Facts
The case narrates decisions made in Oakdale, a city with a population of 5,000 people that faces development challenges. Oakdale has experienced poor development records with most of its buildings very old and badly manage despite having a Mayor and a full administration. The city has faced an economic slumber for long as compared to Silver Lake City, a neighboring urban center that has a high flying economy and good leadership. Ernie Hoffnagel is elected as the Oakdale city mayor in April 2003. He won the position after making promises of change in the city as compared to the incumbent mayor who said that Hoffnagel’s ideas were not economically applicable in the city. The new mayor appoints Donny as the city manager and terminates the previous administration’s staff to bring in his people (Cropf, Giancola, & Loutzenhiser, 2012). Donny has a controversial reputation but Hoffnagel assures the city board that she is the best for the position due to her experience.
Donny and Hoffnagel’s administration plan the redevelopment agenda and proceed with all procedures in a way that isolated the city’s board in the decision making. After months of making initial moves to prepare for the implementation of the project including an architect, Donny cannot produce the Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to the board. The board hires private auditing companies that report that the city has a $4.2 million debt, a matter that is quickly disputed by the mayor. The city board relieves Donny from her position as the mayor resigns a month later citing obstacles to implement his ideas. Marie Clarkson, an interim retired and experienced mayor is appointed to run the city. The new city manager Paul Asher has a huge decision to make to determine the proceeding of the redevelopment project or its termination (Cropf, Giancola, & Loutzenhiser, 2012). He understands that his decision will affect every person in Oakdale for many years in the future.
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Decisions
Political positions involve complex decisions that affect generations and many people. Several decisions are made in the administration of Oakland; some are appropriate while others are not. Hoffnagel’s appointment with Donny was a risky decision since she has a poor reputation in other municipal administrations (Bursens, De Landtsheer, Braeckmans, & Segaert, 2017). The mayor goes on to defend the new city manager to the board and assures the people that she is the best suited for the redevelopment job due to her experience (Cropf, Giancola, & Loutzenhiser, 2012). It was an inappropriate decision to appoint a person with a poor record of ethics to a decisive position in the direction of the city.
Transformational leadership involves vital decisions that may find resistance among the affected stakeholders (Allen, Grigsby, & Peters, 2015). Decisions made by Hoffnagel’s administration did not involve the city’s board. The board was at the receiving end of the decisions that have already been made and being implemented. The overlooking of the importance of the board in the redevelopment led to animosity and investigations which led to the dismissal of Donny following a violation of the codes and lack of RFPs in the redevelopment project (Cropf, Giancola, & Loutzenhiser, 2012). Leadership decisions must involve all players and transparency (Cansoy & Parlar, 2018). The mess created by Donny also leads to the mayor’s resignation due to poor leadership and mismanagement.
The board appointed Marie and Asher as the mayor and the city manager respectively to evaluate and make a decision on the way forward for Oakdale city. After going into every detail of the redevelopment project and the records of the previous government, Asher is tasked with the decision to move on with the development of the city or cancel the project. The decision should be made in accordance with the city administrator’s code of ethics. If the redevelopment project was to proceed, the procedural steps would be completed correctly and accurately in a way that also brings the confidence of the residents in the government and also generating more revenue (Cropf, Giancola, & Loutzenhiser, 2012). On the contrary, termination of the redevelopment project would make Asher unpopular among the citizens; the property acquired would be sold to lower the losses to the city administration.
Solution
Paul Asher should give the green light to proceed with the redevelopment project. The city needs the project to be completed in order to attract investors and generate more revenue. Moreover, the residents will be impressed by the completion of the project. Asher therefore must ensure that all procedures and documentation are made accurate in accordance with the code of ethics and laws (Allen, Grigsby, & Peters, 2015). Personally, this can also give Asher a political mileage to become a mayor in the city. It would be a process of making the previous mayor’s decisions right by taking the right actions. According to utilitarian ethics, a good choice is the one that benefits the largest number of people (Mill, 2017). Even though it is tough to review the past details of the project, the completion of the project benefits more city residents.
Conclusion
Some decisions made in the case are appropriate while others are not. It was inappropriate for Hoffnagel to appoint Donny who keeps making inappropriate decisions especially isolating the city board. The wrong decisions and actions made under the administration of Hoffnagel can be made right under Mayor Marie’s leadership in Oakdale. Asher, the city manager should make a decision to proceed with the redevelopment project. That will be economically beneficial for the residents of Oakdale and socially make them proud of their city. The success of the city’s redevelopment with accurate documentation will provide a new economic base of success in future generations. That shows how decisions have long-term effects on many people for many years.
References
Allen, N., Grigsby, B., & Peters, M. (2015). Does leadership matter? Examining the Relationship Among Transformational Leadership, School Climate, and Student Achievement. NCPEA International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation , 1-22.
Bursens, P., De Landtsheer, C., Braeckmans, L., & Segaert, B. (2017). Complex Political Decision-Making: Leadership, Legitimacy and Communication. New York: Routledge.
Cansoy, R., & Parlar, H. (2018). Examining the Relationships among Trust in Administrator, Distributed Leadership and School Academic Optimism. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Yönetimi , 1-44.
Cropf, R., Giancola, J., & Loutzenhiser, K. (2012). The Public Administration Casebook . New York: Routledge.
Mill, J. S. (2017). Utilitarianism. London: Coventry House Publishing.
