When I started my local government career 30 years ago as a junior recreation leader, I knew what my job was. It was a simple, straightforward job of delivering services to the community. If the job changed, an orderly process for implementing that change was explained, and the adjustment was made. Now that I am a city manager, however, I am confused-not only about the nature of my job but about the very business of local government. The confusion stems from the incredibly different realities now facing cities and counties as we approach the third millennium.
Problems facing local government are complex and difficult to solve.
For example, no one can cite the one definite cause of community violence, or for that matter of poverty, neighborhood deterioration, or why johnny cannot read. These types of contemporary problems are qualitatively more complex than the engineering issues once facing cities and suburbs as they grew up in decades past. No one agency, including government, can solve the problems. No one agency can deal with family dysfunction or the loss of jobs. Every, worthwhile effort requires collaboration and partnering among organizations, thus deepening the complexity.