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Newspaper l'ublication <br />(44(I [ ) li)r a timber <br />discussim~ el'dealing with <br />dm news media. <br /> <br />3. public relations <br /> <br />Cities can take s6veral steps to. build effective relationships 'with the media. <br />Often, a city will:assign the responsibilitY of talking to the media to one <br />person. Although this person is sometimes the mayor, it is often the chief <br />administrative officer: the clerk, administrator or manager. <br /> <br />E. Effective council relations <br />The chief administrative officer--whether this is the clerk, the <br />administrator or the manager--must work closely with the council. As' <br />such, it is important that the working relationship be a good one. Both the <br />administrative officer and the council must always keep in mind that they <br />are working as a team to serve the community. While differences of <br />opinions are likeiy to occur, both sides must resolve their differences <br />quickly. EStended bickering can cause the public to lose faith in the officer~ <br />as well as the city council. Sometimes, resolving such a conflict can be as <br />easy as agreeing to disagree. <br /> <br />F. Clerk, ad.ministrato or manager? <br />Cities sometimes ask whether they should have a city clerk, an <br />administrator or a manager. The answer to this question will depend upon <br />many variables unique to each city. <br />If the council finds itself spending a lot of time administering day-to-day <br />activities, it may wish to delegate some responsibilities. Depending upon <br />the number of responsibilities and the amount of time needed to adequately <br />complete each of them, these responsibilities can be assigned to an existing <br />position, Such asthe city clerk; or to a new Position, such as an <br />administrator or manager. <br /> <br />Generally, many small cities delegate responsibilities to the city clerk until <br />it becomes obvious that an additional' person is needed to help with.the <br />clerk's duties, At this point, many cities will either create a city <br />administrator'position or hire additional staffto help the clerk perform <br />these additional duties. In some cases, a city may have a specific issue with <br />which it is .dealing and may want someone with expertise in the area. For <br />example, if the city is growing rapidly, the council may want someone who <br />can help oversee some of its land-use matters. <br /> <br />As a city gets larger, it might choose to adopt the Plan B form of <br />government in order to delegate other responsibilities, such as making <br />personnel decisions. Such delegation allows the council more time to make <br />important legislative decisions. <br /> <br />AdoPtion ora home rule charter can also give the city fi'eedom to assign <br />duties as it. sees fit. Some cities have seen this as the best method to use to <br />accomplish a desirable form of government. <br /> <br />( 'it)- .Mhninist rnlion <br /> <br />29 <br /> <br />-51- <br /> <br /> <br />