April 26, 2019
Dear Everyone:
Some time late last year, I saw a notice somewhere about the
City of San
Ramon once again offering “Government 101”.
So I went to the city’s website for more information about a
class intended to enhance a resident’s understanding of
City Government
and hosted by the City Clerk.
At the time, I actually knew the City Clerk, “Rebecca”.
I had offered free advice about Records and Information Management (RIM)
to City Clerks in the East Bay and “Rebecca” had actually taken me up on
it. At her request I gave a
brief presentation on “What is a Record…?” and related questions for the
rollout of the city’s new-and-improved
Records Retention Schedule to the
various city departments.
And when the Mt Diablo Chapter of
ARMA wanted to host a “RIM Symposium
for City Clerks” a few years ago, it was a natural choice to ask
“Rebecca” to provide a venue in the newly constructed
City Hall that had
just opened. (Up until then
the City Offices were housed in rented office space.)
I filled out the Registration for Government 101, and got an email
shortly afterward from “Rebecca”, thanking me for signing up and also
informing me that she was retiring at the end of the year.
The Deputy City Clerk, “Charlyn”, would be taking over after the
beginning of the New Year.
The classes actually began the last Monday in February and occurred
every Monday evening, beginning at 6:30, for eight weeks.
The first session was an introduction in general, with a
presentation first by the Mayor, then by the
City Manager.
The Mayor informed us of something that I already knew, although I’m not
quite certain where-or-when I learned it:
The Mayor does not run the City.
The Mayor and the
City Council set the Policy.
Then the City Manager figures out how to implement the Policy.
It is the City Manager who actually runs the City, although it is
the Mayor who tends to get the credit when things go right, and who
catches the flak when things go wrong.
We also had a special Tour of the City the first Saturday in March, led
by the Mayor, who is a fountain of information about the history, old
and new, of San Ramon, California.
(One of the Council Members opined that “most of it is true”.)
The Mayor even led us up a burn beside a small parking lot, to
show us the swirling waters of “The Creek” which, over the millenniums,
had carved out the
San Ramon Valley.
After that, each session took place at different offices throughout San
Ramon, from the Fire Prevention District, through the Public Services
and the Parks, of which the city has 57.
(That works out to one park for every 1263 people.)
Also, over the weeks, we got to meet the Vice Mayor and each of
the Council Members.
At the first session, “Charlyn” told us that they guaranteed to get us
out of each session by 9:00 pm.
Needless to say, when someone makes a promise like that, it means
that we wouldn’t be leaving until closer to 9:30.
One thing I discovered, apart from the fact that such a little City has
57 Public Parks, was that staying out late in the evening was a lot more
difficult for me than it was, say, 50 years ago.
Back when I was in college, we had a class that the school scheduled to
begin at 7:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
At the first session, the teacher suggested that we try to find
another time (preferably later) and place to meet.
We ended up meeting evenings at the homes of some of the students
who could play host, rotating each week.
But there were two students who couldn’t make it in the evenings, one of
them because he worked nights, while going to college during the day.
The teacher negotiated an agreement that she and the one other
student would meet at his place of employment:
A mortuary.
All of this was only possible because there were less than a dozen
students in the whole class, probably one reason the school scheduled it
for such an ungodly hour. We
didn’t really need a formal classroom to study because the course was
“Colloquial Arabic”.
Back then, getting out of class at 9:00 in the evening was a breeze.
Now that I’m Old and Decrepit, it’s a lot harder.
I was usually dragging all day Tuesday.
Nevertheless, I learned many, many useful things about the town I’ve
been living in for over 22 years.
For instance, I found out that the City Council wants to
encourage retail businesses, like the ones in the new
City Center Bishop
Ranch. And discourage
services, like hair salons and coin laundries.
Why?
Because retail businesses pay sales taxes and services don’t.
And the City Council agrees with most people that this town needs
more good restaurants. Which
pay a restaurant tax.
I completed the Course, got lots of freebies, emblazoned with the City
Logo, and a Certificate of Completion presented by the Mayor.
In the future, if I decide to offer my services to any more City Clerks,
I’ll know a lot more about how a City is managed as well as how they
should manage their Records and Information.
And that was the original reason for taking the course.
Love, as always,
Pete
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