Letter to City Council: Who Sets the North Star?

Council members,

The Council essentially asked Interim City Manager McCann to "come back to us with your thoughts." Given that direction, I think Jim did excellent work. He listened, tailored his recommendations to the Blackberg findings, and developed a thoughtful and convincing six-month framework. Thanks Jim and staff for your earnest work.

The problem is simply that the correct jumping-off point was not established.

This is precisely why the distinction between Council direction and administrative execution matters.

We have asked the City Manager to develop the strategy before the Council has established the direction.

The fundamental question is:

Who establishes that North Star?

I believe that responsibility belongs to the City Council.

This is not simply a conceptual exercise. The City Manager's interim plan proposes organizational restructuring, new and reconfigured positions, consulting agreements, software investments, and future budget and classification changes — and does it robustly and with specific detail.

The plan is described as a "Temporary North Star" and is intended not to bind the incoming Council or permanent City Manager. I believe that is a thoughtful concept and is a critical consideration. But "interim" decisions create substantial momentum and commit substantial resources.

Once positions are created, contracts entered into, systems selected and organizational structures changed, establishing or furnishing direction after the fact becomes considerably more difficult.

In effect, creating the organizational architecture first and then asking the incoming Council to govern within it constrains the choices available to the very Council that is supposed to establish the City's strategic direction.

So I would ask the Council to take the first step:

Begin with an open study session. Discuss the Blackberg report. Include the public and representatives and recommendations of the Finance Committee and Water/Wastewater Committee. Then establish the priorities. Define the outcomes. Decide what St. Helena is trying to accomplish and what it is willing to prioritize. Then give the City Manager the clear direction necessary to execute those priorities, with accountability, timelines and measurable results.

That would put things in the correct order and, more importantly, demonstrate that we are actually addressing the critical governance problem Blackberg identified rather than inadvertently reproducing it.

Thank you,

Daniel Hale