|
|
|
Q and A with Mayor Robert Reichert |
 |
 |
 |
|
Written by By Jami Gaudet
|
|
Thursday, March 25 2010 09:52 |
 He swept into office with an unprecedented mandate, carrying all of Macon’s 41 voting precincts. With more initial good will than any mayor in recent memory, Robert Reichert touched the community with an emotional inaugural speech, pledging to champion city unity and create transparent, efficient government.
After eight tumultuous years under C. Jack Ellis, locals longed for peace and stability at City Hall. Reichert, native son and Southern gentleman, was happy to oblige. He plunged into city business, intent on restoring Macon’s good name and getting its fiscal house in order.
Easier said than done. The economy tanked not long after Reichert took office further complicating the city’s bleak finances. Relations with City Council have proven thorny, with frequent challenges to the mayor’s authority sparked by matters ranging from spending to personnel.
Reichert has made key hires to eliminate wasteful practices and shape up or ship out employees not fulfilling their job descriptions. Layoffs to “right-size” city government triggered a firestorm, but undaunted, Reichert presses on to balance the budget.
Two years into his four-year term, the mayor spoke with the Eleventh Hour about the array of daunting challenges he faces at the halfway point in his tenure.
Jami Gaudet: Talk about the challenges of running the City of Macon from operational and leadership standpoints.
Mayor Robert Reichert: From an operational standpoint, I have very capable assistance through my Chief Accounting Officer (CAO) Thomas Thomas who does an excellent job of running the city day-to-day. He’s trying desperately to re-establish work ethic responsibilities and accountability.
Upon his arrival he was horrified that department heads and other employees hadn’t had an annual review in eight to ten years. He’s re-establishing clear goals, objectives, and responsibilities for department heads, who will create them for supervisors, who in turn will create them for every employee, so everyone knows what’s expected.
Thomas is also trying to rightsize the city work force – to figure out which areas need to be beefed up and which need to be reduced, which functions need to be added and which need to be eliminated.
JG: Hasn’t that long been an accusation, that Macon city government is too big and top heavy – particularly in light of the diminishing population?
RR: That has been a criticism, but I don’t know if it’s true. We’re trying to find out. We’re also at a place where lots of folks are retiring. It’s not due to me or to Thomas Thomas, it’s timing. People with 33 or more years of service are topping out and drawing their city retirement. Thomas has made it clear that these upper level positions will not automatically be filled. The rightsizing process will be an ongoing effort, but using attrition whenever possible.
JG: Were you shocked by the furor that your rightsizing effort has elicited?
RR: It’s never easy, but we had to do it because of the economic recession. There was a steep decline in our sales tax revenues. We were receiving $150,00-$250,000 less this year than last year. That blows a bad hole in the revenue side of the budget and must be made up on the expense side.
Nearly 70% of our budget is personnel costs. And out of the balance – around 30% are fixed costs, like electricity and fuel that we can’t do much about.
We’re trying to get the budget and financial accounting under control. Initially we tried to furlough employees but City Council was opposed. We knew that we needed to take action. We went through the painful process freezing 36 positions, eliminating 31 positions, and taking three or four people down to part-time. That saves about one-and-a-half million dollars per year.
 JG: Was it difficult when Finance Director Adah Roberts retired?
RR: I hated to see Adah leave. She took a lot of institutional knowledge and experience with her. Her replacement, Tom Barber, is an accomplished and experienced municipal finance officer who has difficulties transitioning things.
In our external audit we found that for the past several years we have been in violation of state law by not following the uniform chart of accounts. It’s a state law that every municipality be standardized.
It’s a monumental task, because we’ve had a multitude of finance directors in a fairly abbreviated time, and each one tinkered with the system. We’ve literally been putting band-aids around it. It’s my understanding that there were approximately 1,100 different accounts or individual line items, as opposed to one under the uniform chart and the right software manage it.
JG: How close is Tom Barber to instituting the uniform chart of accounts?
RR: About 25 - 30%.
JG: So probably not this year – but maybe in the next year or so?
RR: Correct.
JG: Is the city fined for lack of compliance?
RR: No, at least not year-to-year. But it’s a finding that costs us in other ways. Our bond rating may suffer. So, if we were to float G.O. (General Obligation) bonds, our bond rating would be adversely impacted.
JG: Mindful of the complexities of running the city on a daily basis, CAO Thomas has been criticized for his prickly personality, even by some of your stalwart friends on City Council. What conversations do you have with him about softening his image?
RR: I want to give full consideration to what Council says – investigate it, and do due diligence. I’ve done that and I don’t think that Thomas is setting people up for failure. We need to be aware of whether or not the allegations are true – or if this has been happening for decades – meaning, if the administration “gets too hot on me,” I’m going to seek political cover with City Council and cry that I’m being treated unfairly. We’re trying to balance the two.
After talking with the department heads that quit, and attending meetings with them and with Thomas when he’s establishing goals and objectives, and following up – I’m convinced he’s not being unfair. Does he demand accountability? Yes. And some don’t want to put up with it – especially if they’re eligible to retire.
