Caroline Weber Kennedy

Caroline Weber Kennedy earned an Associate degree from Northwestern Michigan College (1982), a BA from Michigan State University (1985), and an MPA from Western Michigan University (2004).  After attaining her BA, she worked two years for a political consulting firm, followed by ten years at the Michigan State Senate on non-partisan staff and as a writer for the Senate Majority Communications Office.  In 1997 she joined the Michigan Municipal League as a lobbyist in the State & Federal Affairs Division, and became Manager of Field Operations in 2001.  The League’s Northern Field Office is located in the Upper Peninsula waterfront city of Gladstone.

Contact Information:
Caroline Weber Kennedy
ckennedy@mml.org
906-428-0100

Monday

June 2, 2008

Keeping pace

In glancing over my own biography for this project, I note I am no longer young.  When did this happen?  I am the mother of toddlers, so this takes me by surprise.  Last week’s blogger was a striking and bright young millenial.  I am a boomer.  The label itself smacks of broadening more than our horizons, doesn’t it?  Fortunately, I’m in good company with the League’s membership, most of who are checking the “55 and older” box at the doctor’s office.  Thoughts such as this keep me feeling relatively young, for at least a bit longer.

Thinking young is a boomer trait, I believe, of which we can be proud.  We are the generation born into a relatively relaxed America and graduated into a frenetic world.  We had our first inkling of technological change when we left elementary school and never again inhaled the distinctive scent of mimeograph ink.  We knew instinctively as university students filling in punch-key cards and flow charts for one of the first “computer” classes ever, that technology had already outpaced our curriculum.  Our generation’s dependence on administrative leaders that couldn’t keep up made us aware as young adults that nothing was ever going to move slowly again—most especially change.

Now administrative leaders ourselves, how do we keep pace better than the generation preceding us?  Cooperate, collaborate, share knowledge and best practices, and most importantly resist isolationism.  By the time I completed my MPA, that process included the cooperative efforts of no less than six universities and colleges.  Universities collaborated on my credits and requirements, satellite campuses made attendance possible and instruction via satellite made it more affordable.  The educational system worked for me only because it unified efforts toward one goal.

Many municipalities are very good at this.  Some are not.  The purpose of this blog is to provide one more vehicle for sharing good ideas and best practices, and to underscore for those still uncomfortable with the notion of “needing each other” that most of us are playing well with others, and actually liking how it works.

Check back tomorrow to hear Caroline’s thoughts on the Iron River consolidation.

Tuesday

June 3, 2008

Municipal cooperation and collaboration

One of the most active and successful areas regarding municipal cooperation and collaboration in this state is the UP.  The cities of Iron River and Stambaugh consolidated with the Village of Mineral Hills in 2000.  MML Board of Trustee and Iron River Mayor Char Soderbloom was active throughout the process.  This former mining community once again holds a valuable commodity waiting to be tapped—a very timely wealth of knowledge and experience in consolidation matters.  

The easiest way to think of consolidation is like a marriage.  I admit it’s hokey, but it’s an analogy that works for residents, employees, and officials.  What does each partner bring to the marriage?  What combined assets will the partners enjoy?  What liabilities will they endure together?  What compromise can be reached to make this work?  (In the Iron River example, utility rates remained separate for a period of time.)  If one partner is perceived by the other as coming from the “wrong side of the tracks,” are the partners influenced by negative gossip from outside sources?  Does one partner or both, experience cold feet?  Is their commitment to making it work stronger than the forces creating doubt?  How does each partner maintain their own identity?  Just as in marriage—will there be a name change?  What happens to business names if the community name(s) change?  What about street addresses?  What happens to each partner’s history?  (It remains while they create new history together.)  What about contracts, employees and elected officials?  The key is a long engagement.  Not so long that a date is never set, but long enough to take advantage of attrition, combining positions and functions, creating new roles and phasing roles out, renegotiating.

If some of you are thinking about consolidation, and I know some of you are, the first thing you need to do is identify all possible stakeholders, consider their concerns, and be prepared to answer questions thoughtfully and truthfully.  Then, practice saying the “c” word out loud and settle in for a long engagement.

Iron River has many of the answers you’ll need up front and along the way.  Like any successful marriage, it’s hard work.  One reason it works for Iron River is that the people have more in common than not.  School rivalries often serve as community identifiers, but as these districts consolidated, differences dissolved.  And despite the vast array of ethnicities here from the mining and timber eras, the people remaining have a shared history and socio-economic base.  When residents realize they have more in common than not, acknowledgement of that is a critical first step.

Check back tomorrow to hear Caroline’s thoughts on citizen surveys.

Wednesday

June 4, 2008

Of surveys and choices

As we talk about the importance of sharing information, remember to ask your residents to share with you.  Resident surveys are an affordable and awesome tool.  MML has a number of samples we can provide.  My city of residence, Gladstone (pop. 5,032), recently completed a survey done in-house for about $600 to cover mailing and materials.  The survey randomly sampled 1,200 residents, with a 50 percent response rate (604), creating a 95 percent confidence interval of + or – 5 percentage points per question.  That’s valuable info at a bargain price.  Check it out here.  Many MPA and undergrad programs require student research projects that include survey instruments.  Coordinate with your local college or university for another affordable option; communicate with neighboring communities to find out what they’ve done.

