Our City Manager is obsessed with conducting surveys of residents: What they want. How they think the city has performed in filling those wants. Apparently convinced that those wants are ever-changing, he insists on tracking them, and their perceived fulfillment, one way or another, with a survey every year. The cost for each survey reaches 5 digits.
Often, such a need for continual input is a sign of uncertainty, of weakness. But this is the same guy who is trying to bully the city commission into reducing its oversight of his activities -- calling for such things as fewer Public Hearings, as one example. I have many times complained that earlier CITCOMs were inclined to micromanage and to interfere with the performance of the City Manager and his Staff.
But Don seems on a campaign to take advantage of the turnover in commissioners (Capello via Ginotti -- out, Douglas and Mahrle -- in) to increase his independence.
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It's a good fight. There should always be tension between the legislative and executive branches of government.
But it requires watching.