I don’t think he’s being unreasonable or is trying to bully employees or department heads into compliance. He is a no-nonsense and impersonal CAO. He’ll talk to city employees on the phone, but documents everything with emails.
JG: Have employees who perform well had difficulties with him?
RR: Yes, some people are chagrined at the impersonal nature of the communications and emails. But technology is changing the way we do business. Email is more efficient – but distant and impersonal. Thomas hasn’t made it any easier on himself. He knew his job would be tough, so he doesn’t fraternize with department heads because he knows he might have to discipline them. He doesn’t attend holiday parties. Those are tough personal policies, but I respect him and his policies. We didn’t hire him to fraternize.
JG: Is he meeting your expectations?
RR: He is.
JG: Back to the second part of my original question – tell me about running the city from a leadership perspective.
RR: From a leadership perspective it’s been frustrating because I haven’t been able to get people to catch the vision I tried to articulate in my inaugural address of coming together and working together for common good. Although we are making progress, it’s not enough to satisfy me. I want more. I want it to happen faster. I want the community “buy in.”
JG: What tangible progress do you think you’ve made?
RR: The chairman of the county commission and the mayor of Macon are working closer together than they have in a long time.
JG: How so?
RR: It’s a measure of the personalities, and what we both perceive to be the instructions of the people who elected us. After his election, Chairman (Sam) Hart held a retreat at Lake Blackshear and came away with a new motto, “Think community.” Don’t think city. Don’t think county. That’s remarkable progress, don’t you think?
JG: Maybe. You two seem to have a good relationship, but what do you have to show for it?
RR: The beginnings or foundation upon which we can build a solid, workable relationship. The possibility of bringing the city and county together into a consolidated government is being actively discussed and debated.
JG: Do you think Allen Peake’s musings about North Macon becoming its own city scared folks reticent about consolidation, waking them up to the fact that the tax base could pull out? Couple that with the people frustrated by decades of inaction on consolidation who began to think – if we can’t get consolidation, maybe North Macon as a stand alone city is another path to progress. Is there some truth to that?
RR: Sure. But when Allen said that, some people said – that’s the last thing we need to further fragment us. It has motivated some people to consider more seriously the best course of consolidated government. We’ve got a unique opportunity now. Not one elected official is opposed to consolidation. The only thing they’re talking about is when.
JG: But, some leaders who aren’t opposing it want it to happen ten years from now. Is ten years code for “never?”
RR: No, I take them at their word that they don’t want us to stumble. Are they trying to stall and kill it through inaction? I don’t think so; I hope not. The important thing is, not one official is openly campaigning against it. That’s huge. But regardless of consolidation, we need to revitalize downtown and intown neighborhoods.
The key to our identity is people. It isn’t with strip centers, food chains or big box stores. The history and unique identity of this community, and our downtown, hold the key to our future. If this downtown goes down, everything around it goes with it.
Consolidation is not a silver bullet for our problems. It will do some things, like eliminate some departmental confusion and slow the growth of government.
That goes back to my inaugural speech and a line borrowed from Ron Kirk, the African American Mayor of Dallas, Texas who said, “You can take no pleasure in the fact that it’s my end of the boat that has the hole in it.”
JG: Many people believe the Parks and Recreation Department has been stagnant for years. Director Mike Anthony is retiring. What have you told your new hire about your expectations?
RR: Dale Dockery comes to Macon at the end of March. He is a young, energetic, vibrant, experienced, educated resource who will take our Parks and Recreation Department to a new level. Up front, we mentioned consolidation to him. He was excited about expanding recreation countywide – and even becoming a county department.
Right now, the only county recreation is provided by the city. People don’t appreciate or understand how many benefits the city carries single-handedly – and county residents use for free. Then, they have the audacity to express disdain for city residents and say they’re being called on to bail out the city. That really chaps me bad.
Every recreation department in the county is provided by the city. You may pay an entry fee for your child to play ball – but the city mows and maintains the fields for football, church league softball etc. No county taxes support it. The city also pays for the Coliseum and maintains the City Auditorium.
JG: It sounds like your people need to do a better job of getting that message out.
RR: Really.
JG: What’s the situation with property taxes?
RR: We have advertised a proposed millage rate – the same rate we’ve been using. We didn’t agree to automatically roll back the millage rate to “revenue neutral,” which means a reduced rate to account for a larger or higher valuation of your property. So if the value of your property is increased, the millage rate needs to be decreased or rolled back in order for your taxes to stay the same.
What most people don’t understand is, the rate you ultimately adopt can be lower, but not higher than the advertised rate. If you try to adopt a higher rate, you have to re-advertise.
So we suggested to City Council – and I take the blame or credit, that we advertise the same millage rate of 10.16 that we have now. We know we’re not going to go above that, and are being called on to reduce it. So let’s advertise the 10.16 mills. We can always reduce it after the public hearings.
JG: So that taxpayers are assured that it won’t be higher?
RR: They know it can’t exceed that figure. Of course everyone is saying, “You haven’t rolled it back at all.” That’s what public hearings and public input is all about. I’m confident City Council will give consideration to the points that are being raised.
