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PODCAST

PCC Local Time

Nancy Joan Hess

No other level of government impacts us as much in our daily lives as local government. For the last 40 years I have been talking to managers as an organization consultant and am as fascinated by their work today as when I began. The professional municipal manager is entrusted with a ship that often runs over rough waters even as it delivers vital services to communities. This show is about the ideas and innovation that will drive the future of the profession of municipal management. If you are

government documentary

All Episodes

53:31

#25 - Ralph "Hutch" Hutchison - the art of calm in a...

PCC Local Time ·

2023/03/24

Ralph Hutchison, or as he is known around these parts, “Hutch”, is manager of East Lampeter Township in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. Today we take an inside peek of what it looks like to manage a municipality that is situated in the heart of Lancaster County. As Ralph says, “there are two things people don’t like. The way things are and change.”He shares with us his philosophy and approach to managing a Township that fully embraces two ends of a spectrum in culture and business.I am your host,

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01:00:03

#24 - Jerry Andree and Dan Santoro on the art of...

PCC Local Time ·

2023/03/17

Today my guests are two distinguished municipal managers from Pennsylvania, Jerry Andre the former manager and Dan Santoro, the current manager, of Cranberry Township in Butler County Pennsylvania We are going to talk about regional partnerships. Why are they important and what are the skills you need to be successful in this arena? We are going to drill down in the area of relationship building and engagement and as you will discern, this is the secret sauce that has made this Township evolve in

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58:21

#23 - Tom Vernau - Through the lens of a municipal...

PCC Local Time ·

2023/03/03

Today an episode about the ways municipal managers think about their work and the challenges that they learn to embrace.Tom Vernau has been managing Lower Allen Township in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania since 2005. Like all the best managers, Tom makes those around him look good while staying under the radar. Today we shape the conversation around how he thinks about challenges confronting local government and some of the important ways his career has been shaped.Among managers, Tom stands out for

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57:09

#22 - Re-imagining public service with Ben Kafferlin...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/12/09

Several years ago I met Ben Kafferlin at a County Commissioners conference in Pennsylvania. At the time, he was new to office and not surprisingly, he had some ideas about how to improve the organization structure. He invited me up to Warren County in northwest PA to interview a few key staff and share my thoughts with the Board. I wanted to find out how this visionary was doing and so we met over coffee along with his county administrator Lisa Hagberg. They are both on our show today.Some of my

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01:30:13

#21 - Women Who Lead with Amy Farkas, Nicole Beckett,...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/11/18

Today on the podcast I have five articulate women guests. Together, they represent different generations and different experiences of work. They share how early life experiences have formed their ideas of leadership. They talk about the importance of support in their environment and in particular, what it means to have other women and men pave the road ahead. We close the show with thoughts about conversations we need to have with men and other women. I think the last ten minutes of the show offers

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53:14

#20 - Seth Higgins on looking at local government...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/10/14

My guest Seth Higgins, is the former Chief Clerk in Elk County Pennsylvania. He now provides consulting services to help local governments navigate the maze of state and local fiscal recovery funds. In this episode, we return to his early interest in process improvement and talk about what grounds his thinking. He illustrates how it looks when applied to parking, zoning, pension management, union contract negotiations and political processes at the local level. He also shares important nuances about

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01:18:45

#19 - Is there such a thing as neutrality in...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/09/30

Professional municipal managers think about ethics and in particular the ICMA Code of Ethics which guide their profession. Although the term “neutrality” is never mentioned in the tenets, it is a foundational idea, or shall we say, ideal, in the management of local governments. Today our guests, Matt Candland and Dave Pribulka, two professional managers, juxatapose their perspectives to give us a clearer picture of how the concept of neutrality plays out (or doesn’t) in real time.The Pioneering

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01:11:52

#18 - How to negotiate a manager contract with Ron...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/09/09

This is a special PCC Local Time podcast episode hosted by some of the members of the Pioneering Change Advisory Team. For many years I have heard anecdotal comments from managers that go something like, “I would not mind a contract like Ron Wagenmann’s!” Or, Everything I know about negotiating a manager contract I learned from Ron Wagenmann.”So, it seemed like a natural choice to feature Ron on a podcast. But I decided I was not the right choice to interview him, so I asked his longtime colleague

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48:16

#17 - Ernie McNeely - Leveraging process in local...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/08/19

Pragmatism and process can lead to innovation in local government if we know how to listen and engage to bring issues forward.When I asked Ernie McNeely to interview with me, I told him I was curious about what is it like to manage a Township rich with history, academic institutions, and religious diversity. I was also curious about the fact that Lower Merion Township shares a border with Philadelphia and wondered what challenges and opportunities that might present. Ernie does not disappoint. His

