Eliminating Waste: An orientation for new Aldermen

Staff time is by far the greatest expense the city has. Just to give you an idea, staff expense makes up 80% of our operations budget. Don't get me wrong; it's a worthwhile expense! But being so valuable, we should make sure to be as efficient with staff as possible. They are our greatest resource, and we can acknowledge that by using their time wisely (and therefore, our tax dollars). Using staff more efficiently is one of the reasons Sarah Lewis and I are cosponsoring a resolution to create a full-featured orientation program for new Aldermen (and other elected officials).
It's not that staff and the other elected officials haven't been helpful. It's quite the contrary; all of my questions and muses have been met with genuine enthusiasm. Our City Clerk and Attorney have already produced a lot of documentation for us on things the Rules of Order, the organizational structure, the role of the Aldermen Committees, and FOIA advice. Staff seem downright eager to share their expertise with us.
I can't speak for Sarah, but I know she's had a similar experience.
And that's just the thing. Why are we making staff advise us on two separate occasions? We have very similar goals and agendas with our separate meetings, and if we could all get together at the same time, we would collectively cover more of our bases, and we'd reduce the amount of money being spent on orienting new Aldermen via staff time.
More to come...
Last Wednesday, Alderman Sarah Lewis, Chief of Staff Don Marr, City Attorney Kit Williams, and myself had a discussion about our vision for an orientation. I am very excited at Don's reception to our ideas, and I think the administration is eager to define a curriculum for making the orientation process more efficient.
Kit is working up a new draft of our ideas, and I'll update you when appropriate: within the next two weeks.