1. City Council Hearings in Orsan,
Orewash

2. Roles and Questions to Consider
• Mayor and his staff
– How should the mayor handle such a situation?
– Was it right for the mayor to encourage Santos not to discuss the numbers
with the council prior to the hearing?
– What motivates the behavior of the mayor?
• Director Santos
– Is Santos handling the situation properly?
– What about is ideas for reform?
– What factors motivate his behavior? What are his loyalties?
• Legislators and their staff
– Did they handle the situation properly?
– What type of questions should they be asking?
– What factors motivate their behavior?
• General public
– How should the general public handle such a situation?
– What factors motivate their behavior?

3. Themes
• How legislative members behave
• How a poor budgeting system can HURT your career
and your city
• The dangers that come from a lack of data
(incrementalism will kill you)
• Administrative responsibility (Was Santos right for
taking the blame?)
• Communication and the problems with public hearings
• Interconnectedness of politics and budgeting
technicalities

4. Lessons Learned
• Don’t surprise elected officials
• In a public hearing, elected officials may say something
100% different than what they believe (credit claiming)
• Recognize the role of the media
• Recognize how relationships can help solve problems
(network theory)
• Crisis may lead to an opportunity (edge of chaos or more
realistically a policy window)
• Manager on the hot seat shouldn’t take it personally… most
of the time
• Effective service of a manager is necessary for political
support