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54:30

#16 - Tom Fountaine on Community Engagement

PCC Local Time ·

2022/07/29

Community conversations happen all the time in various venues, but local government managers cannot take them for granted. When community engagement is waning, it is important to think about ways to bring people together. Tom Fountaine, municipal manager in State College, Pennsylvania, knows something about the challenges of community engagement. We discovered we share an appreciation for Peter Block who wrote the book Community, the Structure of Belonging. I invited him on to PCC Local Time to talk

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01:28:36

#15 - The Lansdale Story - with Dan Dunigan, Matt...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/07/08

SHOW NOTES..What if a guy who has a vision for his community, hears about another guy who sounds just like him, and what if those two run into each one day in a barbershop...and what if, they happen to be from two different political parties, but decide to run together?This PCC Local Time podcast episode include those two guys, Dan Dunigan, and Matt West. They ran for elected office in Lansdale Borough, Montgomery County Pennsylvania. Together with a willing team on Council, they realized goals that

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50:18

#14 - The Art of Obtaining Grants with Dr. Bev...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/06/24

If you are mystified by the process of obtaining grants for your local government, this episode is for you. This is a masterclass that will help you with your short and long game. Our guests today include Dr. Beverly Cigler, Professor Emerita at Penn State University in Public Policy and Administration begins our discussion with highlights from a recent study on management priorities in local government in Pennsylvania. She centers us on the type of grants that are available to address these

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44:24

#13 - Matt Candland - Where collective bargaining...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/06/09

Matt Candland is the manager at Upper Moreland Township in Montgomery County Pennsylvania. In this episode he has a few things to say about collective bargaining laws for police and fire in Pennsylvania. He has a depth of understanding and skill for examining issues from multiple angles that not only makes him valuable in his profession but also makes him a great conversationalist. In this interview, We talk about police, the role of the municipal manager and challenges in municipal management

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54:33

#12 - Mark Stivers on people and places that make a...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/31

All you have to do to get into a great conversation with Mark Stivers is ask him about the jobs he has held in his life. From Park Ranger to Addiction Counselor to Planner to Professional Manager, he has seen and experienced the world and brings his unique perspectives to his work. “You leave a place better than you found it.You don’t burn bridges, you build relationships.You build teams and that will get you through life.” (Lessons Mark learned from being an Eagle Scout)We start by talking about

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37:11

#11 - Ken Battin on a better connection between...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/31

In this interview, Ken Battin allows me to tap into my curiosity about how emergency services intersect with municipal services and what role municipal managers play in supporting public safety. He emphasizes the importance of not relying on any one model but finding a model that works for your municipality. He shares an engaging approach that helps achieve this in his own.Ken was the Director of Codes and Life Safety at East Whiteland Township in Pennsylvania for many years, which included the

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58:36

#10 - Keith Hite on reimagining the future of a state...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/27

Keith Hite spent a good part of his career at the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) and when we met in the late 90's he had taken the helm as Executive Director. In this interview we talk about some of the challenges he faced during his leadership, not only with helping the organization re-imagine its future but also with helping highly tenured staff make the shift to new ways of doing things.We also talk about the importance of relationships in professional life, the

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01:03:39

#9 - Dan Zimmerman on regionalization and a diverse...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/26

Dan Zimmerman is a quintessential under-the-radar, always-assessing-potential kind of municipal manager. His career demonstrates the value of commitment to the long game and the outsized results that can come from investment in regionalization. He recently retired as manager of Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His work speaks for itself. Over his career he has sheparded the creation of a regional police department, a 7.1 miles rails to trails project and a portfolio of development

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35:27

#8 - Joe Mench on how to create a one-stop customer...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/20

[Early Interview Series]Joe Mench was the first member interview I did when I created the Pioneering Change Community. There was a reason for that. The projects we worked on together represent a critical intersection of customer service, work culture and technology. Joe was the key internal partner to work with me on improving customer service work processes, and integrating them with technology to build a lean one stop customer service center. Today. He jokingly refers to his customer service staff

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59:17

#7 - Erin Trone shares how Trader Joe's came to town

PCC Local Time ·

2022/05/13

How does an Assistant Manager make a case to buy an empty department story in a declining retail area, raze it to the ground and find a buyer? How does that buyer become a Trader Joe's? It takes a team with vision, willingness to step up to the plate, and steady nerves. Erin Trone came to the world of local government to make a difference and she stayed the course long enough to do just that. She recalls her journey from young professional to working mom and the joy of watching her kids play in the

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38:30

#6 - Let data into the game! A conversation with...

PCC Local Time ·

2022/04/28

Today we talk with Bradley Gotshall about why he is invested in the profession of municipal management and what makes him excited about the future. Hint: he sees the possibilities for technology to increase effectiveness in delivery of services, outreach to community and efficiency within the organization. With so few young professionals in the pipeline, he is one of a small sub-set of managers who are coming up through and has some valuable perspectives for the future. He is currently the manager

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