Tim’s Thoughts April 2024

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the spring weather and has had the opportunity to get outside and enjoy this beautiful time of year. In keeping with our monthly theme of having our Senior Advisors share their thoughts with us, I am pleased that Brenda Garton has shared this month.

Having retired from local government work in 2017, Brenda Garton previously served as the County Administrator in Frederick, Gloucester, Prince George, and Orange Counties. Since then, she has served as Interim County Administrator in Rappahannock, Greene (twice), and Orange and as Interim City Manager in Lexington.  

Brenda is a Certified Public Accountant and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Virginia.  She completed the Senior Executive Institute at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. Prior to her career in local government, she served as a manager in a CPA firm and served as the Controller and Manager of Plant Administration in a manufacturing plant.  She began her career as a mathematics teacher at the high school and college levels.  Brenda is a member of the International City/County Management Association and is an ICMA credentialed manager - retired.  Additionally, she is a member and Past President of the Virginia Local Government Management Association.  

Brenda is married to Steve Miner, who retired first as County Administrator and then recently retired from Baker Tilly.  She has two grown sons, a daughter-in-law and a soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, and one granddaughter.  Brenda and Steve and their four dogs live on a small farm in Frederick County, Virginia.  Brenda enjoys her family and pets, her new role as “Ga Ga”, reading, learning about orchids, and traveling in the RV and riding her Can-Am Spyder (three-wheel motorcycle) with Steve.

Brenda’s Thoughts:

Thanks, Tim, for asking the Senior Advisors to provide some advice in your section of the newsletter. I am honored to be asked to do so.

I have never met a local government manager in Virginia who was not dedicated to their work, community, the staff, and the citizens. Virginia local government managers as a group tend to be highly motivated and service-oriented individuals.

Other Senior Advisors have very capably made observations regarding your professional life as a local government manager. So, I will focus instead on your personal life. It is commonly accepted wisdom that you must take care of yourself in order to perform well in any chosen profession. As a member of the very competitive baby-boomer generation, to some extent I do not think that I took this wisdom to heart as well as later generations have. So, some of this advice comes from mistakes made! Still, here are some thoughts for you to consider.

Being a local government manager (or assistant, deputy, or department director) is like spending your days with a sponge – the job will soak up as much of your time and energy as you are willing to allow it. As one with authority (or perceived authority) in your organization, others will approach you on matters of interest to them and you may need to set some boundaries. I was once caught on a Saturday morning at my son’s soccer game by a developer who wanted to discuss his proposal. My sons were very small, as was his son. I respectfully suggested that since I was there to watch my son play soccer, if he would kindly call me on Monday, I’d be happy to discuss his concerns when I could properly listen and take notes. You could just see the transformation on his face. He apologized and said, of course, he’d be happy to do that. I also learned the hard way that responding on a Saturday afternoon (because I had the time) to a long email from a citizen expressing a complaint, with my own very detailed response, might not have been the smartest course of action. Within a half an hour, a just-as-detailed-as-the-first-one response popped into my inbox, with even more elaborate complaints and arguments. Except, now, I had created an expectation of another immediate response on a Saturday afternoon! Since there was no urgency about his issue, it would have been better to have responded to his email that I would research his issue at the office on Monday and respond at that time. What I learned (over time) is that people are much more understanding of your need for personal and family time than you may fear. 

Your personal relationships are primary. Make sure you take time for your family – this may include your partner, your children, you parents and extended family, your friends, and even your pets. I found that governing bodies will understand more than you probably think to reserved time to focus on your family and not miss out on important family events. I was always impressed by a manager I heard at ICMA who said that he set aside a block of time every afternoon when he called his wife. Everyone (his staff, his governing body) knew that he was not to be disturbed, except in a dire emergency of course, during this block of time because it was reserved for his wife. If you have children, moments with them are priceless and irreplaceable. Take your vacations and enjoy them.

