From: Bill Tarvin [mailto:wtarvin@charter.net]
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 11:41 AM
To: 'editor@calcity.com'
Subject: Response to Mr Peralta

In my humble opinion, I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Peralta, with some minor differences; one is I am not sure that running a private business of any size is a true discriminator necessary to be a City manager, not that it would hurt at all, but not a requirement for employment.  I believe that the City managers ethics and private business dealings should never be a cause to be excused (conflict of interest) from participating in any part of our City business discussions period.  We have had that scenario for as long as I have been here, 20 years so far.

I also believe that a strong background in of some form of government management is essential, since they may be better equipped to deal with the multitude of bureaucratic regulations that dictate how to operate, using that kind of knowledge will also allow them to navigate those same regulations and usually find a way around them to accomplish the tasks at hand.

In my opinion again, I think one of the biggest attributes the City manager should have is the ability to Plan, Organize and Execute any and all actions given to them.  Planning is a key to any successful task, if you think you know where you want to go, you need to know what it takes to get there and understand the risks etc.  I could discuss this for a while but the point, being able to collect information, analyze it, create a strategy,  Develop a plan, schedule and manage the execution are critical components necessary to any great manger skill sets.

Mr. Peralta really hit the nail on the head in almost everyway, and I also ask that the City Council and Mayor think long and hard about this selection.  Along with their thought process each of them ask of themselves, really deep down, ” am I doing what is truly needed for this community and have I put aside my own interests for the betterment of the community”  My comment is not intended to cause any complications, or hint that any of them now are not always thinking for the betterment of our community, just a small point to reflect on for all of us.

In closing, we all need to ask ourselves, “What can we do to help them Govern and Manage better, after all, it is our community too.

Sincerely,
William W. Tarvin