The 'Do Nothing' City Council - Why?

Last month I pointed out that the recently elected Council had initiated no new projects in the first two months since they took office, while in the same time period in 2018 the Council (when I was Mayor) initiated nearly two dozen new projects (Click Here). The projects we initiated in 2018 included improving the way government works (e.g., written reports on committee activity, invigorated strategic planning), better communication (e.g., FB-Live, HOA Council, Mayor's Minute), public safety (e.g., new seminar on child exploitation, updating active shooter protocols), and quality of life (e.g., search for a local animal shelter, advisory committees). Almost all of these initiatives turned out to be productive and successful.

Earlier this week (Click Here), going into the third month, the new Council remained in their “Do NOTHING” mode. They did not initiate a single new project on the February 5 agenda, starting their third month in office.

In an era when changes come rapidly and profoundly, government agencies need to be nimble. Changes in retail, problems like homelessness, and state legislative efforts (among many other factors) necessitate that our quality of life can only be maintained when government stays abreast of these developments and acts early. In the 21st Century initiative is not merely desirable, it is necessary. Having a “Do Nothing” Council is a liability.

Even more revealing, I explored the city’s outreach efforts (e.g., city events, seminars, workshops, etc.) and found that in the prior year we had more than twice as many outreach efforts in the first two months.

It’s clear that the new Council is a “Do Nothing” Council and it’s worth taking a few moments to reflect on why this is and what the likely implications are. Today we’ll look at the causes.

The causes of the “Do Nothing” Council can be found in personal and institutional factors, as well as the City's history.

INSTITUTIONAL

The City Council is elected by the people ever two years, but the day-to-day operations of the City rest with the City Manager and the staff. According to the ICMA -

“The council–manager form is much like a publicly traded corporation. Under the form, an elected governing body, usually called a council…is responsible for legislative functions such as establishing policy, passing local ordinances, voting appropriations, and developing an overall vision… The legislative body appoints a professional manager to oversee the administrative operations, implement its policies, and advise it.”

This institutional system permits Council members to get involved, but it doesn’t encourage it.

HISTORICAL

From an historical perspective, Lake Forest City Councils have been “do nothing” Councils. They took their direction from the City Manager and there isn’t a single issue or project that didn’t originate in the mind of the City manager, a man who didn’t even live close to Lake Forest and whom, upon retirement, has rarely been back.

From an historical perspective, City Council members spent little time in the City. They became active on County and state Committees or with right-wing Political groups or at developer sponsored events. Most of them rarely turned up at city events, even at ribbon cuttings welcoming new businesses.

Almost all of the money that went into electing these Council members came from special interest groups, the majority of whom were developers or associated building industry companies. Because the amount of money you spent to be elected was almost always a perfect prediction of how many votes you got, City Council members had no need to get involved in the life of the City even while they were sure to show up at political and developer parties.

To be fair, some of these people never thought that there was any other way to conduct themselves. One of them, in a rare candid moment, told me, “That’s how we do it and if you’d just shut your mouth they’ll do it for you too.” (As you know, I didn’t take her advice.)

PERSONAL

The simple truth is that managing a $100,000,000 annual budget is a complicated enterprise and most of the people on a City Council are certainly not the kinds of people you would think are capable of doing this. For example the current City Council consists of a person who didn’t graduate high school, two utility company workers, and a person who got his job by marrying the boss’ daughter. Not the kinds of people who come to mind when selecting people capable of initiating new projects. People like this are comfortable sitting back and letting someone else lead – not merely “comfortable” but probably unable to function without someone else in charge. In the past decade there have been very few people with the leadership capabilities needed in the contemporary environment.

Apart from the personal/intellectual qualities necessary for leadership, almost all of the people elected to the City Council owed their election to special interests. To keep the money flowing, their decisions are pre-determined. A few years ago, when Mark Tettemer was last on the Council, I did a study of 122 decisions by the City Council that could be traced to special interest money – 121 of the 122 went with the money. Since Robinson and Voigts joined, 100% of their decisions have been in favor of the people or companies who gave them money.

SUMMARY

Lake Forest has a “Do Nothing” Council – members take their direction from the City Manager or special interests, and are less engaged in the life of the city. This article explored some of the reasons why this pattern exists. Next time I’ll explore what the results of a “do nothing” attitude have on the City.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner was on the Lake Forest City Council from 2014 to 2018 and Mayor in 2018. Under his leadership the City became the first debt free city in the U.S. with a population over 25,000 people and the first city to live broadcast City Council meetings that allowed residents to participate online (Click Here). Dr. Gardner is one of the organizing members of Lake Forest Community Action Network. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook