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Guidepost #19 – Vanessa Shrauner, City of Odessa, TX

Welcome to week #19 of the Cookingham Connection. Today, we learn from Vanessa Shrauner, the Development Coordinator for Odessa, TX. She follows the post Guidepost #19 written by Edward Wyatt. Previously, Ms. Shrauner worked for the City of Sunset Valley, and the City of Round Rock. Guidepost 19: “Always remember that you will never get in trouble...

Guidepost #19 – Edward Wyatt, Cities of Fairfax, Va and Wilson, NC

Welcome to week #19 of the Cookingham Connection. Today, we learn from a 34-year veteran of the city management profession: Ed Wyatt, who is currently serving as the interim city manager of Henderson, NC. Previously, Ed was the city manager of Wilson from 1991-2005. He has also served as city manager for Fairfax, Va. (1982-1991), Greenville, NC, Morganton,...

CANCELLED: Philadelphia, FastFWD & Procurement Reform Webinar

For the final installment of our Innovation Webinar Series we are excited to welcome Story Bellows from the City of Philadelphia, PA. The work being done at Philadelphia excites us because they are truly trying to integrate innovation into the very fabric of the organization. Join us in January to find out how. CANCELLED: We regret that...

My Story with Cathy Wilson, Town of Carrboro, NC

ELGL’s mission is to connect, communicate, and educate. One way we do that is by “telling our story.” India Adams and Derek Matheson shared their story, now Cathy Wilson, Town of Carrboro, NC Town Clerk takes center stage. I started working in local government because....I get to do work that makes a difference, keeps me interested and engaged, and...

Tragedy of the Commons: Coming to a City Near You?

Kitty Wooley is the founder of Senior Fellows and Friends. Previous articles include: A Party Sampler of Government Resources and We Are the Government with Kitty Wooley. Tragedy of the Commons: Coming to a City Near You? by Kitty Wooley – LinkedIn and Twitter This morning’s New York Times highlighted a species of dilemma that neighbors and all...

360 Review with Matt Huffaker, City of Watsonville, CA

Update: Matt Huffaker to take over as Watsonville city manager Shawn Ahmadi, Socrata, Ryan Mannion, SeeClickFix, and Katie Babits, Veneta, OR have participated in our 360 review of local government. Matt Huffaker, Walnut Creek, CA Assistant to the City Manager is next up with his evaluation. Our Evaluator Best part of working in the local government arena. Most frustrating? Like...

NorCal Download with Creighton Avila, El Dorado County, CA

Our Northern California insider Creighton Avila brings you a "simple list" of issues facing local government. A Simple List Many challenges are facing local governments in Northern California. The following is a simple list that is different from the hot topics in the Southern California article – because Northern Californians need to be different: H2O California...

NorCal vs. SoCal with Creighton Avila, El Dorado County, CA

With ELGL's growing presence in California, we've enlisted Cheryl Hughes, City of Palmdale to keep us current on Southern California and Creighton Avila, El Dorado County to do the same for Northern California. Creighton on Creighton I was born and raised in Northern California and I started my local government career there. I spent two summers...

My Story with India Adams, Albemarle County, VA

ELGL’s mission is to connect, communicate, and educate. One way we do that is by “telling our story." Today India Adams shares hers. I started working in local government when... I interned in my County Administrator’s office the summer of my junior year in undergrad and knew instantly local government was where I wanted to begin my career in...

Gaining Support for a Sustainability Plan with Nyssa Rivera

Nyssa Rivera works for the City of Forest Grove, OR. Her column will walk you through the creation and adoption of a sustainability plan. Gaining Support for a Sustainability Plan by Nyssa Rivera- LinkedIn and Twitter In October of 2011, the City of Forest Grove convened a Sustainability Institute which was attended by sixteen residents. These residents...

Local Government Recruitment Firms: Who Are They?

ELGL has worked with a number of recruiting firms from Florida to Oregon. There are so many that it can be confusing to keep up with the firms that are out there. To give you an idea of the firms that are doing recruitments in local government, we're providing the below information that lists the recruitment firms...

Digital Storytelling: Slowing Down Social Media

Kim Ervin, #ELGL14 fame and Pyramid Communications Senior Social Media Strategist, presents five tips for managing social media for your organization. Learn more from Kim at our upcoming Google Hangout: Building the Case for Social Media. Slowing Down Social Media By: Kim Ervin, LinkedIn and Twitter “Life moves pretty fast…if you don’t stop and look around...

#ELGLFerguson Questions

Don't forget - ELGL's moderated Twittersation about events in Ferguson, MO and around the country is on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. (that's 7:00 p.m. Eastern time). Members of the SE ELGL chapter will participate in the Twittersation from Beyu Caffe in Downtown Durham; after the Twittersation ends, their conversation will continue, live and in person. Here...

Guidepost #18 – Josh Gregor, Portland, OR

Welcome to week #18 of the Cookingham Connection. Last week, we learned about Guidepost #18 from Rick Usher from KCMO. Today, we hear another perspective from Josh Gregor, a Revenue & Taxation Specialist III with the City of Portland. Mr. Gregor is a graduate of the University of Oregon. Guidepost 18: “Always take the chip off the complainant’s shoulder before...

Guidepost #18 - Rick Usher, Kansas City, MO

Rick Usher is the Assistant City Manager for Small Business & Entrepreneurship and has been employed by the City of Kansas City, Mo. since 1985. Guidepost 18: "Always take the chip off the complainant’s shoulder before you let him go. This will be a hard task in some cases, but use every resource at your command...

360 Review with Ryan Mannion, SeeClickFix

Ten Leaders In the Civic Space Who doesn’t love a good ol’ fashioned performance reivew? ELGL loves them so much that we’re embarking on a “360 Review of Local Government.” We’re going to evaluate every single inch of the local government arena by talking to ourselves (a.k.a: other local government professionals), tech companies, journalists, professors, and...

Watch San Francisco's Public Wi-Fi Webinar

A huge thanks to Miguel Gamiño and the rest of the San Francisco IT team for participating in our innovation webinar series. If you didn’t have a chance to tune in and watch the webinar live don’t worry we have it archived below! #ELGLInnovation Miguel Gamiño gave a great presentation that gave us the scoop on San Francisco's free...

ELGL Twittersation: Ferguson Reactions & Revelations

Register Join us for a Twittersation (that's an online Twitter conversation...) on the recent grand jury decision in Ferguson, MO on the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, and the resulting nationwide reactions to the decision. This is a follow-up to our first #ELGLFerguson Twittersation in August. Moderator Brittany Bennett will lead us through...

Innovation Series: The HUD Resource Locator

The next installment of the ELGL innovation webinar series is coming up! So shake of the food coma you plan to enter immediately after Thanksgiving dinner and join us on December 3rd for a webinar on the HUD resource locator and the innovative way the project came about. RSVP for the webinar on December 3rd...

Gobble! Gobble! Should Cities Regulate Backyard Turkeys?

Hat tip to SAFEBuilt for contributing this timely article. Urban Homesteading and the Policy Decisions Facing Cities By: David M. Jirousek, AICP, at jirousek@lslplanning.com With Thanksgiving just a few days away and food seemingly on the mind for most of us, we thought we would take a few minutes to discuss the topic of urban homesteading. Urban homesteading...