2008 Chair of the Legislature
Chair’s Address
January 2, 2008
Thank you for the trust you’ve placed in me. I certainly want to give special thanks to Leslyn McBean-Clairborne for two years of excellent service as Vice Chair and to Tim Joseph for six years of visionary, incredibly hard working and undaunted public service leadership as Chair – especially in facing the realities of the post 9/11 world.
I’d like to start the traditional “state of the county” message with a little story that has held great meaning for me. It’s about the balance we all try to maintain in our various roles in the community – as citizens, leaders, and residents from all walks of life. A wise rabbi was known to always carry two etched stones in his pockets that he could pull out as the situation demanded – representing two universal truths. One read: “for your sake alone was the universe created,” representing the truth that every human being is precious beyond measure, and that every individual has an equal claim on the glories of the entire universe. The other stone read: “you are but dust and ashes,” representing the truth that in the grand scheme of things, we are each a tiny part of the whole; that the history of humankind has been set in motion for millennia and that any one person’s role needs to be seen in relation to the timeless nature of those forces.
While seeming contradictory, BOTH of these perspectives hold universal truths. In many situations we find we need to hold dualities like these in tension – which allows us to respect the individual while keeping a broad perspective for the good of the whole.
Similarly, the state of Tompkins County can be viewed from multiple perspectives, and for a moment I’ll choose two lenses: external and internal. From almost all external perspectives, our county and Tompkins County government in particular have achieved exceptional standing. For example, after ten years of analysis, partnerships and implementation, in 2008 we will have completed a state-of-the-art emergency communications system at the lowest possible cost to local taxpayers. Our 20-year capital planning - to maintain our roads, bridges and facilities infrastructure - is fast becoming a statewide model. Our diversity and inclusion efforts over the past several years have resulted in a permanent commitment to an internal culture change, that is, new ways of doing business to meet the needs of our community over the long-term. Almost every department of county government has won praise at statewide conferences of peers for innovation, cost-effectiveness and model partnerships, with many county department heads leading their New York State associations in their respective fields over the years.
From transportation to human services to emergency planning to public safety and health to economic development and tourism promotion, Tompkins County government is looked to as a place where program innovators continually adapt to changing external forces to best meet community needs. Justifiably, I hope every county employee and every member of our 55 active community advisory boards and sub-committees can take pride in setting high standards of service that achieve these well-deserved accolades. These efforts are nothing short of inspiring and I hope that we all take time to say “Thank You” as often as we think of it, to forge a culture of genuine appreciation.
From an internal perspective, we can also take pride in our 190 years of county accomplishments, as each year we stand on the shoulders of and learn from giants who have come before us. 2008 brings us challenges and opportunities for significant change. Fourteen legislators (seven elected in 2005) will begin our third year serving together, with Carol Chock joining us just days ago with a fresh perspective, and this shared experience working together will allow us to take on certain new challenges as a team, which may not have been possible earlier in our service. Within three months we’ll be choosing a new County Administrator, a complicated role that is a kind of hybrid of a CEO and a COO depending on the needs on any particular day, with an admittedly “walk on water” set of expectations. We legislators are often described as “citizen activists,” and our first loyalty is always to the people who elected us and whom we represent. Many of us have years of experience in elected office, but we remain citizens. We have the great privilege of working with professional managers from 27 departments and 750-plus employees passionate about quality public service.
Add to this dynamic steadily increasing fiscal pressures, an overloaded property tax burden, and other community-wide challenges such as: the need for affordable housing; energy and environmental sustainability; economic development; improving telecommunications capacity; jail-to-community reentry; interventions for and aftercare for youth at-risk; performance management and the capacity to demonstrate value, accountability, and responsiveness to the taxpayer; emergency preparedness and management for internal County operations; important community-wide conversations regarding race, class and other dehumanizing stereotypes; working with Cornell on their financial commitment for transportation and housing; and the need to update many county policies and procedures – and anyone can understand the complex internal landscape. Thankfully, every employee of our county organization shares a common commitment to learning and improving every day – deeply dedicated to excellence in public service.
If I could add two final points of perspective, relevant to every human situation, I would suggest first that the more we take a longer-term view, the better our decisions will become. We legislators especially must consistently look beyond our elected terms to invest resources wisely for the health of the community. And secondly, no leader, manager, or citizen can operate effectively in isolation; we all need the balance of each others’ perspectives in decision-making and priority setting to achieve the best for the public good. Yes, we are all essential and valuable (the universe is made just for us) AND the public good is determined through millions of human behaviors and actions that guide our common existence, and we need to learn from each other for our ultimate survival.
Given these perspectives, especially the nature of transitions ahead, the Vice Chair and I have chosen to the keep the structure of 2007 county standing committees essentially the same, to allow continuity of multi-year commitments underway. I have distributed committee assignments to each of you, and I ask that chairs work with committee members, Department Heads, and staff to determine the schedules for the year, as well as medium and longer-term performance goals and annual work plans. As continual learners ourselves, we will be given professional development opportunities to help us guide agendas and lead committees more effectively. I hope that we continue to improve on our existing culture of building task-oriented work teams where needed, asking for and offering help as we are able, and never leading in isolation. Our essential task in our various roles (as legislators, departmental managers, or direct service public employees) is to offer our perspective for the good of the whole. I look forward to this transition year with excitement, optimism and pride for all that we’ve accomplished and all that I’m confident we will become, working together, in the year ahead.
– Michael Koplinka-Loehr, 2008 Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature
