Texas CPM Scholarship. Brochures for both scholarships are now posted to the TCMA Web site and will be e-mailed soon. Charles Windwehen will appoint a subcommittee to review the applications for these two scholarships in January and select a reasonable number of the best applicants, and the Membership Committee will then meet in March to interview the top candidates and vote on recommendations to make to the Board. The Board will vote to determine the winners at their meeting in April, the winners will be notified prior to the TCMA Annual Conference in June and will be invited to attend the conference, and the awards will be presented at that time. Mark Watson reviewed the process of filing an ethics complaint. Committee and Task Force members were reminded that a complaint must be signed to be accepted. The Ethics Task Force will consider implementing ethics training for TCMA members to be held around the state. Gwena Cearley reviewed two guideline changes to the ICMA Code of Ethics that were recently adopted by the ICMA Board. The TCMA Membership Committee can now decide whether or not to recommend that the TCMA Board adopt these guidelines also. There was a discussion of the pros and cons of each guideline, and Mark McDaniel requested that the Ethics Task Force make a recommendation to the Membership Committee before the committee votes on what recommendation to make to the Board. Mark McDaniel asked those who are interested in helping with the goal of increasing TCMA membership to please contact him. A list of prospective Full Members by regions was distributed. One suggestion made to help gain new members was to ask a city to sponsor TCMA membership for interns for one year. The following table was shared with the committee and task forces to show both the growth in TCMA membership from 1996-2001 and the membership totals as of the day of the meeting.
Mark reviewed the time line and process for determining the winners of the professional awards. Because there have been a limited number of nominees each year, a suggestion was made to send applications for these awards to Mayors as well as city staffs and TCMA members. There was also a discussion about possibly decreasing the number of professional awards presented each year. Currently, there are seven awards that can be given: Lifetime Achievement, Administrator of the Year, Professional Development (Individual), Innovation in Local Government Under 25,000 Population (Organization), Innovation in Local Government Over 25,000 Population (Organization), and Leaders in Communication Under 25,000 Population (Organization), and Leaders in Communication Over 25,000 Population (Organization). Chip VanSteenberg made a motion that TCMA discontinue giving the four organization awards and present only the three individual awards each year—Lifetime Achievement Award, Administrator of the Year, and Professional Development Award (or Gary Gwyn Mentoring Award). Ron Patterson seconded the motion, which passed. This recommendation will be made to the TCMA Board. Gwena Cearley briefly explained the application process for in-transition services. Mark McDaniel reported that the TCMA Board, at their August meeting, voted to produce in spring 2005 a printed membership directory similar to the 2000-2001 edition. Mark noted that the next Membership Committee meeting will be in January 2005. He also proposed that the committee meet in March (to vote on candidates for the two scholarships and nominees for the professional awards) and possibly May. Mark adjourned the meeting at 1:05 p.m. TCMA
Membership/Public Relations Committee Members present were Joe Dickson, Chair and City Manager, Santa Fe; Gary Fuqua, City Manager, Big Spring; Sheri Campbell-Husband, Assistant City Manager, Burleson; Julie Couch, City Manager, Rockwall; Shelli Siemer, Assistant City Manager, Allen; Michael Ross, City Manager, West University Place; Nick Finan, Interim Director of Planning, La Porte; Hugh Walker, Assistant City Manager, Bryan; Edward Broussard, City Manager, Navasota; Denny Arnold, City Manager, Victoria; and TML staff Gwena Cearley and Kyle J. Jung. Joe Dickson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. The first agenda item was a discussion of the TCMA Professional Awards applications. Any individuals or city with a submitted application excused themselves from the room while their category was discussed and voted upon. Each category of awards was voted on separately: Administrator of the Year (Nick Finan moved/Denny Arnold seconded), Professional Development – Individual (Hugh Walker moved/Denny Arnold seconded), Innovations in Local Government over 25,000 (Julie Couch moved/Michael Ross seconded), and Leaders in Communications over 25,000 (Denny Arnold moved/Julie Couch seconded). All motioned were approved to recommend these awards to the TCMA Board. The second item on the agenda was a discussion of the TCMA Intransition list and related services. The committee made suggestions for changes to the standard letter sent to TCMA members who maybe eligible for intransition services. Denny Arnold moved and Julie Couch seconded a motion to drop three individuals from the intransition list. The motion was approved. Kyle Jung informed the committee of the inclusion in the 2004-2005 TCMA/TML Services Agreement of a printed, pocket-size TCMA member contacts directory. This directory should be developed and mailed to the membership during the summer. Kyle Jung provided an update on the TCMA Regional Training Fund and the lack of use of it by the regions. The committee discussed possible individuals (the TCMA President, TCMA Regional Board representatives, and TCMA Membership/PR committee members) to remind the regions of the funds and to suggest possible uses for it. Gwena Cearley provided the committee with an updated TCMA membership brochure and encouraged members to use it when approaching prospective members. With no other items to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m. |
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