#23 – Tom Vernau – Through the lens of a municipal manager

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]