I got a job - last post

So this is my last required post and I thought it would be a good time to share my good news (good news not related to a baby that is). I've got a job with Navajo County. It's a rural county in northern Arizona, and I'm really excited to get started there. We will be moving up there at the end of the month so I can start the first week of June. It will be an adjustment in lifestyle, since I currently live in one of the busiest areas of the Phoenix metro area.

I've been lucky to interact with the county manager several times and in several situations and I think he'll be a great guy to work with. The county seems to be the kind of place where I'll really be able to contribute in a big way, so that is definitely something that appeals to me. The county also seems like it will be a good place to learn a lot, and have opportunities develop a broad range of skills. So, for those of you still looking for work good luck and hang in there and for everyone I hope you've enjoyed any of the stuff I've posted.

Why Public Service?

Well, I'm wrapping up the internship this week and I've been thinking. Some of the comments after the last post also got me thinking. A couple of the comments pointed out how busy my schedule has been recently, especially when you factor in family stuff. To recap, this semester: I have worked an internship and gone to school full time, my wife is in school full time and also has an internship, we have kids ages 4 (almost 5), 3 (just turned), and 10 days old. During this time I also had to find a job (which I did, stay tuned for details) in a relatively tough job market. And to top things off in the last few weeks/into next week we've had: a child born, my graduation, my wife's killer final week of school, the end of both our internships, our anniversary, my birthday, mothers day, and we are now in preparation to move for my new job.

So why do I bring that up, and what does it have to do with public service? Well, for those who talked about balancing their schedule it's really not that hard. Let me explain, and those of you with kids will relate. When my daughter was born (our first) we got a card from my sister-in-law implying that we had a new boss... and that is more true than a lot of people like to admit. Parents are still supposed to be in control, but I think the key is that your time is no longer your own and is now devoted to a "better purpose".

It boils down to this. Think of the top three things you like to do in your spare time. These can be spending time with friends, books, music, movies/tv, video games, sports, etc... Now take all that time and fill it with feeding a baby, rocking it to sleep, changing its diapers, running errands, and the list goes on. The things you "like to do" are now replaced by the things you "have to do" and if you can't do that (in my opinion) you're either going to change your ways or be a crummy parent.

Stay with me for this because this might be a stretch, and this is just what's in my mind so you can agree or not, either way. To me, public service can be a little similar. I chose to do public service knowing it would have certain challenges and disadvantages when compared with private sector work. I won't list those things because you've probably heard many of them. If your going into public service and you've told anyone you want to work for government I'm sure you've gotten "the look" at least once. The look that says, "ah, one of those" or "couldn't hack it in the real world" looks.

I choose to believe that public work provides opportunities, especially at a local level, to positively impact people and their lives. I'm not saying public sector requires sacrifice of your favorite hobbies, more that their is a parallel of sacrificing certain things to parent just like sacrifices to work in the public sector.

One specific gripe I will voice as I wrap this up, is the tendency of private sector folks to look down on the public sector, as in "close enough for government work." I say to those people... get over yourself and get real. Can you imagine if business were under even a fraction of the scrutiny of government right now? I work with individuals in the City of Peoria who impress me everyday with their intelligence, ability, and dedication. It must be really easy to judge others work habits when you know that your own will never be called into question outside a performance review, much less on the local news. It will become a self-fulfilling prophesy that if you call government employees stupid/incompetent enough that they will be... because no one with a brain or any ability will want to work in public service. I choose public service because I'm looking for fulfillment that not many jobs offer, not because I can't find work elsewhere.

I hope for those of you in a similar career plan as mine that you will be proud of your choice.

Good Timing

Well, my internship is coming into its final weeks. I've been off all this week with the new baby here. The timing all worked out so well. I was able to be a part of the budget study sessions, and the overall preparation of the budget. I was lucky that the baby was only two weeks early so I could be a part of all those things and have that learning experience.

