Daily updates for Provo City employees from CAO Wayne Parker.
Monday, October 18, 2021
October 18 2021 Update
I hope you had a great weekend. It was nice to have some time to get some work done in our garden getting ready for winter, and in the process planting some garlic for harvest next summer. It is kind of fun knowing that the garden is doing something productive over the winter!
I also wanted to mention that Fire Chief Jim Miguel is celebrating his five year anniversary with the City. Jim and I have become good friends over that five year period, and I appreciate his leadership in the department and his collaborative work with the rest of the Administration. Congrats, Chief!
I'm not going to talk about the BYU game - still too frustrated. But I did want to mention the amazing welcome that Baylor and the City of Waco gave to BYU as a new member of the Big 12 conference. They even had President Worthen and Athletic Director Tom Holmoe ride in the Baylor homecoming parade. It makes me even more excited for BYU to be a part of the Big 12 culture of excellence.
One of the ideas that came through the earlier survey was the desire to
make the update more interactive. So, today we are asking you to check out this section (on the
right -->) where we will include polls and questions for you, as well as a form where you can
highlight a coworker or tell us about what you do for the city! This can range from new babies or
weddings to just wanting to give a shout-out to a fellow employee. Fill out the questions on the left,
then upload pictures for us to share using the link below! We will post your responses in upcoming
editions of the update.
The Red Cross said it continues to experience an emergency blood and platelet shortage that recently led the supply to drop to "the lowest post-summer level in at least six years." The organization is offering a free Zaxby's sandwich or a $5 electronic gift card "to a merchant of their choice" to those who donate in October.
The Bureau of Land Management West Desert District is getting an exponential increase in permit requests, especially at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Because of that rise, some racers are finding they could have to wait up to six months get get a permit.
PROVO SOCIAL MEDIA
HOT-BUTTON ITEMS IN PROVO
Let’s talk today about one of the interesting features of our form of government - the role of the executive and legislative branches in the hiring of key leadership roles in the city organization.
The Mayor leads the executive branch of city government in Provo (and other cities with our form of government), and the Council represents the legislative branch. Each branch has its own unique powers and duties under our form of government, which creates this uniquely American brand of “checks and balances.” For example, the legislative branch approves budgets and appropriations, while the executive branch has the responsibility to manage the use of funds within those budgets. The legislative branch approves policy (through resolutions and ordinances) and the executive branch “executes” those policies.
State law and city ordinance govern how the Mayor appoints key positions in the City, and for some of those key positions, law requires that the Council gives its “advice and consent” before mayoral appointments are approved. Most of our board and commission appointments and all department directors are subject to this “advice and consent” process. Additionally, there are also some “statutory positions” which are not department directors but are key positions identified in state law that also require Council approval. In Provo, these include the city engineer, the city recorder, and the city treasurer (finance division director).
Recently, when the Mayor appointed Amanda Ercanbrack to fill the position as customer service director, Amanda’s appointment was submitted to the Council for their advice and consent because Amanda was appointed to department director position. We also have three other “advice and consent” positions that are currently vacant - police chief, city engineer, and city recorder - that will need to go through that process as new appointments are made.
During my time here, this process has always been one where both legislative and executive branches have worked within their respective roles to fill these kinds of positions with able and professional people. It is certainly one area where the two branches can be at odds, but we have found ways to work together to get really good outcomes.
FUN STUFF
In honor of the release of the latest James Bond movie (and Daniel Craig's last one) No Time to Die, I thought you might enjoy this little Studio C parody of a high stakes poker game between Bond and his nemesis.
I hope you enjoy your day today. Thanks for all you to do make our city great!
Wayne
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