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In advance of her induction as the ICMA President later this month at the ICMA National Conference, and her participation as a speaker at the MMASC Annual Conference from October 28-30, I spoke with Pat Martel, the City Manager of Daly City. Over the course of nearly an hour, she discussed how she first got into the profession of local government management, what we can expect at the ICMA Conference, the importance of participating in professional development organizations, and ways that practitioners can support the advancement of diversity at the highest levels of the profession. 

What city do you work for, how long have you been there, and what’s your title?

I work for the City of Daly City. I've worked here for about 16 years, 6 of which were as an assistant and 10 as the City Manager. But not continuously. I had worked here for six years and then left for the City and County of San Francisco, and then when my former boss retired, Council asked me to come back as City Manager and so I did.

Well, I actually wasn’t interested in local government management when I went to college initially. I actually studied journalism and public affairs, so I actually wanted to be a political writer.

I had an opportunity to to go to Washington D.C. after I graduated and I worked as a staff assistant on Capitol Hill on the Rules Committee. And so I got exposed to politics in Washington at the very highest level and I got exposed to media in Washington at the very highest level. And while I worked on Capital Hill, I did a lot of interface with Federal agencies, doing constituent work for the member that I worked for along with doing staff work on the Rules Committee.

The Institute for Local Government offers a wealth of free resources to help local agencies engage their residents in the budgeting process.

There are many good reasons to include the public in discussion about local budgeting. Such involvement can:

Better inform residents about local agency budgets, including revenues, expenses and challenges.

Generate support for workable budget solutions in light of local priorities, needs and constraints.

Through transparent and inclusive processes, sustain and grow public trust and confidence in the budget decision-making process and decision-makers.

Resources include:

Publications, best practices and reports on how local agencies can engage residents to address local budgeting-related issues: http://www.ca-ilg.org/public-engagement-best-practices/engaging-public-budgeting.

Case stories highlighting specific approaches local agencies have used to successfully engage residents in the budget process: http://www.ca-ilg.org/public-engagement-case-stories/budgeting-california-stories.

Nuts and bolts information on where local agency resources come from and questions to ask in the budget process: http://www.ca-ilg.org/budgeting-finance . There is also a piece on ways to use one’s agency website to share financial information, along with other local agency information: http://www.ca-ilg.org/post/local-agency-website-transparency-opportunities

Want to stay up to date on the Institute’s public engagement offerings? Sign up for the Institute’s e-newsletter at http://www.ca-ilg.org/public-engagement-1.

Does your community have a budget-related public engagement story to share? Feel free to share with us at: http://www.ca-ilg.org/post/share-your-agencys-public-engagement-story

The Institute for Local Government values your feedback on resources and how we can best serve your needs. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please contact Katelyn Downey at kdowney@ca-ilg.org