Unfortunately, my wife is still trying to close out her semester (she's in an early childhood education masters right now). So for her the baby coming early was a physical relief, but has left her a lot to do in a short period of time. With my internship coming to a close I've been able to spend my time on "kid duty", taking care of the older two kids while my wife can finish her school stuff and helping out the new guy.

Fitting In

One thing that has been great about my internship... people. When I started with Peoria I didn't exactly know what to expect. Early on I was moving around the city and while experiencing different departments was cool, I was also physically moving my stuff often.

Once I settled into budget everything fit. The people I work with are awesome. They've worked together for a while and have a comfort level that lets the workplace be enjoyable. At the same time I've learned so much. Being in the budget office is the best way to learn about other departments, other than maybe working in those departments. The budget office just knows everything going on in the city and works with all areas of the city that I know it was a perfect place to learn the basics of all the departments of the city, and really understand how things run.

My experience has definitely shown me that finding a place you fit in is one of, if not the most important aspect of a job so I feel I've been very lucky this last year.

Sprawl

I've always been a big fan of music. I wore Metallica t-shirts in elementary. In high school I drove to D.C. for a concert... and by the way, I went to high school in Michigan. My point in bring all this up? The Arcade Fire. This is band that based on my typical musical tastes, and recommendations of friends of similar tastes by all accounts I should love. That is not the case.

I've listened to their stuff and they have songs I like, but mostly it's just meh. Anyways, the latest album is called "The Suburbs" and it's been out for a while. Even though I've had access to it, I haven't really listened to it until this song came up as a random play on the music player on my computer.



I'm not trying to make a statement about sprawl or make this a debate on urban planning, I just like the song and it got me to listen the rest of the album. It was better than expected. And if you listen to the song and think about the Phoenix metro area (which I've actually enjoyed living in for the most part)... well, I guess I can understand the point of the song.

Baby update

Well, as fate would have it the day after I post about a baby coming soon the baby came. This was a few weeks early, so a little bit of a surprise. I was right in the middle of a training in downtown PHX, and so I had to drive back out to Peoria (technically Glendale) where our hospital is.

Unlike with the first baby where we planned everything well in advance, we had many things to still take care of. I spent a good portion of the day yesterday running errands and getting the kids to friend's houses so I could get to the hospital to be with my wife.

But, all's well that ends well... and the baby came at 5:45 yesterday afternoon. Mother and baby are well, and that means so am I too.

And baby makes three*... wait what do you mean three*?

*What I mean by the title is this baby will be the third baby. That's right, for those of you not familiar with the Adams Family we have two kids and a third one is due any time. Surprise! What an interesting time the last (almost) two years have been. I quit my full-time career like job, moved my family of four across multiple states, started full-time school, interned, got a job (more coming on this soon), and to finish my Phoenix/grad school experience... baby time.

Kids are great, especially when they like to tell jokes and do funny stuff. I'll just share one quick story to give you a glimpse of a day in the life. This morning I had to be downtown by 8:30, but this is no big deal since the kids usually wake up between 6 & 6:30am anyway. So we were all up and I was ready to head out the door, but was keeping an eye on the kids while my wife was doing some stuff around the house. My kids have recently gotten into Wii Sports. My son (who just turned 3) loves the bowling, and even bowled an unassisted, not helped in any way, completely on his own 199 the other day. So anyway, he's also into potty training right now and so I set him up to do a little morning (around 7am) bowling and it was awesome. He also tends to jump, swing his arms, and giggle while he's bowling and this morning was no different... except wasn't wearing pants, just his big boy undies and pj shirt. I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty funny. Like I always tell my wife, that's just life in the fast lane.

Interviews and getting a job

To work on building my career I decided to talk to various people within the organization and pick-up some ideas on how to get the job. I find that many people will give you the common sense pointers to things like interviews. Be on time, be prepared, try not to say stupid things, take a shower before the interview, yadda yadda. The advice is plentiful, but typically not helpful.

