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These may include everything from providing jobs to paving streets to making sure that <br />children have enough playgrounds. <br />As a policy maker, you are sometimes judge and sometimes advocate; you need to hear <br />opposing views, consider the arguments, think about the concerns of the constituency you <br />serve. Two major activities will help you shape policy systematically: setting goals and <br />formulating the budget. <br />Identify and analyze community needs. What do your constituents want? <br />What program changes were the basis of your campaign? What long-standing <br />problems require attention? What do staff studies of social and economic <br />trends tell you about the future? <br />2. Analyze program and service alternatives and resources. How do you gather <br />the resources you will need to accomplish the goals you have in mind? <br />Choose and implement programs. How do you gain the consensus of your <br />colleagues on the Council --or their cooperation in selecting programs and <br />services? what details do you provide to staff, and what do you leave to their <br />discretion? <br />4. Evaluate program results. How well is the program being implemented? did <br />you get what you expected? Is the program accomplishing what you intended <br />it to? <br />Elected officials are also called on to make decisions about more narrow issues raised by <br />constituents -fixing potholes in certain neighborhoods, the protection and replacement of <br />old trees, and the problem of minors hanging out in video arcades during school hours. <br />These kinds of little issues can quickly eat up most of your time. <br />However, it is the big issues that deserve most of your time and attention. <br />In addition to learning how various policies are influencing the mission of your local <br />government, you will want to review the roles of other elected officials, of the staff, of <br />interest groups, and of individuals from other local governments and other levels of <br />government in making policy. <br />Staff role: <br />A full-time staff, hired for its expertise, also has a responsibility to help the Council <br />formulate policy. The City Manager and the staff often make recommendations based on <br />what has worked in other communities as well as organizational and financial feasibility, <br />and present alternative strategies for the review and decision of elected officials. <br />Realistically, the policy -making process and the influence of the City Manager and the <br />organization's staff in shaping policies - both as they are being developed and as they are <br />68 V11-2 <br />