Potential new city position needs to be vetted
At the May 3 Rio Rancho city budget hearing one city councilor, formerly the president of the Rio Rancho Tea Party, advanced a proposal to defund most fiscal year 2018 city staff training in order to fund the creation of a new full-time staff position of small business ombudsperson. This position would assist anyone wanting to set up or expand a small business in the city and assist with other small businessrelated issues.
Unfortunately this proposal was introduced by the councilor without any vetting by city staff to show there exists justifiable workload to create another fulltime staff position, nor was there mention of the negative impact the loss of training would have on staff.
Rio Rancho recently hired Savannah Jermance as its economic development and business relations manager. Before creating a full-time position of small business ombudsperson, city management needs to perform its due diligence of this proposal to prove justification exists for creating another full-time staff position.
To that end, the data gathering responsibility can be shared between Jermance and the existing Development Services Department staff, who are cross-trained in this area of expertise. Both would keep detailed records over a 12-month period of the time spent assisting persons wanting to set up, expand or (who are) needing assistance with regards to small business issues, then provide that data to city management. If the numbers prove the need, this councilor’s proposal will have been vetted and it can move forward. Anything less than this and the best interests of the city and its citizens are not being served.
Bureaucracies, large and small, must continually challenge themselves to ensure that their mission, internal processes and personnel are being used in the most efficient of ways. When this does not happen these bureaucracies become bloated and self-serving and fail in their public mission. The irony of this current situation — when the sponsoring councilor headed the Rio Rancho Tea Party she strongly advocated for smaller, more efficient local government. I wonder what has changed her perspective? HARRY GORDON Rio Rancho