Week 5

          Well this week has been rather uneventful.  I finally wrapped up the comparison of the 2010 and 2011 revenues and expenditures of the General Fund and completed a longevity payment spreadsheet comparing Newton to other municipalities of similar size.  I was able to finalize the insurance renewal meetings for next Monday after making last minute schedule adjustments.  Newton is in the process of updating and revamping their Employee Manual.  I have spent much of the last three days reviewing the Employee Manual for flow and errors.  This has been a rather tedious process.  I can tell you that it is a definite advantage to work for the fire department with regard to benefits and pay.  The next best department to work for is the police department.  I am not knowledgeable about how other cities are run, but Newton seems to operate quite smoothly.  I think everyone respects and likes the City Manager and both of the Assistant City Managers.  This is reassuring after reading all of the problems faced by City Managers in the ICMA Case Book which was used in our City and County Manager class. 

Monday night I attended the meeting of the Planning Commission.  Discussion included an addition to one of the nursing homes and a proposed modification to a private residential property.  Perhaps the most significant topic was the City Attorney’s presentation relative to future placement of multi-media towers within the City.  He urged the Commission to be proactive or placement would be granted by the State and the City would have little to say about it.  It was a rather lengthy presentation and one could almost see the eyes of one of the Commissioners glaze over.  Whereas most of the Commissioners appear to have a good grasp on their duties, one of them seems to be out of her area of expertise.

          Assistant City Manager Lunda Asmani held a quarterly meeting with all of the staff of the Finance and Human Resource Departments to discuss the year-end closing and upcoming redesigning of their departments for safety purposes.  I finished out my week by attending a seminar presented by “Your Leadership EDGE.”  I wrote a separate post regarding this. 

Saturday afternoon my sister and I will be going to Karen’s Kitchen to listen to a variety of local musicians.  Following that there is a Valentine’s Day Dance at the American Legion which then starts at 7:00 which will benefit Heart to Heart which is a local charity sponsored by the Sheriff.  Today was a beautiful day even though it was only in the 30s.  On my way to City Hall, I fed the ducks and Canadian geese on Sand Creek and the squirrels in Athletic Park.  However, right now it is beyond chilly and it is expected to get down to 4 degrees tonight.  I worked 32.5 hours this week for a total of 148.25 thus far.