Each month a group of 10 employees or so are randomly selected to join me for breakfast to discuss various matters of city business, share information, answer questions, and just touch-base. Tuesday was the 47th monthly “breakfast with the city manager” which has become, without reservation, the single-most enjoyable meeting that I attend each month. City Council meetings are a close second, mind you, but more on that later…...
Employees come to the breakfast, I suppose, because (1) they have to and (2) we feed them; but I think there is more to it than that. I am convinced that the casual nature of the gatherings, coupled with the candidness of the discussions sprinkled-in with a bit of off-beat humor by all, just makes it a beneficial 75 minutes for all.
We always talk about city finances and the need to do more with less; we always talk about our mission and direction as an organization; and we always talk about our role in giving you a reason to be here. But it goes beyond that - we had a good discussion this time on our favorite vacation trip of all time. So its not all city business mind you – it’s much more than that. It’s all about people, trust, relationships, and team.
In addition to Human Resources Director Belva Hale, who coordinates the monthly event and has the dubious distinction of having to hear me over and over again, the following folks shared their time and made this breakfast another success:
Rickey Cheathem – Public Works
Mallory Cross – Parks & Recreation
Howard Greer – Public Works
Alan Howard – Fire Department
Heather Kunysz – Community Development
Marjorie McCoy - Finance
Joey Musser, Fire Department
Ross Peters – Public Works
Janet Ross, Public Works
Robin Stedman– Police Department