So, what have I learned? Well I'm no expert but here are somethings you might not know that might help. First, if the organization you're applying is of any size or sophistication then the HR department will be the first people to look over your app/resume. These people may, or may not have a good idea about how qualified you are for any position. They are there to screen out the obvious knuckleheads. Make sure your stuff is in good shape to get past this initial review. This means tying your cover letter and resume to job descriptions is important. If the job has minimum requirements if you're close don't be afraid to show how you meet the requirements. Good advice I've received is to let a person tell you that you're not qualified, but don't be shut out by a machine... meaning most HR people will run your stuff through a program to sort "the keepers" from the rest.

Next, practice interviewing with someone who can be honest with you and has some knowledge/practice as a manager. This is the key to preparing. Having another person can help you think through, and critique your answers. After all screwing up with someone you trust is better than screwing up with your interviewer. As you practice anticipate questions and plan responses based on experiences you've had. I like to speak to and organize my thoughts in "bullet points" and stick to about three so you make things clear without overkill.

Also, I think of my answers as being "like a carousel. You put the quarter in, you get on the horse, it goes up and down, and around. Circular, circle. Feel it. Go with the flow." (can you name the movie) But in seriousness circular answers are usual the best for me. What this means is to address a question with what you think, follow this up with an example from your past that applies, talk about how this experience helped you/what you learned/etc..., and finally tie that back to how you started your answer. This is why having experiences prepared in your mind is essential, and practicing these answers with others can be really helpful because frankly this is not always easy to do in a nervous situation (like an interview).

Finally be yourself. This is the part I have to work on most. I often tend to error on the side of formality in a situation and this is not always a good idea. Use the interview to show your true self, and you can really find out if you'd fit the organization by whether or not you get the job. Sounds simple, and has taken me a long time to learn... but a job is too big a part of your life to always be worrying about things you do and say, so act natural and have fun.

Hope something in there helps someone. Good luck job seekers everywhere.

Budget Study Session Wrap Up

Well, the budget study sessions were scheduled to be three meetings with a forth scheduled if necessary. In the end it took five meetings, and the final two were both over six hours. All the sessions have taught me a lot, and it seems fitting that my internship nears its end with these meetings. I will keep my comments brief, and as this is a public forum will also keep them relatively general. I doubt many of you follow Peoria politics, so this may seem random... but if anyone does know the city's politics you'll probably not have trouble reading between the lines of what I say. Also, some of the things I learned may same pretty basic but I think seeing things in action is so much more important than thinking about or reading something.

First, if you don't have something worth saying it might be a good time to keep quiet. This is something several council members should keep in mind, and one in particular. When this person would speak I couldn't help but think of a scene from Anchorman...



If you don't remember, or haven't seen the movie Champ tells Ron how much he misses him and goes a little to far until it just becomes creepy. I'm not saying a council member in Peoria is that creepy, but they should know when it's time to sit out a few plays.

Next, the first rule of politics... count the votes. The council has really shifted in recent months, and things have definitely changed. Certain things staff thought would skate through and be happy parts turned into real trouble. My point of this is that in a volatile environment you can't take anything for granted.

Third, prepare as much as possible and be ready to admit when you don't know something. I think this is self-explanatory.

Finally, patience. So many times in school I heard about political savvy. Knowing what to say and when to say it. I heard about following the council, even when you knew a better way. I heard about being the best manager you can in difficult situations and working in times of low morale. These things are so much more real than they have ever been. I'll just say the last few weeks has been a great time to be an intern and learn in Peoria.

On another note, I've almost posted all my internship related posts so look for a few more personal posts coming in the next few days, one more career post, and just a couple more internship posts to wrap up this semester.

Budget Study Session 2

Last night Peoria had the second budget study session. This year has certainly been different than previous years. Going into the meeting (which went from 5-8pm), budget staff had planned on getting through five or maybe even six departments. Things didn't quiet go that way...

