The October 16, 2023, Richardson City Council agenda held promise:
"B. REVIEW AND DISCUSS CITY COUNCIL GOALS FOR THE 2023-2025 COUNCIL TERM"
Consultant Rick Robinson spent seven minutes showing slides. They were drafts of new versions of "Role of Council," "Rules of Engagement," "Vision Statement," "Goals," and "New Key Strategies." All of these slide titles were preceded by the word "Proposed," so I assumed the "discussion" part of this agenda item would be a spirited review of the proposals. Instead, the Council spent exactly 20 seconds doing this. Or rather, Mayor Bob Dubey did. I quote verbatim the entirety of the Council's discussion before the mayor moved on to the next agenda item:
Bob Dubey: Thank you. Council, any comments? I think you've captured everything, said it exactly the way we said it. And we appreciate your hard work and commitment to the City of Richardson to make us better, transparent, and more efficient. So thank you very much.Source: City of Richardson.
Because the Council didn't care to discuss their work, I guess it's up to me.
First, note the Mayor's use of the word "transparent." I detected the start of a theme.
Role of Council
The role of the Council is to be responsible, ethical, transparent, and resourceful advocates of the City. We communicate with, seek input from, and provide a voice for residents and all stakeholders. We set policies and develop strategies that will ensure transparency and enable us to achieve our vision.The Council supports City Staff by providing the resources, direction, and guidance that enables the City Manager to implement the operational and tactical aspects of our Vision, Goals and Strategies.
Source: City of Richardson.
Gone is the role to "represent all residents." In its place is a role to "communicate with, seek input from, and provide a voice for residents." Is this the same thing? You decide. What was wrong with "represent"?
In a change from 2021-2023, the Council now explicitly recognizes a role to be "advocates of the City." This is wholly invented. I prefer Councilmembers who hold the City accountable for its actions, not be its advocate. I want Councilmembers who are advocates for the people. Councilmembers work for the people, not the City. I want Councilmembers who know the difference.
Also added is a role "to support City Staff." I don't object to it, but I do find this an odd thing to give such prominence. It inverts the org chart. I'd like to review the Council discussion that prompted this addition, but I can't. The Council didn't record the September 16 worksession that resulted in this edit.
Speaking of not recording City Council meetings, the new role statement doubles the number of references to transparency, from one to two. Which is also odd, given that the September 16 worksession was anything but transparent. I challenge anyone to find a strategy or tactic that actually increases transparency, other than just asserts it as true.
Rules of Engagement
The Council will work to achieve a result that is in the best interest of our residents and all stakeholders. We will strive to keep our discussions relevant and productive and will be supportive of all council decisions. While executing our duties, the Council will interact with each other, staff, and stakeholders:We agree to use these rules to hold each other accountable
- Respectfully — We are willing to listen to and recognize the potential value of differing ideas and opinions in a non-partisan manner
- Professionally — We are Punctual, Focused, Present, and Prepared. We are fair, impartial, and unbiased when voting on actions
- Efficiently — We value City resources and the time of others, and we will work to limit interruptions and distractions
Source: City of Richardson.
I notice only two changes to the 2021-2023 Rules of Engagement.
One, in a sentence about working in the best interest of residents and other stakeholders, "other stakeholders" has been changed to "all stakeholders." I infer the intent was to not overlook anybody, but in my opinion, the problem with the original wording is not the missing word "all," but the word "stakeholders." Read the update on this old blog post from 2010 ("A Tale of Two Cities") and you'll come to understand that the City of Richardson does not consider renters to be stakeholders at all.
Two, "support council decisions" has been changed to "be supportive of all council decisions." Heaven knows why they felt "all" needed to be inserted. I would have gone the other direction entirely. The Council shouldn't feel obligated to support any Council decisions that they feel are just plain wrong. Or bad. Maybe harmful. Why in the world would we want Council members to act in support of something that goes against their own conscience?
Vision Statement
Richardson is recognized and studied for being a well-run, professionally managed, forward-looking city, and for our ability to create a clean, safe, vibrant, diverse and inclusive community in which residents and all stakeholders enjoy high-quality amenities, arts, and entertainment.
