The Rotary Club was very happy to welcome the new City Manager, Ann Mitchell to our meeting today. She was introduced by Dave Panabaker, who provided the club with a short view of her CV, and welcomed her to our gathering. She has been in her position for approximately 6 months, and is getting settled into her task. She mentioned how much she and her husband value to size and makeup of the community, how "walking to work" is a wonderful idea and that many of the social intangibles of our community are very attractive.
She spoke about how local government is the "closest one to the people" and how satisfying that can be. Her "mandate" would be to have a cohesive and properly functioning administration, with superior department co-ordination and comprehensive long term plans. That's a big task and in order to accomplish that she will need the right people in the right positions. She spoke about the recent recruitment efforts, in Economic Development, in HR and at the City Clerk position.
She also spent time talking about the need for role clarity, how Council/Senior Administration/ Organization all have specific roles to play, and making sure those are well understood is vital. Also managing expectations, from all sides, is important.
She spent time answering questions on change, utility costs, Strong Towns, growth and other issues.
Ann was thanked for her talk by President Bruce Shepard and presented with a Rotary coffee mug, manufactured locally at Medalta. A great presentation and thanks!