After some intense scrutiny two departments were able to present last night.

The council is asking lots of questions, obviously, and many of them are good questions but the quantity is just so high. Both departments (Police and Public Works if you were curious) last night did a nice job and took care of council concerns. Historically, the city completes the sessions in three nights and a forth is scheduled just in case. This year, who knows? So I guess I'll just say two down and a long ways to go.

Budget Study Session 1

Tonight was the first of Peoria's budget study sessions. FYI, if you're not into local government format, a study session is a public meeting where council discusses issues but does not move or vote on the issues. The actual vote for budget approval will take place in a couple of months. A study session represents an opportunity for council members to discuss and become more informed on an issue, in this case the budget, before it is moved upon in a regular council meeting.

This is an annual process, but this year is expected to be somewhat different with all the pressure of the lousy economy. Like most cities, Peoria has cut for several years in a row now and that makes each round of cuts more difficult. The easy decisions have been made, and that leaves the tough choices ahead.

As a budget staff, it was anticipated that a proposed utility (read water/wastewater) rate increase would be a difficult topic covered tonight. This turned out not to be the case. Our budget director, CFO, a consultant who flew out from North Carolina, and the staff did an awesome job in the presentation. My hats are off to them all, they really rocked tonight. Staff was especially worried about a particular member of council said he heard and got exactly what he needed tonight to get behind the proposed rates. After postponing the increases for the last few years, the story was there to be told. The city needs the adjustment, and luckily the increase will be moderate... keeping Peoria as one of the least expensive utility providers in the valley (especially on a monthly bill of water, wastewater, and solid waste).

I also would like to commend council member Joan Evans for a comment she made about leadership. She essentially stated that leadership was about making the decision that was best for the community, and putting aside small individual desires and complaints in favor of something that is largely positive. I don't mean to make that sound cryptic or put it out there without context... I just don't want to go into the background of the statement in the interest of time, and the fact that this is a public blog that I'd rather not editorialize too much on. I'll just say that her comment was much appreciated, and I think highly of her for saying what she did.

PAF 509

Last weekend was the second weekend of my PAF 509 intensive class. The weekend went well, and now the class is over. Besides the internship credits I am earning through this blog, I am now done with my MPA. It is a good feeling to have all the coursework done. I have to say that I am looking forward to the start of something new.

As I near graduation I've thought a lot about the last two years and the things I've learned in that time. I've learned about the roles of management, characteristics of leadership, the roles and functions of municipal governments, and many other things. Many of the things I've learned have been through my internship, and working in the City of Peoria. That's a big part of the reason I'm looking forward to my next challenge and opportunity to continue learning and building my skills.

The budget book

Yesterday was a big day in Peoria. The city had a study session to introduce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, and pass out to council the budget book. The budget book is a very cool thing about local governments. It is a document that lays out a municipal budget in great detail, showing everything line by line. I love this because even though it can be a lot of work, it makes government accountable and transparent.

This year the budget is expected to be more contentious than in years prior. The city has put off rate increases on water/wastewater for the last couple of years and really can not put it off any longer. I won't say any more on the topic since not everything is public record yet, but will say that this will be a particularly difficult issue going forward.

The next month or so will be a difficult, but very interesting time to be in Peoria. For me as an intern it is a great opportunity to learn the political aspect of municipal budgeting.

Globe, Thomas, and Planning

Last weekend my family and I took a trip out to Globe, Arizona. We went for an event called a "Day Out With Thomas" (which I didn't hyperlink to because you most likely don't care about it) where they have a life-sized Thomas the tank engine pull you (and hopefully your kids, because if you're at this without kids it might be time to re-evaluate where your life is headed) around and lots of other kid friendly activities.
(Here's a picture I grabbed off google, so no that background is not Globe. Just wanted to remind you who Thomas is. He has a TV show, and has been voiced by Ringo Starr, George Carlin, and Alec Baldwin (ftw). Notice his huge, wide open eyes... possibly staring into your very soul. Anyways, kids love him; he's a big blue goldmine. Also, sorry the image is so enormous it wouldn't re-size easily so I guess bask in gigantic Thomas or read quickly to get away.)

