PCC Local Time

This is the second episode in a series about relationships that can lead to partnerships between academia, local governments and the communities they serve. Sandra Zadell is manager of Upper Gwynedd Township in Montgomery County Pennsylvania and Dr. Adam Kuczynski is Chair of the MPA program at Villanova University. In this episode we workshop ideas. We talk about what holds us back and what prope...

How would you describe the relationship between academia and practitioners, in the field of public administration and non-profits? My guests today take a deep dive into this conversation. Dr. John Diamond, Dr. Sarah L. Young and Dr. Thomas Bryer are actively engaged with this question. We begin and end with the idea that relationships between these sectors hold great potential. We explore examples...

Today Eric Norenberg takes us inside the world of regional government. Eric is the Executive Director of the Centre Region Council of Governments in Pennsylvania. Whether or not you have contemplated regional models of governance, this episode will open your mind to an alternative way of delivering local government services. We are talking this month about regional partnership and why or when they...

Ralph Hutchison, or as he is known around these parts, “Hutch”, is manager of East Lampeter Township in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Today we take an inside peek of what it looks like to manage a municipality that is situated in the heart of Lancaster County. As Ralph says, “there are two things people don’t like. The way things are and change.” He shares with us his philosophy and approach to m...

Today my guests are two distinguished municipal managers from Pennsylvania, Jerry Andre the former manager and Dan Santoro, the current manager, of Cranberry Township in Butler County Pennsylvania We are going to talk about regional partnerships. Why are they important and what are the skills you need to be successful in this arena? We are going to drill down in the area of relationship building a...

Today an episode about the ways municipal managers think about their work and the challenges that they learn to embrace. Tom Vernau has been managing Lower Allen Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania since 2005. Like all the best managers, Tom makes those around him look good while staying under the radar. Today we shape the conversation around how he thinks about challenges confronting loca...

Several years ago I met Ben Kafferlin at a County Commissioners conference in Pennsylvania. At the time, he was new to office and not surprisingly, he had some ideas about how to improve the organization structure. He invited me up to Warren County in northwest PA to interview a few key staff and share my thoughts with the Board. I wanted to find out how this visionary was doing and so we met over...

Today on the podcast I have five articulate women guests. Together, they represent different generations and different experiences of work. They share how early life experiences have formed their ideas of leadership. They talk about the importance of support in their environment and in particular, what it means to have other women and men pave the road ahead. We close the show with thoughts about...

My guest Seth Higgins, is the former Chief Clerk in Elk County Pennsylvania. He now provides consulting services to help local governments navigate the maze of state and local fiscal recovery funds. In this episode, we return to his early interest in process improvement and talk about what grounds his thinking. He illustrates how it looks when applied to parking, zoning, pension management, union...

Professional municipal managers think about ethics and in particular the ICMA Code of Ethics which guide their profession. Although the term “neutrality” is never mentioned in the tenets, it is a foundational idea, or shall we say, ideal, in the management of local governments. Today our guests, Matt Candland and Dave Pribulka, two professional managers, juxatapose their perspectives to give us a...

This is a special PCC Local Time podcast episode hosted by some of the members of the Pioneering Change Advisory Team. For many years I have heard anecdotal comments from managers that go something like, “I would not mind a contract like Ron Wagenmann’s!” Or, Everything I know about negotiating a manager contract I learned from Ron Wagenmann.” So, it seemed like a natural choice to feature Ron on...

Pragmatism and process can lead to innovation in local government if we know how to listen and engage to bring issues forward. When I asked Ernie McNeely to interview with me, I told him I was curious about what is it like to manage a Township rich with history, academic institutions, and religious diversity. I was also curious about the fact that Lower Merion Township shares a border with Philade...

Community conversations happen all the time in various venues, but local government managers cannot take them for granted. When community engagement is waning, it is important to think about ways to bring people together. Tom Fountaine, municipal manager in State College, Pennsylvania, knows something about the challenges of community engagement. We discovered we share an appreciation for Peter Bl...

SHOW NOTES ..What if a guy who has a vision for his community, hears about another guy who sounds just like him, and what if those two run into each one day in a barbershop...and what if, they happen to be from two different political parties, but decide to run together? This PCC Local Time podcast episode include those two guys, Dan Dunigan, and Matt West. They ran for elected office in Lansdale...

If you are mystified by the process of obtaining grants for your local government, this episode is for you. This is a masterclass that will help you with your short and long game. Our guests today include Dr. Beverly Cigler , Professor Emerita at Penn State University in Public Policy and Administration begins our discussion with highlights from a recent study on management priorities in local gov...

Matt Candland is the manager at Upper Moreland Township in Montgomery County Pennsylvania. In this episode he has a few things to say about collective bargaining laws for police and fire in Pennsylvania. He has a depth of understanding and skill for examining issues from multiple angles that not only makes him valuable in his profession but also makes him a great conversationalist. In this intervi...

All you have to do to get into a great conversation with Mark Stivers is ask him about the jobs he has held in his life. From Park Ranger to Addiction Counselor to Planner to Professional Manager, he has seen and experienced the world and brings his unique perspectives to his work.   “You leave a place better than you found it.  You don’t burn bridges, you build relationships. You build...

In this interview, Ken Battin allows me to tap into my curiosity about how emergency services intersect with municipal services and what role municipal managers play in supporting public safety. He emphasizes the importance of not relying on any one model but finding a model that works for your municipality. He shares an engaging approach that helps achieve this in his own. Ken was the Director of...

Keith Hite spent a good part of his career at the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) and when we met in the late 90's he had taken the helm as Executive Director. In this interview we talk about some of the challenges he faced during his leadership, not only with helping the organization re-imagine its future but also with helping highly tenured staff make the shift to...

Dan Zimmerman is a quintessential under-the-radar, always-assessing-potential kind of municipal manager. His career demonstrates the value of commitment to the long game and the outsized results that can come from investment in regionalization. He recently retired as manager of Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His work speaks for itself. Over his career he has sheparded the creati...

[Early Interview Series] Joe Mench was the first member interview I did when I created the Pioneering Change Community. There was a reason for that. The projects we worked on together represent a critical intersection of customer service, work culture and technology. Joe was the key internal partner to work with me on improving customer service work processes, and integrating them with technology...

How does an Assistant Manager make a case to buy an empty department story in a declining retail area, raze it to the ground and find a buyer? How does that buyer become a Trader Joe's? It takes a team with vision, willingness to step up to the plate, and steady nerves. Erin Trone came to the world of local government to make a difference and she stayed the course long enough to do just that. She...

Today we talk with Bradley Gotshall about why he is invested in the profession of municipal management and what makes him excited about the future. Hint: he sees the possibilities for technology to increase effectiveness in delivery of services, outreach to community and efficiency within the organization. With so few young professionals in the pipeline, he is one of a small sub-set of managers wh...

Marita Kelley recently retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development where she most recently served as regional director and deputy executive director at the Governor's Center for Local Government Services. She has a distinguished career as a leader in public service with a focus, but the most important thing to know about her is her genuine love of community and a...

Ed Knittel has been thinking about education and local government for decades and he shares his insights on the future of education and how we might apply new ideas about education to the challenges we are facing in local government. Engagement is a constant theme in our conversation. This conversation is particularly well-suited for young professionals who are thinking about a career in municipal...