GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government - Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL)

Latest Episodes:

#148 Gathering a Tribe of Civic Innovators in San Jose, CA and The Atlas Dec 08, 2017

Show notes

Improving collaboration and innovation in local government. Ellory Monks from The Atlas and Kip Harkness, the Deputy City Manager of San Jose, CA, join GovLove to talk about their work. The Atlas is a marketplace for local governments to work together and learn from each other on infrastructure projects. Kip leads the Office of Civic Innovation in San Jose. They discuss everything from juggling fire and celebrity look-a-likes to improving procurement and email management.

Topics Include: Lightning round (3:40), background from Ellory on The Atlas and how it was formed (12:25), what Kip learned working for PayPal (16:00), what Kip thinks innovation is (17:20), creating a place to fail forward (21:00), how Atlas and San Jose worked together (23:55), the office of innovation in San Jose (33:10), and what Kip and Ellory look for when they're hiring (43:20).

#147 Pay for Success Contracting with Brian Beachkofski, Third Sector Capital Partners Dec 01, 2017

Show notes

Paying for the service outcome rather than the cost of implementation. Brian Beachkofski from Third Sector Capital Partners joins GovLove to talk about a new contracting model called Pay for Success contracting. He shares examples of local governments using the model and how it can be more effective in delivering services to people.

Topics: Lightning round (1:10), introducing the Pay for Success concept (3:25), examples of organizations like Los Angeles County using this model (4:40), the role of Third Sector in the process & implementing it in an organization (7:45), using data to make decisions (14:25), getting organization buy-in (19:50), and working with different levels of government (28:50).

#146 Player-Coach Management with Jestin Johnson, Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Nov 24, 2017

Show notes

Managing in a consolidated city and county government. Jestin Johnson, the Assistant Manager of Athens-Clarke County, GA consolidated government, joins the podcast to talk about his career path and management philosophy. He shared his strong opinions on parking, being a player-coach type of manager and how important town-gown relations are in Athens.

Topics: Lightning round (0:30), Jestin's career background (4:45), what it's like working for a consolidated city-county government (10:50), skills it takes to manage very different job types (16:15), the Athens-Clarke County innovation ambassador program (18:55), working for a college town and town-gown relations (21:40), lessons from his career and Jestin's management style (24:10), and working in consulting (29:45).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#145 Trends in Human Resources with Heidi Voorhees, GovHR USA Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

Recruiting & retaining talent in local government. Heidi Voorhees, the President of GovHR USA, joined GovLove to talk about the work of finding and attracting talented local government employees. Heidi discussed her experience as a Management Fellow in Kansas City, MO with current fellows Javon & Alyssa. She also talked about the importance of LinkedIn and the drawback of residency requirements.

Topics: Lightning round (0:35), Heidi's experience as a Kansas City Management Fellow (3:30), what drew her to human resources (5:45), tech in human resources (7:00), recruiting & retaining the next generation (8:55), GovHR USA's work (10:55), the challenge of finding and attracting talent (14:50), and her LinkedIn tips (22:25).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#144 Behavioral Insights & Benchmarking in Scottsdale, AZ with Brent Stockwell Nov 17, 2017

Show notes

Brent Stockwell, Assistant City Manager of Scottsdale, AZ, joined GovLove to discuss his work on performance measurement, behavioral insights and his favorite color. Brent described how Scottsdale is taking a new approach to simplifying city reports. He also shared his thoughts on diversity in local government and how tourism has shaped Scottsdale.

Topics: Lightning round (1:20), using behavioral insights in Scottsdale (7:40), simplifying reports & communication (19:00), managing tourism (25:15), his work on benchmarking (29:55), his thoughts on diversity in local government (38:20), and how he got into local government (43:35).

This interview was recorded from the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#143 GovLaunch, Connecting Startups & Cities with Barry Greenfield Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

What startups and local government can do to work better together. Barry Greenfield the Co-Founder of GovLaunch, a platform for local governments to compare and review technology solutions. Barry discusses his career path, which includes a stint as an elected official, and what local governments and startups can learn from each other.

Topics: Lightning round (0:45), why Barry ran for local office (3:00), how local government can better engage (4:00), the mission of GovLaunch (7:00), what cities and startups can learn from each other (13:10), and how the procurement and RFP process can be improved (16:40).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#142 Serving with Your Whole Heart in Little Rock, Arkansas with Melissa Bridges & Susan Langley Nov 10, 2017

Show notes

Innovation, performance and public service in Little Rock. Two people from the City of Little Rock, AR join GovLove to talk about their work. Melissa Bridges, Performance & Innovation Coordinator, and Susan Langley, City Clerk, discuss the Commodores, their career paths and a cross-departmental quality of life group.

Topics: Lighting round (2:30), how children impacted their careers (7:45), challenges and innovations in Little Rock (10:20), communicating to the public (19:25), what they want to bring to Little Rock (23:00), thoughts on public service and balancing work and life (26:35).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#141 Leadership & ICMA with Peggy Merriss, City Manager, Decatur, GA Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

Get to know the City Manager of Decatur, Georgia. Peggy Merriss joins GovLove to discuss her career in local government, which includes 24 years as City Manager and stints in leadership positions with ICMA. She talked about the projects going on in Decatur, her experience as a woman in local government and more.

Topics: Lightning round (0:50), Peggy's career background (1:45), road diets (4:30), what keeps her in Decatur and how it's changed during her career (6:40), her time as ICMA's first female president (12:30), the importance of local government (18:05), top speakers at ICMA (21:00), and advice to someone starting their career in local government (25:00).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

#140 Managing Crisis in Gatlinburg, TN with City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle Nov 03, 2017

Show notes

Forest fire and emergency response. Cindy Cameron Ogle the City Manager of Gatlinburg, Tennessee joins GovLove to discuss what it was like to manage the city through a forest fire that destroyed 2500 buildings last year. She shared her experience dealing with the crisis and how both her home and the Mayor's home were lost in the fire. Cindy also discussed her leadership style and her path to becoming a City Manager.

Topics: Lighting round (1:10), Cindy's path into local government and becoming a City Manager (3:30), the experience of the 2016 wildfires in Gatlinburg (8:15), losing her home in the fire and supporting employees (17:50), and rebuilding after the fire (27:40).

This interview was recorded at the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

#139 Lean Six Sigma & Roundabouts with Jennifer Teal, City Administrator, Gahanna, OH Oct 31, 2017

Show notes

Leading Gahanna, Ohio and improving processes. City Administrator Jennifer Teal joins GovLove to discuss how she's used her black belt in Lean Six Sigma to improve operations and the unique way they taught residents to use roundabouts. Jennifer also shared her experience as a female City Administrator and how she balances her work and life.

Topics: Lightning round (1:30) including her celebrity look alike and top four mentors and concerts attended. Jennifer's career path and her experience being a woman in local government leadership (5:05), what she looks for when hiring (7:40), the issues she deals with in her job (8:45) like infrastructure, growth and personnel issues. Her work using Lean Six Sigma principles and changing culture to challenge the way things have been done (14:20). Teaching residents about roundabouts (25:25). Her thoughts on diversity in local government and supporting families in the workplace (29:35).

This interview was recorded from the 2017 ICMA Conference in San Antonio, TX.

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