Interview: Dan Keen, Concord’s new City Manager

September 3, 2008

Halfway To Concord: Word on the street is your management style is easy going. I’ve heard one observer use the term consensus builder. Tell us about your management style and a couple of ways you think it might come in handy.

Dan Keen: I think “consensus-builder” would be a fair description of my management style. City managers work with three core constituencies - the City Council, the staff and the community — and we’re often in a unique position to see opportunities for compromise and cooperation. I’ve found that moving the City Council’s priorities forward is easiest when I use a consensus approach, rather than trying to force a particular agenda. For Concord, I think this management style is going to be a good match — particularly with respect to the Concord Naval Weapons Station reuse, but also concerning development issues in general. The same goes for budget and fiscal issues. “Easy-going” is a very accurate description of my management style, as well. I’ve believe I’ve had good success in building strong management teams, and I feel very strongly that my relaxed personality has been a big part of that.

Halfway To Concord: Current budget outlook called for mild dip into reserve pool with revenue to return to positive cash flow by 2010 (I think this is what I remembered from budget discussions). Give us a snap shot of Concord budget and ten year outlook given possibility of less revenue either from less tax revenue or from State raids on local funds.

Dan Keen: Our latest annual report, which will be distributed to every household this coming week, has a great summary of our recently adopted budget. Like all California cities, Concord has experienced declining sales tax and property tax revenues, our two largest revenue sources comprising 67% of our General Fund. Most cities, including Concord, are addressing this issue through lower expenditures and use of reserves. At this point, Concord’s use of reserves does not overly concern me — it is a very small number relative to the total budget, and the City’s overall reserve levels are healthy. However, I am very concerned (and all Concord residents should be as well) about the potential raids our State legislature may make on City revenues this year and in following years. The State’s failure to address their long-term, structural budget problem, and their propensity to push off that problem to local government through raids, may mean more difficult budgets in coming years. That, in turn, may require revisiting the assumptions in our 10-year plan. The potential permanent hits to Redevelopment Agencies would be particularly damaging for Concord - on the order of nearly $900,000 less revenue per year.

Halfway To Concord: Mac or PC?

Dan Keen: PC

Halfway To Concord: Any future left for Concord-wide free Wi-Fi since MetroFi demise? I hear there is a fire sale on some routers and other equipment. Good thing Dragovich retired or he’d be scheming like Sgt. Bilko.

Dan Keen: Haven’t had an opportunity to delve into this one yet. However, I did have some experience with this type of project in Marin County — we were considering establishment of something similar to what Concord did — and my understanding is that the business model simply wouldn’t support this type of project today. Most of these proposals throughout the nation appear to be struggling or failing, so I don’t have a lot of optimism about this concept right now.

Halfway To Concord: Ed James (bless his holy name) left a huge impact on the City and had quite a following (bless his holy name). Can you speak to that legacy and what future challenges lay ahead perhaps in areas of staffing, policy, OPEB accounting, budgeting as it affects role of municipal government, etc.

Dan Keen: Like other managers I have followed in prior positions, Ed was (is) very popular in Concord, and left a solid foundation for the next manager. The ten-year budget, the Mission-Vision-Values initiative, and performance-based budgetting are all things which really stand out to me as building blocks for my work in this City. That said, I think this City will face some serious budgetary challenges in the next couple of years, owing entirely to the state of our regional economy and the actions of our state legislature. Those budgetary challenges will, in all likelihood, temporarily slow our ability to take on many new initiatives. The long-term focus that is created by the 10-year budget is probably the greatest gift Ed James could have left to future city managers in Concord, and I am excited to have inherited that tool from him.

It’s probably premature at this point to go beyond the budget issue, in terms of future challenges. Ask me again in 3 months and I’ll be able to give you a more informed response.

Halfway To Concord: Raiders or Niners?

Dan Keen: Neither. College football.

Halfway To Concord: What’s your opinion on “rolling meetings” as Stratego-like paper weights are used to count to three?

Dan Keen: Assuming your use of the term “rolling meeting” refers to a sequential communication of positions from one elected official to another outside of a public meeting for the purpose of obtaining a majority consensus, this is obviously a violation of the Brown Act.

Halfway To Concord: Thinking about the Brown Act, at what point should Council have public hearings on matters of pending legislation before it zips a letter off to some assemblyman or lobby group like the League of California Cities proclaiming the Concord’s endorsement of some position?

Dan Keen: This is up to the Council, but in my experience a fairly easy judgement call. If the pending legislation is something with a clear benefit or detriment to the City’s overall interests, and in staff’s judgement is unlikely to be a matter of controversy on the City Council, a letter should be sent without delay — very often, there might not be sufficient time to take the item to the Council for review given the legislative process. In all other cases, the City shouldn’t take a position or should schedule it for discussion at a Council meeting.

Halfway To Concord: Red or White?

Dan Keen: No question - red. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir….even Merlot.

Written by admin · Filed Under COMMUNITY