The City of Clayton has Finally Turned the Corner - Lack of leadership Was the Problem

By Clayton Watch

The previous city managers, Reina Schwartz and Brett Prebula were simply not up to the task, as reliable confidential sources have informed me.

In case you’re wondering, these sources do not currently work for the City of Clayton nor are they on the City Council.

By all accounts, Reina and Bret created a significant mess at City Hall, failing to provide the professional, competent oversight that a city requires. Additionally, certain council members like Holly Tillman, Peter Cloven, and tabloid newspaper owner Tamara Steiner have also proven themselves ill-equipped to handle the complexities of local governance, repeatedly demonstrating poor judgment and decision-making when discussing staff turnover.

Contrary to the claims made by Council Member Holly Tillman of meddling or harassment from select council members with the staff, the real root of the problem was simply a lack of experience and qualified leadership at the highest levels of Clayton's government.

Study after study has shown that when employees, including those in key administrative roles, do not receive the proper guidance, training and oversight from capable leaders, it inevitably leads to disorganization, inefficiency, job turnover, and the kind of chaos that Clayton residents have endured over the past couple of years.

But now, the tides have turned, as the city has brought aboard a true professional by the name of Adam Politizer, who is poised to right the ship, restore order, and public trust in the management of our community affairs.

With this new leadership in place, Clayton's future is looking brighter than it has in years. The arrival of a new, capable leader in City Hall has been a welcome change for the community, as Adam has managed to accomplish more in just a few short weeks than anyone could have ever imagined.

In contrast, Councilperson Holly Tillman has been stirring up unnecessary drama, falsely claiming that the city staff are overworked and that the council is interfering with their duties. It is evident that the previous issues plaguing the city workforce were not due to being overworked, as Holly Tillman would have the public believe, but rather stemmed from mismanagement.

This has become glaringly obvious in the short time the New Leader/ Interim City Manager Adam Politizer has been in office, as he has already managed to get the city back on the right track. Tillman's attempts to deflect blame and stir up controversy appear to be nothing more than political posturing, likely driven by her own agenda rather than a genuine concern for the wellbeing of city employees and the community.

The community can take comfort in knowing that with competent leadership now in place, the days of mismanagement and inefficiency are swiftly coming to an end. Consolidation is Underway In a move to streamline operations and improve efficiency, our city's new interim City Manager Adam Politizer announced at the recent city council meeting that a consolidation of staff at City Hall was necessary based on the small size and current state of our city. With a relatively small staff of only around 26 employees, the City Manager determined that consolidating certain administrative duties would make far more sense for a city of our size, allowing the city to operate in a more streamlined and cost-effective manner.

By consolidating several positions and leveraging outside expertise where appropriate, the city anticipates savings of approximately $20,000 per year - a significant sum that can be reinvested into other priorities and initiatives that better serve our city.

Overall, this strategic move to eliminate redundant staffing and embrace more efficient service delivery model is a “home run” in my opinion. It is a prudent decision that will reduce operational costs and help improve the city's bottom line without compromising the quality of essential services provided to residents.

With the City of Clayton being 98% built out, I am hopeful that we can do the same with our Community Development Director position. This unnecessary full-time and costly position should be outsourced immediately. The current in-house role simply does not warrant the significant investment required to maintain it as an internal function.

Brighter days are surely ahead, stay tuned. Go get ‘em Adam!

UPDATE. . . It looks like my wish might come true. It appears that the community development director and code enforcement positions will be outsourced. You can check out next week’s council agenda at https://claytonca.gov/fc/agendas/council/
2024/060424.pdf. Check out item e. Have a great weekend.

We appreciate you for reading this article.

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