JG: Let’s talk about your relationship with City Council.
RR: Unfortunately, I have alienated several of them, and I’m afraid that some have let it become personal. It’s not – you think X and I think Y – and I still like you. It’s – I despise you for taking a position that’s different from mine.
When some members of council characterize me as a liar and suggest, “there’s no limit to the amount of wickedness that I can do,” that connotes a lack of respect that’s counter productive. The fact that I don’t have the authority to move up to $5,000 shows a serious distrust that’s counter productive.
“I’ve been accused of taking care of my friends, not the City of Macon, which shows a serious lack of confidence that’s counter productive to the process of government. I’m interested in demonstrating to council willingness and desire for regular sessions to iron things out.
I have an open door policy. I’m always receptive if they want to come and see me. And also, I’m going to take the initiative to attend their regular work sessions, on their turf, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
After studying the city’s charter, I’m convinced that we have a strong mayor/weak council. During the previous administration, council members wanted to take away the mayor’s authority and control. Perhaps it was justified at the time. But they refuse to give up that control, which makes an almost un-winnable situation.
Macon’s government can’t be both – a strong mayor and a strong council. A lot of what I’m feeling is a direct result of the 31 people who were laid off recently. Some council members didn’t think I had that authority. I also think the layoff decision was heightened because of the EMA Director situation. Council judged me unfairly over my original choice.
JG: Some felt boxed out of the (original) process to replace Johnny Wingers as Emergency Management Director with Michael Smith.
RR: In the city charter, the mayor nominates and council confirms. It doesn’t substitute a person of its choosing. I sincerely think that council misunderstood its role. But, we need to be conciliatory, not inflammatory.
JG: Clearly, race relations is a centerpiece of your work. You campaigned on it, addressed it head-on in your inaugural address, and are committed to unifying the city. What’s the origin of your deep interest in bridging Macon’s racial divide?
RR: I’ve lost so much time...There’s been so much missed opportunity...
When I was growing up in Macon, I didn’t know any African Americans, except our housekeeper and her family. Even at the University of Georgia, my world was white. It wasn’t until I went into the Army and served both stateside and in Viet Nam that my eyes were opened to race.
In the Army everything was arranged alphabetically. It happened that my bunkmate was African American, so we did everything together. One day I came into the barracks and he was crying because he was homesick. I got to know him that day and afterward...
I’ve had a couple of epiphanies in my life. When I campaigned for City Council in 1987 I got to know African Americans in the community. As a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, I watched then Governor Zell Miller attempt to change the Georgia flag. I saw the fragile line – a beautiful capitol building transformed overnight from an open seat of government with flowerbeds, to a place under siege by the people, with police in riot gear, black helmets and billy clubs.
Several years ago, when my daughter was a student at Central High School, I remember attending a football game. Everyone – black and white was screaming and hollering – not at one another, but for the team. We wanted the same thing, for the team to win.
More recently, a black friend asked me if I had ever read Martin Luther King’s, “Letters From a Birmingham Jail.” I hadn’t, so he gave me a copy. I read it and haven’t been the same since. It’s been a real journey, but it kills me how much time we’ve lost.
JG: Macon has so many attributes – yet our history suggests continual controversy and a community incapable of leaping into the future. Got any theories?
RR: We have so many different players – not to mention the city of Macon, Bibb County and Payne City. Perhaps our problem is too many boards, authorities, commissions and sub-groups.
Someone told me that we have 27 groups – everything from the Hospital Authority to the Urban Development Authority, the Water Authority, Macon Economic Development Commission, the Industrial Authority, Housing Authority, and the Land Bank Authority. We’re too fragmented.
The plethora of opportunities also results in less qualified, less enthusiastic candidates – and in some cases, no opposition. We have five members of the County Commission, eight members of the Board of Education, six or seven on the Macon Water Authority. And then there are the un-elected public boards. In the last election, in some City Council races, seats were vacant and newcomers ran unopposed.
I perceive that some groups are out of step with the community and are less inclined to be inclusive. Although we have the same goals, there’s a lack of agreement on how to achieve them.
It’s also less attractive to run for public office at every level. Beyond the difficulty of the work, public disclosure of finances is required – plus, there’s the ridicule, scrutiny, acrimony, and distrust of government.
Overall, I’m proud of my generation. The gate has swung 180. We’ve gone from segregation to integration. From short hair and Butch’s Hair Wax to dyed hair – women’s lib and battles with birth control. After Viet Nam and Watergate we learned to distrust government. That’s the seed we’ve sown, that government can’t be trusted.
JG: After a couple quiet years, your predecessor has resurfaced, musing aloud about regaining his old job. What’s your take on Jack Ellis as a potential democratic primary rival in 2011?
RR: I was interested to hear that he’s thinking about running, and to see the polar extremes of community reaction. Some people think it’s the worst thing that could happen. Others think it’s great. It’s always bad to empower the extremes. He did some good things in office, but left the city more divided.
 |
|
|
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
