Loasching says she and Sheiffer must work together
JANESVILLE — The council president and city manager should work together as a team, council President Amy Loasching said during a meeting in which members met to discuss communication and roles.
The Friday meeting was scheduled after some council members were upset that they were not notified about a press conference after General Motors announced it was closing the plant.
And some council members questioned whether Loasching as council president should have been at the podium with Gov. Jim Doyle rather than Manager Steve Sheiffer.
The discussion happened via e-mail exchange and later was discussed at a council meeting.
Council members thought it was important to meet to make their different roles clear before members interview applicants to replace Sheiffer, who retires in September.
Council members agreed that communication between the administration and council members generally has been very good and during the flood has been excellent.
The General Motors incident was an emergency situation, and staff was overwhelmed, Sheiffer has said.
Council members requested that phone calls be made to each council member in future, similar circumstances.
“Communication is an ongoing process,” council member Kathy Voskuil said. “We’ll be … revisiting communication every time we meet.”
Councilman Tom McDonald said he would like council members to take a more active role in representing the city at ceremonial events.
“When it comes back to ceremonial functions, that’s where I’d like to see the council take more of a role and kind of do what it says in our handbooks as far as being out there and representing the people,” McDonald said.
Sheiffer said he and council members have shared that burden over the years.
Loasching said the manager and president should work as a team.
“No matter what comes up, together they can get through it,” she said.
“They are the face of the community. Especially in emergency situations, the two of them lead forward,” she said.
Council members also went over open meeting rules to be sure they don’t inadvertently discuss public business when they shouldn’t.
Jun 24, 2008 at 5:49 a.m.
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Steve the Dictator is retiring? This can't be true! Oh what will we do now! Who will make the decisions to waste money! Like the $150,000. the city spent on downtown studies. Studies which recommended an outdoor cafe on the beautiful Rock River which smells of rotting algae in the summer and tearing down the parking over the river. All I can say is too bad it took so long for him to go.
The reason you weren't notified of the press conference Amy is because Steve is God and you should worship and obey. Not share in his power.
Jun 23, 2008 at 6:27 p.m.
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tallman, according to US law even GWB answers to someone, but I'm glad you took the opportunity to post an off-topic bush-bash... I haven't seen one in a few stories, I was beginning to worry.
LOL at Zoom, your post (first at the bottom) made me laugh.
Jun 23, 2008 at 4:15 p.m.
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Solidarity is great but there must be accountability and everyone answers to someone except George W. Bush and that's only because the elected officials have lost sight of statesmenship. It is great to play let's all get along but that is when you have Enron and all the other government theft that has went on unchecked. Alot of the crap happening today to our country would not have gone unchallenged in the 60's.
Jun 23, 2008 at 4:03 p.m.
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Now, you all learn to get along ok? There have been many many cities torn apart in their attempt to whine about who did what to who and when they did it etc. With the mess that Janesville has to get through now, it is just wonderful that you have a UAW member as president. Solidarity works no matter where you are!!
Jun 23, 2008 at 2:02 p.m.
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tallman, as I've said before, it's probably to be expected that a manager with professional training and twenty years in the job will be deferred to by elected council members from the community. He's hired to know this stuff, and obviously they have reviewed and renewed his contract a number of times. If the councilors had a problem they perceived as insubordination that wouldn't have happened.
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The new manager will be younger, less experienced, and less knowledgeable about Janesville, and so the council will be doing more active oversight as he or she settles in. That is a natural part of the job cycle for council-manager government.
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The council IS the legal executive and legislative branch with a responsibility for setting policy. I don't think it was wrong for Loasching to ask that as President a better effort to get her there would have been appropriate. The manager shouldn't be answering policy questions as he is, ultimately, staff.
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These are really minor matters of style and for the most part seem to have been worked out.
Jun 23, 2008 at 1:46 p.m.
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I don't agree completely. The city manager needs to have a long term outlook. If not we will end up like all of these corporations failing because they have been looking at next quarters stock price and not what their industries challenges will be 5 or 10 years from now (e.g. $4 per gallon gas).
Jun 23, 2008 at 1:35 p.m.
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I have said it before that if your going to have city manager rather than Mayor then a manager should be carryiing out the direction set by the ELECTED board representatives via council President. I lived in Janesville a brief time and was shocked at the actions of the manager or should I say "loose cannon". He has obviously been used to having council memebers who act more like his staff than his superiors. Good grief does the present manager actually answer to absolutely no one??
If Janesville chooses to hire another manager it should be a short renewable contract to better control the managers actions. The manager should be looking at ways to be far more fiscally responsible and bringing those suggestions to the board, unlike the present manager. The City employees need a good going over and it's services to start cutting costs.
Jun 23, 2008 at 1:16 p.m.
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A more active role is nice. Thinking they are the ones to represent the city at a press conferences is not a wise move. We spend the money to hire a competant manager whose job is to handle these things. I don't see how a council member with a seperate career has the time or the day to day knowledge to be the point person on all the city press conferences.
Jun 23, 2008 at 12:24 p.m.
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Group hug. Now back to work ;)
Seriously, it's nice to see the council taking a more active role. Where can we get a copy of the "handbook"? I'm interested to see what is expected of the council.
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