Democracy on the Front Lines
Walter Denton
City Administrator Blog
October 4, 2005
So what does a city administrator do anyway? Officially, the city administrator is appointed by the Mayor and City Council to enforce the laws approved by the City Council and to manage the day-to-day operations of the city government. This includes the direct supervision of the City's six department heads and indirect responsibility for the City's 165 full time employees and assorted part time employees. So far, so good. But how do you do that?
The first step is to develop a clear direction from the Mayor and City Council. They are the elected representatives for the citizens of O'Fallon and their opinions are the most important. They make decisions and set policy for the future of O'Fallon and that is the foundation for the activities of the city administrator and staff.
The second step is to hire and rely on professional staff. The quality of our services begin and end with the quality of our people. We search for the best when we are hiring and we give them the opportunity to perform in their positions. My department heads are among the best in the business and our employees work hard to provide the highest quality of services to our citizens.
There are many challenges in O'Fallon and our residents are not always pleased with me or with our services. However, our commitment is that we will always listen to concerns and complaints and we will always respond to those concerns on why we can or cannot solve their problem. Our residents expect the best from us and it is our responsibility to ensure that their city government is open, responsive, and efficient.
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