Just who is city staff?

Letters to the Editor

Just WHO is City staff ?? Lots of talk about city staff persons, well who are these persons ? I have had the extreme good fortune to know every previous Wimberley City administrator every city Secretary and every full time staff person since the day we were incorporated and these positions created and filled with competent persons.

To the person they have been about ONE purpose, to serve the City and it’s needs. Texas has 1,216 listed incorporated towns, yup that’s 1,216 Mayors and likely 7,300 Council persons, each one who woke up one day and decided to run for office and then somehow got themselves elected.

So what is the relationship between STAFF and the Elect-eds, its thin, very thin at times, with little exception the Staff members are individuals who have chosen for lord only knows why to serve a city and its needs. They are in this job as a career position, not just one day wake up and see a job vacancy and say “yah that jobs sounds like fun or an easy paying job” I’ll go apply.

Professional staff members owe Elect-eds nothing nothing but the most fundamental courtesy of human respect. As an elected you have done nothing to earn the respect of a staff member by becoming Elected ? really nothing. Staff owes the elected no loyalty, they are loyal to the City first and foremost. Good electeds LEAD, if they lead well and prove themselves Staff will see and sense these traits over time, but its a time and process that must be shown and demonstrated over and over, Elect-eds are for 2 years and mostly gone, staff members have declared themselves as a profession as a career person dedicated first to the City.

If you as the elected have and exhibit the best traits, the best leadership qualities, staff full support will just quietly appear and remain faithful and in the background of full support. If you as an Elected think you are a leader and use ‘fiat’ demands, decree, ‘orders’ abusive tactics and threats. Staff support in the most simple of situations will be forever lost, when an elected wants to go over the cliff, staff will let you go all the way till you splatter on you face or ass.

If the elected has earned staff respect, the staff member/s will try and stop your falling and landing on your face, they will caution cajole or outright tell you what your about to do is a mistake and you might want to review or rethink the action one more time before acting on it. At this point the elected should go home and look in a full length mirror and take some stock of themselves.

I was fortunate, I listened way more times than I acted alone.

Thank you EVERY Staff member.

Mac McCullough