As we drove out toward Globe I had no idea what to expect. We headed east on the 60, and I'd never been past the Val Vista (or there about) exit headed east on that freeway. The drive got surprisingly pretty and really got me thinking about cities and proper planning. Miami and then Globe were clearly mining towns. It was amazing to see the mountains with huge areas literally just cut away. These towns also looked as if they had clearly seen better days. I couldn't help but wonder if 50+ years ago if they had more of a future focus if these towns might have been in better shape.

I'm not claiming to have all the answers, and I am certainly not a planner. So really my point with all this is that it really struck me how important decisions we make now will be for the future. I am finishing a masters degree to help me work in local government, and decided to work in local government to be able to positively impact people and communities. The trip to Globe was a visual reminder of how drastic this impact can really be, and how important it is to thoughtfully and strategically make the best decision available... So that was my deep thought from the weekend.

Preparing and presenting

As I have been in the budget office these several months, I've seen the budget being prepared. It is a long process, and the people I work with are all really good at what they do. They have spent months and worked with the council and city departments to make the best budget possible. It has been a real learning experience for me, and I'm glad I could be a part of it.

Now the budget is getting close to being finished. There are still several things that need to be done, but a least the end is in sight. Soon the process will mean presenting the budget to council. This will be a little different this year too. The budget process was a little different this year, the politics are different this year, and of course the economy is still in a different kind of recession. What this means in Peoria is that the council will likely be taking a closer look than ever before and making a point to know as much as possible about the process.

It could mean challenges for staff, but the budget process has been solid and the hard work has been done. Knowing challenges are likely ahead isn't scary when you've prepared. It makes me glad that municipal government has a transparent budget process that when done right can withstand scrutiny.

Taking it all in

One of the advantages of interning in a large municipality (yes, Peoria is a large municipality in spite of what some long time residents of the valley say) is the broad exposure to services cities offer. I have been lucky to have been encourage to tour and learn from as many of these services and departments as possible. The majority of my time has been in the budget office, followed by the city manager's office, but during my time I have experienced first hand lots of other things.

For example, I went on "ride-a-longs" in both areas of public safety (fire and police). These were both new experiences for me. I have never been in the military or anything else that would remotely prepare me for these experiences. It was definitely interesting to spend a day in the life of what these men and women do day in and day out.

I've also been out with street crews patching roads. I rode around town in a garbage truck. storm sewer, recycling, and street sweeper trucks... yep seen them all first hand. I've even see the truck that paints lines on the street. Peoria also has a traffic signal department, and what I would call a traffic command center. It is state of the art stuff, and is even a backup command center in the area for Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) should they ever need it. I've even toured a waste water treatment plant. The list goes on and on... and there are still lots of things I've not seen.

My point in bringing all this up is this. We often hear people speak disparagingly of government, sometimes rightly so. What I really wish is that more residents could understand and see the services that local governments in particular provide. These are things that play a major part in daily life, and may not be provided by anyone else. So my charge to anyone reading this is before you lump all governments together, or make claims about what government does or does not do, go out and see for yourself. See if your own municipality can't change your mind.

Budget Crunch Time Part 2

Recently with all the work going into the budget I have really been able to learn a lot. The Peoria budget office works through a what I would call a facilitative role. More than in years past the departments in the city have been responsible for their own budgets. This means that departments have been given targets, and how they get there is up to them (within certain constraints).

The role of budget staff (and one lowly intern) has been to offer assistance in making needed cuts, and then double checking department results. At times the budget department is called upon to make suggestions to others, crunch numbers for departments, decide best how others should specifically enter their information into the budget system, and make sure department targets are hit. This means a lot of detail work, following up, and balancing numbers.