Think seriously about all financial decisions. It is a given that you are not likely to stay in the community where you were just hired for your entire career in local government. If you are the CAO, you are likely to be required by contract to reside in the community within a certain timeframe. I know of situations where once offered a position, a candidate turned down the job offer to be CAO because his family could not afford the cost of a house in the new jurisdiction. Governing bodies may make exceptions to the residency rule depending on circumstances, but this issue should be clarified prior to signing the contract. Historically, one could buy a home and be sure it would increase in value by the time you had to sell it and move to a new community (not necessarily by your own choice and possibly with very little, if any, advance notice). This rule of thumb is no longer true. So, do you need or want to buy a home in every community where you work? Should you invest your money in a weekend place or a retirement home instead? It is not necessarily a bad thing to purchase a home in your new community, but make that decision with your family and with full awareness of all possible outcomes. To be caught with a mortgage or rent in a new locality while still paying a mortgage on a home that is not selling in the previous one can be very difficult, if not impossible, to manage financially, especially if you are a one-income household.

With regard to contracts, it may be a good idea to have your attorney review a proposed contract before you sign it. In the excitement of the moment, you may overlook a critical issue or contractual obligation. ICMA also has standardized contracts you can use and modify as needed.

Develop relationships in any way you can. Do not be afraid to ask for help from colleagues. Experienced colleagues who you can trust to provide support, advice, or a listening ear when you are dealing with tough things professionally or personally are like gold. Remember that friendship is a two-way street: those folks may not be there for you when you need them if you are not also available for them when they need your friendship and support. These colleagues do not necessarily need to work for local government. Though the issues in local government can be very different from the private sector and from other professions, not all of them are. Sometimes a fresh perspective from the outside looking in can help you see things in a totally different, and very helpful, way. It is wise to start a new section on your resume as you begin a new position. Fill in initial details and add information and accomplishments to it as you serve in this position. With a few tweaks and additions, your resume will be ready should you find yourself suddenly needing to seek a new position. References are important. As you leave a locality, it is wise to confirm with several people that they are willing to serve as a good reference for you. Collect their contact information before you leave.

Take care of yourself physically. Do not be tempted to skip meals because you think you are too busy to take the time to eat. Keep regular medical appointments. Exercise as much as you can. With night meetings, some days can run 12-14 hours. No human being is expected to do that continually without rest and fuel for your body. 

If you are the CAO or any local government leader in a position of authority, remember that everyone looks to you to set the standard.  Do you keep your promises to staff, citizens, members of the community, and the governing body? Do you return calls and emails in a timely fashion? Are you on time? Does your staff know where you are (in a general sense) if you are not in the office? I once called to speak to a Department Director, only to be told by his assistant that he was not in the office. When I asked her if he was in a meeting or off that day, she said she “had no idea”. Needless to say, I had to have a conversation with that Department Director the next day. Are you open, sincere, honest? If I had a really time-sensitive task I needed to complete, I often blocked off periods of time on my calendar when interruptions were allowed only for limited reasons. Key staff had access to my electronic calendar. I always told my staff that I never wanted them to lie on my behalf. They were not to tell a caller that I was “out of the office”. Instead, I told them to ask if it was an urgent matter and, if not, to take a message and tell the truth -- that I was working on a time-sensitive matter and would be happy to return their call as soon as I could. Remember that your integrity is the most important thing – no one can take it from you and you take it with you when you leave.

When you leave a community, leave with grace and dignity. You will never lose if you always take the high road. Keep negative comments to yourself, as they will serve no good purpose. Burning bridges will not help you in the long run. I have found that sometimes people show up again in your professional life. It will definitely serve you better if you have not ruined your relationship with the individual at some time in the past. That time-honored advice not to burn bridges and to take the high road is so true! 

Thanks to Brenda for these great words of advice for all of us to consider.

I would like to welcome new members,

Jerri Botkin, Interim County Administrator, County of Highland

Diana Hays, Assistant Town Manager, Town of Purcellville

Margaret Mack-Yaroch, Director of York-Poquoson Social Services, County of York

Concetta Manker, City Manager, City of Hopewell

Julie Phillips, Senior Director/Library Director, County of Botetourt