- Residents and visitors value our accessibility, the quality and variety of our city services, recreational opportunities, green spaces, housing, educational opportunities, retail choices, and transportation options
- We have a thriving, diverse business community whose success is supported by a superior infrastructure, access to a talented, well-educated, and engaged workforce, a business-friendly environment, and easy access to the North Texas region
Source: City of Richardson.
The only change to the 2021-2023 Vision is the insertion of one word, "all," before stakeholders. There's that word again — stakeholders. It needs to be defined in order to remove the inference that renters aren't stakeholders. A stakeholder is anyone who is impacted by the City's decisions, regardless of whether they own property or a business in the City.
Goals
- To effectively, efficiently, and transparently manage city resources while maintaining and enhancing city services
- To have residents and all stakeholders choose Richardson as the best place to locate, contribute, and engage
- To have clear, effective, efficient, continuously improved, and consistently applied processes and policies that make it easy for residents, employees, and all stakeholders to interact with the City
- To have well-trained, engaged, and innovative employees who deliver an exceptional customer experience while working in a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment
Source: City of Richardson.
Three changes here.
Again, the word "all" has been inserted before "stakeholders," still with no definition of stakeholder.
Also again, the word "transparent" was inserted. It's beginning to look like when the Council is caught being non-transparent, they try to gaslight themselves into believing they are by sprinkling the word "transparent" throughout their Statement of Goals.
For some reason, the order of the goals was changed. The first goal, praising our "well-trained, engaged, and innovative employees," has been moved to the bottom. Is there any significance to that? Dunno. Again, I don't have a recording of the deliberations.
New Key Strategies
- Attract, develop, and retain high-quality, innovative employees
- Document and continuously improve business processes
- Improve access, usability, and user experience with policies, processes, and procedures
- Promote an innovative approach to business processes
- Ensure systems are safe and secure
- Continue to explore unique opportunities to attract and retain residents and all stakeholders
- Promote economic development that benefits the whole city
- Promote avenues for public engagement and input
- Work to maintain a balance between responsible neighborhood integrity and the regulatory environment
- Leverage our regional leadership position to positively impact County, State and Federal issues
- Maintain strong fund balance and bond rating
- Value, protect, and create a positive return on City, resident, and other stakeholder investments in the City
- Leverage county, state, and federal opportunities
Source: City of Richardson.
One Strategy from 2021-2023 was modified and one one was new.
Now, in Strategy 6, instead of "explore unique incentives/initiatives," we will "explore unique opportunities." Minor wordsmithing, but why? Was someone opposed to how Richardson has been handing out economic incentives? Also, in Strategy 6, there's that "all stakeholders" construction again.
The addition, Strategy 7, is "Promote economic development that benefits the whole city." I don't object to this strategy, but I'd like to know what prompted it. Is the emphasis on "whole" City, as if maybe someone thinks economic development isn't fairly distributed in the City now? Again, I'd like to go back to the record of the discussion that led to this one. But I can't. You know why.
And, for the record, none of the Strategies address ways to achieve "transparency."
Next Steps
The Statement of Goals will be brought to the Council again on October 23 for their official approval. Expect it to get no more discussion than the 7 minutes devoted to it in this worksession.
Something that was left out of the October 16 discussion altogether was Tactics. After the September 16 Goals worksession, I said, "I have to admit, I'm encouraged by this last exercise" on tactics. There were some specific, actionable items in the list of tactics brainstormed by the Council. But they weren't shown in October 16 worksession. City Manager Don Magner said, "I anticipate bringing back a full list of tactics probably in the November 6 or 13th meeting." So the first time the public will see any of the tactics will be then, unless you attended in person that Saturday morning worksession where they were brainstormed. And took notes. There's no public record of what happened at that meeting. One of the Strategies is "Promote avenues for public engagement and input." I can think of one way to promote public engagement — involve the public in the development of the tactics, *before* they are baked and served as a done deal on November 6...or 13th.
"Rick's slides unveil plans,
New City vision and goals,
Crickets chirp softly."
—h/t ChatGPT
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