What will Eugene’s new city manager do his first day or week on the job? He has 1500+ employees for the city of Eugene to address first. The last two city managers who came from the outside (Dennis Taylor and Vicky Elmer) did not succeed in inspiring confidence immediately. Then there is the city council, knowing that three members were not willing to count the votes and make it a unanimous vote to hire him. And then there are the citizens of Eugene, who don’t understand how somebody with real power doesn’t get voted on. And finally, the citizens and staff and councilors for all the other cities in Lane County, who will be wondering what sort of neighbor Eugene might become in the decade ahead. It’s a big job, with lots of different people to please. Where will Mr. Ruiz begin? My own suggestion: cancel all magazine and professional journal subscriptions paid for by the city. If anybody wants to stay up on what’s the cutting edge for street maintenance or zoning regulations or 911 operators, city employees can pay for these subscriptions from their own pockets. It’s a symbolic move aimed not so much at saving money as saving staff time, which can be better spent listening to what the public wants done.
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