Outgoing city manager gives farewell address to business group
August 19th, 2008 - 6:29am
(Port Angeles) -- Outgoing Port Angeles city manager Mark Madsen gave his farewell address to the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Monday. His message: Think and plan
ahead, work together, put aside differences, and make your community as good as it can be.
"Each of you gathered here today, you deserve the recogination. That's what I want to talk about today. Elected
people set the policy and hire people to administer and manage the day-to-day affairs of government," said Madsen.
Madsen said there are leadership abilities desirable in a viable government.
"There are neccessary and sufficient leadership characteristics that we
need to find in people that will serve us both in elected positions and
in our willingness to step up and provide leadership and be champions in
our community. They have to be willing to accept and embrace a diversity
of opions and visions but without engaging and creating controversy," said Madsen.
Madsen said such people must have the ability to network with others, and and work with people who have ideas, or experience in the past that would lend itself to today's community problems. He said in today's economy, the costs of running a city are rapidly growing faster than a city's ability to meet those costs, and that 70 percent of Port Angeles' budget goes for personnel.
Those costs go up each year, but with the State's lid on property tax increases holding at one percent, the numbers don't add up for the city.
Madsen's last day on the job will be August 30th. He resigned his position citing problems with individual city council member actions that have led to a hostile work environment at city hall. He says repeated attempts to help correct the problems have failed.
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