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I
CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
ORIGINAL
TO:
Mayor and ~,~on Council
Fred WiISO~ Manager
Guidelines for Communication with City Manager and Staff
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
March 28, 2006
COPIES:
City Attorney; City Clerk; City Treasurer
Attached is the final version of the communication guidelines that were discussed at the March
20 dinner workshop. These guidelines are meant to generally summarize how elected officials
and staff should communicate in light of the new City Charter.
I believe these guidelines will help us continue to foster positive working relationships among
elected officials, the City Manager, and City staff. By working well as a team, we will be able to
more effectively serve our community.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
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Guidelines for Communication
with City Manager and Staff
The purpose of these guidelines is to help foster productive communication among elected
officials, the City Manager, and City staff. These are meant to summarize the more specific
directives that are found in the City Charter and Municipal Code.
I. General. Elected officials are welcome to have contact with any city employee, but requests
for information and/or assistance should be made in accordance with these guidelines. To
the extent practical, communications with City staff other than the City Manager should be
limited to normal City business hours unless the circumstances warrant otherwise.
2. Routine requests for information and inquiries. Elected officials should contact all staff
directly for information made readily available to the general public on a regular basis by
City staff. The City Manager does not need to be advised of such contacts.
3. Routine requests for customer service. Elected officials and/or their staff should contact
Department Heads directly regarding routine citizen complaints (e.g., potholes, street lights
out, code enforcement complaints). The City Manager does not need to be advised of such
contacts.
4. Non-routine requests. Elected officials and/or their staffs should contact the City Manager's
Office with non-routine requests. Non-routine requests or inquiries may be those that:
· Require staff to compile information that is not readily available
· Require staff to render an opinion regarding a policy issue
· Require an allocation of significant resources (staff time, equipment, or supplies) to address
the request
· Request meetings with staff and a development applicant to discuss an applicant's project
· Request a meeting with any City employee
If a Department Head receives a request and believes it to be of a non-routine nature, he/she
will advise the requestor and refer the request to the City Manager's Office for appropriate
follow-up. When in doubt about what staff contact is appropriate, elected officials should
feel free to contact the City Manager's Office.
5. Other issues.
· It is the role of elected officials to pass on concerns and complaints on behalf of their
constituents. It is not, however, appropriate for an individual elected official to pressure staff
to solve a problem in a particular way.
· Concerns about specific City employees should be discussed only with the City Manager.
· In accordance with the City Charter, elected officials and/or their staff may not provide
direction to Department Heads or their employees. Staff is obligated to take guidance and
direction only from his/her supervisor, Department Director, and ultimately the City
Manager.
March 2006
City Manager's Office