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Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton
March 2, 2010
This annual conference is valuable because there are sessions that relate directly to state laws and regulations. For example, I attended a meeting on police and fire pensions that explained the Illinois Municipal League’s (IML) efforts to protect public safety pensions (more on this in a future blog). I serve on the ILCMA Board of Directors and the IML City Managers Committee, and both groups held meetings during the conference that focused on the state’s pension crisis. I admit it is not the most interesting topic, but the statewide pension crisis is real and it is critical that we
protect the pension funds for our public safety employees.
I like going to the state conference because I get to talk to other city managers/administrators around the state about the challenges they are facing. I can learn from others and can take into perspective what is happening at home. While we have our issues and challenges in O’Fallon, it is instructive to know that things could be a lot worse. I spoke with managers who facing devastating budget shortfalls and declining economic development. We are living through an uncertain economy, and city budgets are severely impacted.
I also attended sessions on Managing Crisis, Work/Life Balance, Social Networking, and a state legislative update. These are nuts and bolts management topics that were interesting though not inspiring.
These are challenging times for local governments. While I did not pick up any new tools to raise revenue or cut expenses, the sessions focused on valuable lessons that are important any time but especially so now: trust your gut, keep your cool, and stay balanced.
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