Newly Elected Again
Weekly Update 12/3/2023 to 12/9/2023 #202
Newly Elected Officials training round three. Before I get into the third round of
NEO, let me share some other parts of my week serving as the mayor of the best small town in America.
City employees recently sat through our annual open enrollment meetings for health
insurance. For the last several years, we have been able to keep premium
increases at zero, but this year we did have to increase employees’ annual
contribution by taking a payment each paycheck. This was not a decision entered
into lightly, and I have to give credit to Clerk Treasurer Boas and HR Director
White for all the work they put into making sure we found the best way to move
forward. Even with the increases I believe that our insurance offerings are one
of the benefits to working for the city instead of private sector where the pay
is often higher.
Looking through the weekly updates that I receive from department heads, several
mentioned the Santa Tour. Since it started several years ago from a Chamber of
Commerce idea it has continued to grow and improve. After kids complained about
peppermint candy canes being too spicy, they have switched over to berry
flavored candy canes. Couldn’t hear the music turned into a new set of speakers
for Seymour Fire Engine 14 as it doubled for Santa’s sleigh again this year. A
few years ago, Seymour Police Department found a way to track location to make
it easier for the public to check during their trash night. Even deciding to
use trash day as the night Santa would visit was an upgrade over year one. All
in all, we had some complaints from the public that were often the same as we do
year after year, but from those that I have spoken with over the week, I would
say it will come back for another year in 2024. Of course before that happens
we will have to debrief with the big man himself and all of his helpers who
drove him around in 2023. Thank you to everyone involved for all of your help.
Time to get back to my third round of Newly Elected Officials Training. Back in 2015, after I was elected to Common Council, I attended my first NEO session in
Jeffersonville hosted by then Indiana Association of Cities and Towns. Shortly
after, they become Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, or AIM for short. In 2019, I
was attending NEO training, but this time as Mayor Elect of Seymour. I was one
of the incoming first term mayors taking office in 2020. As I sat down for my
first training session at Mayors School, I couldn’t believe some of the stories
I heard. No way these things happen to Indiana mayors may have been the actual
thought. A few weeks ago, with a mayor elect, it dawned on me that I was now one
of the veteran mayors after just four years, and I could get questions from the
some of Indiana’s 52 new mayors who will start their first term in just a few
weeks. This was one of the big reasons that I felt it was important for me to
attend NEO this year. Being able to share my firsthand experiences may help
avoid headaches that I have experienced over the last 47 months. The other
reason is that I always learn something new during the training sessions. My
staff knows that when I attend Mayors School, or a session of the Mayors
Institute, that I will have a list of ways we can continue to make our community
a better place. This round was nothing different, and Monday will start the idea
conversations as I review my notes to see what seed has started to grow from
them. Today, I will leave you with a quote to consider from author Mike Vance,
"Innovation is the creation of the new, or the rearranging of the old in a
new way."