This can be trickier than it sounds. The city has a lot of funds to balance. Decisions are always being made and at the last minute things can change. That leaves the budget office scrambling. It is an exciting time to be around, and a great opportunity to learn. At the same time I'm glad it's not always this stressful, it could really burn everyone out.

Budget Crunch Time

The City of Peoria budget is in full swing! My coworkers have found a new sense of urgency. I'm not implying that they don't work hard the rest of the time... but now the budget needs to balanced and ready to present to council. Like most municipalities, the city is having to make difficult decisions to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, the tightness of the budget means I will not be able to take a job with Peoria when my internship ends. The good news is that I have other leads, and even a job offer. I am really excited about the opportunity, but I'm waiting to post details until everything is settled. Hope to be posting more on that soon.

Transition

It is transition time again for this intern. I have been with the City of Peoria since early June. I have spent nearly all of the time since then housed in the budget office. This has been really good for me. Learning the budget was one of my top choices of how to spend my time as an intern. One great thing about the budget is its reach into all departments. After all, like any organization a city runs on money…

Being in the budget office has also allowed me to take on projects with different departments. Human resources, economic development, and coming soon… police department. Fundamentally this won’t change what I am working on but I am excited that I might be getting a public safety related project in the near future.

Council Meeting

Since starting with the City of Peoria I've tried to attend as many of the city council meetings as possible. Because I'm not required at these meetings some people think I'm crazy for attending as regularly as I do. I might not go so far as to say that I enjoy the meetings... but I do learn new things from them. I also like to get a better idea of the council's mindset, and see how they act.

Anyway, last night was council meeting. It was so frustrating. Maybe it was just my own mood or personal stress, but for whatever reason last nights meeting was the worst for me. The council ratified the city manager's choice for a new police chief, which was good. The vote was filled with political posturing though, and that made it so tiresome.

The next big issue(s) on the agenda was/were dealing with the new medical marijuana legislation. Now that the voters have approved medical marijuana on a state level cities are having to adjust. The conversation was so tedious last night it was driving me nuts! It really felt like everyone was talking in circles and the conversation would never end. Eventually it came to an end. All things must pass I suppose. I must say that last night I would have to agree with those people who call me crazy for attending meetings as I do... here's hoping the next meeting is better.

ACMA

Last week was the Arizona City/County Management Association (ACMA) winter conference, held every year in Sedona, AZ. Details can be found here. The experience is a nice complement to the intern experience. Meeting people and networking with managers from around the state is a big part of the experience. This year I felt I was particularly successful in that regard. I opted to go for quality of networking instead of quantity. Especially now there are so few managers that can hire if you find one you've got to work that connection even if it means meting less other people.

Anyway, prior to the conference I had accepted an invitation to a dinner (sponsored by SRP, thank you Patricia) at a restaurant down the hill from the hotel. This turned out to be a good decision both for food and for networking. The conference is also a chance to learn from some of the best managers around and see what they have found to be working in their organizations. I was fortunate to be involved in putting together a presentation that was used during the Thursday 3:15 session on "Achieving a prosperous tomorrow despite the challenges of today". ACMA really is a good opportunity for those interested in municipal management in Arizona; I really recommend it to those who can make the trip.

Introduction

I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. My name is Aaron Adams and I came to Arizona State University to start my masters in public administration in the Fall of 2009. Currently, I am an intern with the City of Peoria, Arizona. My internship started in June 2010 and will run until I graduate in May 2011, or until I accept a (full-time) job offer. While my internship started in the city manager's office I spend most of my time in the city's budget office and work on projects for several other city departments.

Before coming to Arizona I worked for the Texas Workforce Commission, a state agency, as a labor economist. I was in that job for about two years, and was living in the Austin area during that time. Before that I earned a bachelor of science in economics from Michigan State University. I was drawn to ASU for the Marvin Andrews Fellowship Program and my goal is become a city (or county) manager, and that is me in a nutshell.