Carbon County News in Red Lodge, MT recently printed Gerald Davidson’s editorial regarding infrastructure came at the end of two candidacy announcements for mayor. On their face, these news pieces would not lead one to compare and relate, but if the City of Red Lodge is to move forward at this juncture it is important the electorate take a holistic look to gather the factors that will eventually lead to an informed vote.
I know something of this issue, and here is my opinion. Betsy Scanlin extolled her accomplishments during her reign as mayor in making her announcement, while Brian Roat lashed out at Betsy mistreatment of employees as his reasoning to again seek the mayor’s seat. While one can only hope these two will concentrate their vituperative attacks on each other so full disclosure might eventually be achieved. The truth is that neither candidate has a good administrative record. If it were not for the extremely good decision to hire Debbie Tominich as City Clerk years ago, Brian would have a record on employee relations on a par with Betsy.
In numerous studies done over the years, the reasons for bringing in professional administrators have been verified time-and-time again. First, professionals assure continuity of institutional knowledge lost when there is a turn-over in political leadership. Red Lodge has adopted a two year term for its mayor, which is very little time to learn the ropes, much less put an agenda in place for progress. Although there are alternating elections for the council that speaks to continuity, part-time almost voluntary selectmen cannot be counted on to devote the time and attention needed to gain the depth and breadth of knowledge needed by a municipal government in the twenty-first century.
Second, professional administrators have to focus on the best interests of the City to stay above and apart from small-town politics. Brian tried to tell me I worked for him, and my response was always that I worked for the City – just like him. A professional will willingly work for the elected officials take their seats in succession; it is important for professionals to acknowledge official policies adopted by those elected officials that move their agendas forward because those policies reflect the political will of the people. Successfully implementing those policies makes the City successful; however, moving personal agendas of individual elected officials forward undermines credibility of the City and may even be counter-productive to the City. During my tenure with the City we moved significant public policies forward in a very short time in response to a natural disaster. However, many of those policies had been adopted years prior, but stopped from being implemented by elected officials that put their personal agendas ahead of public policies. Ms. Scanlin and Mr. Roat were the problem – not the solution.
Finally, municipalities administered by professionals are run more efficiently; more likely to be positioned to take advantage of revenue opportunities, cost-saving devices, and even have shorter public meetings than do municipalities administered by elected officials. A full time administrator can simply address issues in real time, effectively, and confidently through training, education and experience. Betsy Scanlin was notorious for being unprepared, which was distracting, rude to those who were prepared, and counter-productive in reaching resolution. Brian Roat does not have the education, the training or the experience to grasp complicated issues. Neither of the candidates can devote the time and attention necessary to administering Red Lodge efficiently or effectively.
Almost half of rural communities are declining in population at the 2000 Census, and an analysis done by USDA-ERS found that rural communities with natural amenities close to large metropolitan areas had the best chance of survival. The Heartland Center for Leadership developed 20 Clues to Rural Community Survival (Newsletter Spring 2002), which sets out specifics a rural community like Red Lodge needs to take seriously because it has been acting contrary to its best interests. In other words, Red Lodge has been able to grow in spite of itself, but there are no guarantees amenities and proximity to Billings will continue to bring Red Lodge success. This brings me to the issue of infrastructure, which is a prominent foundation for any community to build on.
Red Lodge is defined by its downtown, but the infrastructure to support it is not there. The street lights were a good project, but it is a peripheral infrastructure component to the needs for downtown. The candidate that gives credence to a city-wide drainage plan, a state-of-the art water system that adequately protects the historic fabric of downtown without continuing to allow storm water to infiltrate the sewage system, and significant changes to parking to allow better pedestrian access to downtown stores are crucial. This whole thing Betsy promoted to put in solar power at the sewage plant was a waste of time and energy. Rather, look to the success Aspen/Pitkin County (CO) have had putting in micro-hydro-electric plants. Better use of Rock Creek for public purposes will not only make public services more sustainable, but provide recreational opportunities resort competitors are already utilizing. Instead of allowing an elected official to go off on a tangent, take the issue (sewage treatment plan power source) to a professional, get a number of alternative solutions to that issue, and then pursue the funding as part of a comprehensive plan for infrastructure improvements. Mr. Davidson provided a broad brush to the need for infrastructure. Red Lodge needs specific policies that can be implemented for civic and economic advantage by a full-time administrator who can coordinate and manage those efforts. I hope candidates will step up at this critical time to put the City back on the road to progress and sustainability.
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