The beauty of surveys is that one instrument fulfills multiple purposes.  Surveys provide an accurate read on public perception.  Is that perception in line with reality?  If not, you’ll need to examine why and do some educating.  Surveys are nearly essential for determining the priorities of residents when push comes to shove in the budget.  There are necessities and niceties in the array of public services you offer.  Residents appreciate having a say in the process, even though most won’t come to your meetings.

Surveys get people talking, let residents know you value their opinions, give officials a deliberative platform, the numbers speak credibly, and results can be converted into those wonderful charts that convey it all so simply.  Create some fanfare when the results are tabulated to keep buzz going.  Residents are almost as anxious as you are for results.  The media likes these results too, so boost your relations by providing the story before they ask.

Beyond perceptions, results of course, provide resident preferences for both short- and long-term planning.  We know Michigan’s economy isn’t going to turn around suddenly, so this is one solid way for local officials to gain significant resident input for struggling with the tough choices.  The data can be used repeatedly for decision making and to explain to residents and the media, the reasoning behind your choices.

Check back tomorrow to hear Caroline’s thoughts on the importance of a “can do” attitude.

Thursday

June 5, 2008

From woes to wows; it’s about attitude

I am compelled to share the following paragraph from Hunt’s Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (1997), because the words evoke an image so powerful, you can hear it.  Just add the smell of fresh-baked pasties.

“Muted echoes of a booming past live on in Calumet, the commercial center of the northern Keweenaw Copper Range.  In the early 1900s, Calumet’s Main Street was more like a big city than a remote northern mining town.  It had frequent trolleys, movie theaters, a grand opera house, electric lights and impressive four-story buildings of brick and sandstone.  Evenings were as bright and busy as daytime because miners worked round-the-clock shifts.  Calumet was awash in money. . . Many languages could be heard on Calumet streets: Finnish, Italian, Croatian, Slovenian, French, Polish, Yiddish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Greek, Arabic, English (spoken in Cornish, Irish and Scottish accents), Gaelic, and Welsh.  Each major ethnic group had its saloons; over 70 in all . . . Virtually every nationality had its church, often magnificent.”

Calumet (pop. 879) and neighboring Laurium (pop. 2,126) boasted a population of 40,000 then.  And while Main Street today isn’t as bustling, downtown activity hums along with renewed energy and pride.  Street and foot traffic are brisk.  A trolley still graces cobblestone streets, church spires grace the skyline, and the opera house remains a shining jewel.  The entire village of Calumet is part of the national Keweenaw Historical Park system.  Local residents and officials think they’re special and they are.  Uncommonly, they have the same work ethic and determination that prevailed a century ago.  They strive to maintain their history, restore their buildings, and rebuild their economy.  Calumet competed for and was awarded a Main Street grant a few years ago.  The change was immediate and striking and they remain unstoppable.

Michigan is full of communities with similar, dramatic pasts.  It is Calumet’s can-do attitude that makes one of our smallest, most remote communities in Michigan, a destination.

Check back tomorrow to hear more of Caroline’s UP perspective.

Friday

June 6, 2008

Boundaries are a mindset

I was with MML’s Executive Director Dan Gilmartin earlier this week when he met with a group of prominent leaders from both the private and public sectors of the greater Marquette area to discuss how they get from where they are economically to where they want to go.  Discussion was contemplative, lively, and occasionally controversial.   

The group has a great start with bright players who voice the right concerns and demonstrate ongoing commitment, but there was room at the table for a few key seats that remain empty.  To garner increased participation, Dan suggests finding one specific item to rally around—be it good or bad.  Too often what brings local units together is crisis.  We lose that sense of urgency when crisis comes creeping in the form of a failing state economy versus a local plant closing; when jobs are lost one by one over a period of years versus 300 in a day.  Conceive of an area project that everyone wants as a way to create some buzz and bring the missing players to the table.  Regional relationships are strengthened by successful joint projects.  The project provides tangible proof that working together can benefit all.

The next step is to talk about how you see the region 10 years from now.  Define the demographic whose needs you need to meet.  For example, will you embrace the next developer wanting to build multi-family homes on the fringes of downtown?  Maybe or maybe not, but if you’ve had this conversation, you should all be on the same page.  Is this where your housing market needs to expand both from a demographic and physical perspective?  Regionally define how you see yourselves and then seek the opportunities.  At the end of 10 years you may not realize your vision, but you will recognize it as something much closer than it would have been if you continue to operate in a mindset of manmade boundaries.  Area residents aren’t really tuned in to the notion of “This is Mine, That’s Yours.”  They know where they want to eat, hang out, shop, and sleep.  They know what is aesthetically appealing and what’s not.  They come and go without wondering one whit whose taxing jurisdiction they may be entering or leaving.  Local leaders too, should practice this together.

The cities of Houghton and Hancock, winner of the MML Region 7 Community Excellence Awards competition, have joint Smart Zone projects and their councils meeting jointly every few months.  Businesses have the ability to come or go from Hancock or Houghton, using the resources of both cities to best fit their needs as they grow and expand.  The collaborative efforts of both cities ensure the business stays local. 

Stay tuned for a future feature highlighting all of the Community Excellence Awards winners, including Houghton/Hancock.