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I <br /> SECTION VII <br /> ADMINISTRATION <br /> ROLE OF THE CITY COUNCIL <br /> • Policy Development - A Sense of Mission: <br /> Local officials need to listen to the community as well as help the community visualize <br /> where it wants to be in the future. <br /> As an elected official, you play a fundamental role in the evolution of the goals, purposes, <br /> and direction of your community. You are responsible for making decisions about tax <br /> policy and tax rates, the scope of services your government will provide, and the role of <br /> the public sector versus that of the private sector in the delivery of those services. You <br /> are also responsible for policies that will affect local economic growth, cultural change, <br /> and the environment. All these complex and every- changing factors affect and are <br /> affected by a local government's mission. <br /> To understand your government's mission is to become familiar with its policies. <br /> Review the budget, the capital improvement plan, the comprehensive or master plan, <br /> administrative procedures and practices, and the charter. As issues come up, take another <br /> look at existing policies to see if they support the mission of the organization. Keep in <br /> mind that policy making can be passive as well as active. Policy ideas can and do come <br /> from many sources, but the final determination of how policies (and through policies the <br /> mission of your organization) evolve during your term of office rests with you, the <br /> elected governing official. Wherever the ideas come from, it is the Council's <br /> responsibility to look at the merits of each idea and then approve, modify, or reject it. <br /> (Chapter I. Book 1, ICA —1 Elected Officials Handbook) <br /> Policy Making: <br /> In very simple terms, policy making means deciding what you are going to do - not how <br /> you are going to do it. An example may help illustrate the difference. Deciding that your <br /> community is going to emphasize the provision of low - income housing is a basic policy <br /> decision. Making that decision means that you will be spending money on housing <br /> programs, that you intend to make this subject a priority, and that, in all likelihood, some <br /> other programs will have to wait their turn. Note that making the policy decision says <br /> nothing about how you will provide low- income housing. That question comes later and <br /> may require advice from your staff or other knowledgeable individuals. Your staff may <br /> suggest several alternatives for providing low- income housing. You might be able to use <br /> federal programs, state financing, or public- private partnerships. You will have to make <br /> other policy decisions, choosing which of these alternatives you wish to use. Once you <br /> I have made these secondary policy decisions, your staff can deal with how to carry out <br /> your policy. Policies are formulated for the broad issues that affect your community. <br /> VII - 1 <br />