Lansford needs to create a culture to empower and retain its employees, develop operational procedures and establish clear roles for elected officials and its administrative staff, a consultant said Thursday.

Nicole Beckett from Lafayette College’s Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Center, a nonprofit that helps local governments become more effective, spoke to borough council about her initial assessment from interviews conducted in early February.

She commended elected officials for stepping up for their community but pointed out that people who decide to serve go from citizens to policymakers overnight.

“These are big jobs, especially in a municipality where you don’t have a manager,” Beckett said, adding that lines regarding roles and responsibilities blur.

“Council is here to govern. The staff is here to manage. It’s two different kind of responsibilities and two different kinds of authority,” she said.

“Governing means deciding what the borough will do, what you prioritize, what you will invest in,” Beckett continued. “It means passing that budget, passing an ordinance. It means collectively at public meeting, by vote, sharing power together.”

The staff manages day-to-day decisions, processes permits, manages finances, handles personnel matters and coordinates services, she said.

Council needs to come together and talk about the future and how to move the borough forward.

“A manager may be part of that. Maybe not,” Beckett said. “Maybe it’s a stronger administrative structure. Maybe it’s shared services with your neighbors.”

She pointed out as former borough secretary in Lansford some 15-16 years earlier that regionalization, or shared services, for police was discussed, and shared services is another direction for the state’s 2,500 municipalities.

Beckett also pointed out that there aren’t a lot of people out there in the workforce who want to go into a public service job.

“There are not a lot of people banging on the door to work here, right?” she said. “Twenty years ago, people wanted to work in local government. Public service is not something this next generation is interested in doing. These jobs are hard. They carry a lot of responsibility.”

Communication needed

Communication is the number one thing that needs to improve, and staff is receiving direction from multiple sources with no defined chain of command or organizational infrastructure, Beckett said based on her assessment.

“The borough is currently operating without many of the foundational administrative tools that municipalities rely on to prevent risk and liability … job descriptions, handbooks, SOPs, workflows,” she said.

“They’re not options,” Beckett said. “They should be a foundation every municipality has.”

She also stressed training for employees as necessary, not something extra or outside of the job.

“Professional development and training is a must,” Beckett said. “That’s an investment in your people. That’s not overhead. That’s good governance.”

Council needs to create an organizational culture to keep employees and as a council, come into alignment to set priorities for the future, Beckett said.

Council members may disagree, which is part of governance, but those disagreements need to be left at the table, she said.

“Your comprehensive plan should be guiding you. A strategic plan can help guide you,” she said. “Then, as you all come and go, as staff comes and goes, at least there’s a document there to help you along.”

Beckett explained that many communities face the same problem, but Lansford has asked for help, she said.

She did not know that the borough had also applied for an $80,000 matching grant for the Strategic Management Planning Program through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The grant would cover half the cost for Kafferlin Strategies to perform a review of the borough’s operations, an audit and do a five-year strategic plan. The borough could pay less due to financial hardship.

The strategic management planning program would review the borough’s overall operations, including a financial condition assessment, a management audit of all departments and operations, a review of investments, employee work agreements, union contracts, health care costs and borough ordinances.

Grant application

The borough is waiting to hear if its grant application was successful and notification was expected between February and April.

Beckett said she reached out to DCED and learned that the borough should know by the end of next week.

“If you get awarded this funding, you have an excellent opportunity,” she told council and suggested pausing on her proposal until a decision is made on the state grant.

The work with the Meyner Center would be looking at building an internal administrative structure and culture and could cost between $20,000 and $30,000, and the hourly rate is $120. Beckett said the center does offer additional services, such as those covered by STMP grant.

The two programs are not competing, but complementing, Beckett said.

“I just wanted to recognize the fact that what they proposed is different from the work that we proposed,” she said.

Mayor Denise Leibensperger asked if her work covered the police department, which she oversees, and Beckett said her work does not cover the police department and she is not a police expert. Beckett also noted that the state program, if awarded the grant, would look at police and finances.

What’s next?

Councilman Bruce Markovich, who completed the grant application for the state program, said if awarded, they could always bring in Beckett to cover any gaps in that program.

Beckett said the programs can run at the same time, as they’re not competing but complementary. She also expressed concerns about the borough having the capacity to handle the grant.

“If you get awarded it, then what, what does that mean?” she said. “Who’s managing that grant? Who’s going to handle that while everything else is going on? With a grant comes responsibility, a lot of it.

“Capacity is important. You never want to push beyond capacity,” Beckett said. “And grants require a lot of work to be done.”

Beckett, who suggested waiting on the grant, did point out that she chose to work with Lansford, and needs to have a decision from council on moving forward, as her calendar is filling up fast for the year.

Residents expressed support for Beckett, as many of them served on council in the past and worked with her.

Council President Joe Genits suggested waiting to hear on the grant, as they may have a decision by the end of next week, and council can revisit the Meyner Center at its meeting April 15.