Atomic City Talk

Hooray for Pat Fain!!! She isn't afraid to say the emporer has no clothes.

http://www.oakridger.com/opinions/x10892...leadership

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — .To the Editor:

(Here are my) brief comments after spending numerous Tuesday afternoons (missed only one) at the City Council's Budget Committee meetings:

The city is broke. Not bankrupt. Not unable to pay its considerable and sometimes indefensible debts. Broke, as in not having sufficient revenue to cover its regular and ongoing expenses.

Most of the time has been spent listening to city staff and various organizations with contracts for services to the city detail how much money they want in the fiscal year 2011 budget so that they can continue business as usual.

The magnitude of the disconnect between reality and wishful thinking is stunning. I am still waiting to see the bottom-line dollar figures. That is coming soon to a house of mirrors near you.

The real bottom line is that no one has yet stated the reality of the situation. There are really only a couple of viable alternatives. Serious cuts in spending, or continuing to raise the debt.

The failures of leadership from both staff, in presenting the unvarnished true figures, and the Council, in openly and aggressively facing the very hard realities of cutting someone's favorite program, is sad and gives me heartburn, but it is not unexpected in the public world of getting elected to office and listening to public outrage over loss of services.

Leadership, however, is being able to stand up to the realities of life and politics, give them a name, identify some hard paths to finding solutions and admit that the road ahead will be tough. The great leaders of history are out front leading the way, not in the back looking around for the easiest path to save their own skins at the expense of the team.

The history of Oak Ridge is replete with team players. It just has a very fuzzy history of leadership.

Pat Fain

Oak Ridge

As I said in the other thread, not a good example. BTW, Pat is running for the City Council and regularly takes these Broken Oak Ridge themes but does not have answers or even particularly good ideas. There is no reason to trust her or her analyses.

Don't confuse him CN. Let him rant. He can't accomplish anything, so let him blow off steam.

(04-23-2010 09:48 PM)CrackerNation Wrote: [ -> ]As I said in the other thread, not a good example. BTW, Pat is running for the City Council and regularly takes these Broken Oak Ridge themes but does not have answers or even particularly good ideas. There is no reason to trust her or her analyses.

I don't know Pat, but have been intrigued by her public commentary.

Cracker:

1. Has she announced that she is running for council?
2. Is she telling the truth?
3. Why should we trust anything you say - are you not the campaign manager and close advisor to the mayor?

All we need is another person on council against expanding the tax base. No, please.

Perhaps Pat's claims are poltically motivated. Can you really afford to find out she is right? Some of this is likely due to the downturn in the economy and all communities are struggling with that. But, Oak Ridge was in trouble before this and the momentum of this decline is accelerating and it will be much deeper than what other communities will experience. Oak Ridge has a huge challenge on its hands now. The longer the complacency exists, the fewer choices there will be. If you don't start demanding change now, services will start getting cut just to make ends meet. Right now, Oak Ridge has very little playing into its favor. ORNL is undergoing an incredible rennaisance, yet there is not one indication that Oak Ridge is taking advantage of it.

The idea that change to the charter is going to make any real difference is unrealistic. Jim O'Connor made some very interesting observations before he left. One being that Oak Ridge is process driven and not results driven. Is changing the process going to get real results? I doubt it. Oak Ridge must focus on RESULTS!!! I strongly encourage Oak Ridge to adopt the Kaizen process of continuous improvement. Establishing goals along with a commitment to change by everyone, not just leadership. Tom Beehan must step up to the plate and be a real leader. Is he the same person that played a role in landing the Cincinnati airport in Kentucky??? Did he really do the things he claims he did in Covington? I have not seen that leader in Oak Ridge.

The Young Professionals of Oak Ridge must step up to the plate and provide a leadership role. They must lead the way in getting the young people out to vote. The social club must stop. They are about to inherit some serious problems, including the possibility of a municipal bankruptcy. The slum situation is only going to get worse, thus feeding more crime. It is a cancer that grows, thus affecting surrounding neighborhoods and their value. Fewer police because of a weaker tax base will exacerbate this. YPOR is about to inherit a bad situation and they must be a driving force for change.

Now is the time to start demanding change. The longer you wait, the worse it will be. In 1969. Walter Cronkite announced Chattanooga had the dirtiest air in America. A group of citizens organized an effort to change this and the results have been incredible. It was not elected officials and it was not a change to the city charter that drove change. It took almost 40 years, but Chattanooga is gaining even more momentum towards being an icon in America as an environmental friendly city and they are not resting on their laurels. Chattanooga is already planning on more change. This was a key factor in attracting Volkswagen, which will be the most environmentally friendly automobile manufacturer in North America. They will be a Gold LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified manufacturer with plans for platinum certification. The Ooltewah exit used to be an exit to nowhere. It is now thriving. Does Oak Ridge have to wait until it scrapes the bottom like Chattanooga???

Please be that group of people that chooses to make a difference. Cut out the sacred cows that do not add value. Don't be paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. Risk is part of change. Don't let your legacy in Oak Ridge be one of complacency and accepting the status quo. Please make time in your busy schedule to ask the tough questions at the next city council meeting. Demand change NOW!

The next generation is counting on you.

...yawn...
Sounds like everyone needs to do something except you Eric.
How is the weather in Chattanooga?

I did. Got anything constructive?

Man...I must be missing it. I keep looking around town for that big footprint you left and I can't seem to find the darn thing. Remind me again what your great accomplishment was?

Where would you like to meet to discuss it?

Got anything constructive? Or, just cowardly remarks from anonymity?