How Persuasive Are You? Making Your Point at City Council

By: Terry Brannon, PE, President
The Brannon Corporation, Tyler
Consulting Engineers

You may be one of those young lions that eats your city council for lunch but more than likely you're in that group of people who take Maalox before your scheduled appearance to beg for money for your aquatics program. After all, these people have your career in their collective hands and you feel more than a little out of control.

After thirty years of standing before councils begging for work or presenting ideas, I think I've finally figured it out and here is my attempt to share that experience with you!

Let's say you want a couple of hundred grand to upgrade your swimming pool. The city council has you on the agenda so how are you going to prepare and what are you going to say?

BEFORE THE MEETING:

LAY GROUNDWORK. Contrary to what you think of the democratic process, votes at the city council or in the U.S. Senate are NOT won during the course of floor debate or because of slick dog-and-pony shows. Most council members have already read council communiqués on the subject, asked a few questions, polled their barbershop and likely have their minds made up before they take their seats at the meeting. Be sure you communicate EARLY, thoroughly and in writing. Don't hold information in reserve for the council meeting. You may not have the opportunity to present those great thoughts so put them in writing in advance.

MAKE ALLIES. Now this is sometimes touchy so you may have to adapt this advice to your local situation. More than likely there will be upper level staff and elected officials who see things your way. Make sure they know all the facts before the meeting. Talk over the project with your city administrator. In a small town, you probably have access directly to the mayor or council members. Volunteer to meet one-on-one and find out their concerns. Then find answers for those concerns. If they are worried about sagging attendance and red-ink, research the facts and be prepared.

PREPARE. Prepare for the meeting. Don't try to wing it. You'll have all those wonderful ideas and things you want to say and in the "heat of battle" you will forget everything you ever knew about pools. Prepare notes for your use. Prepare exhibits. If you use slides or overheads, prepare hard copy versions of the images to hand out at the meeting. Check out the meeting room in advance. Is there room for an overhead projector screen? Will all the council members be able to see at the same time as the audience? Don't let the room geography surprise you on meeting day.

AT THE MEETING:

COVER THE GROUND. Cover all the points in your notes quickly and confidently. Remember you probably know more about the subject at hand than anyone else in the room. You ARE the expert or at least the closest thing to an expert at the meeting. And include in your points one or more of the following as may apply:

1. COSTS - Never, never, ever understate the costs in an attempt to get your way on the basis that you'll just ask for more later if they approve the project. Don't count on it. You may be embarrassed at the meeting if someone knows what pools really cost. Not only will you look unprofessional, you will embarrass your allies and supporters. If they are going to faint at the cost, let them faint now.
2. COSTS VERSUS BENEFITS - Never discuss costs without discussing benefits. In your preparation you should have identified every benefit possible - reduced maintenance, more revenues, state mandates, quality of life, whatever. Be prepared to quantify those benefits and don't be vague about it! How much increase can you expect in revenues? How much will costs be reduced? If the project is worthwhile, the value of the benefits WILL exceed the costs.

And don't forget that some benefits are not so obvious. Closing the only city pool is going to hurt the quality of life in your town even if it was losing money. You compete every day for the spendable income of families. Will the improvements to the pool improve your competitiveness for those dollars?

3. ALTERNATIVES - Show the council you have considered alternatives. Sometimes there will be many. Sometimes just a few. Consider the differences in cost for each alternative and the impact each alternative has in terms of benefits.

4. MAKE A RECOMMENDATION - Don't just present alternatives like a Christmas shopping list and ask the council to make a choice. After showing them the alternatives you considered, recommend what you feel is the best solution and show why. After all, you are the expert. They are looking to you for advice here.

ANSWER OBJECTIONS BEFORE THEY ARE RAISED. This is the old "take-the-wind-out-of-their-sails" strategy. Let's say you know some council member is opposed to installing a big slide at the old pool because its going to cost $75,000. Have your realistic projections of increased attendance and higher revenues at hand to show that this is a good business decision. After all, every council member who ever won election campaigned on the basis of ". . . .running the city like a business." During your preparation, critically assess every reason you can think of this project should not be approved. Then, prepare arguments for each of those reasons.

PRESENT SOLUTIONS - NOT PROBLEMS. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've attended council meetings to see some staffer approach the council with a problem but no solution. You cannot believe how poorly this reflects on you. Never lay out the problem (Our pool is losing money . . . what do you want to do? We are out of compliance with state regs. And so on.) without presenting alternative solutions and a recommendation.

DON'T FALL ON YOUR SWORD. You were hired because someone thought you were talented and had special knowledge and abilities. If the council doesn't see it your way, remember the sun will still rise in the East and you will still have a job. Never take the council's actions personally. (Unless they fire you. Then you can take it personally.) You have no reason to lose sleep as long as you prepared and gave the project every chance to be fairly discussed before the council.

GLOBAL CONCERNS:

Be aware that everyone connected with your pool has a "global concern" or, as some psychologists say, they are "stake-holders" in your project. Not everyone's concerns are as noble as yours. After all, you just want to promote safety and health. Right? Before you can win approval of your ideas you have to answer all these peoples' concerns:

Your Boss - Your boss's chief concern and HIS or HER boss's chief concern is to keep their respective jobs. Make sure he or she is thoroughly briefed on what you are going to say. Never surprise the Boss. No one likes surprises. There is an old saying in corporate politics: "Keep the bosses boss off the bosses back." If you fail to heed this, you are likely going to be looking for work.
Your Subordinates - Your subordinates' concerns may be varied. One of them may want your job but most just want to be part of a successful project, so involve them. Don't ignore them in the decision making process. Seek their opinions, heed good advice, and make them a vested partner in the project. If you don't and fail, they will be right behind you pushing you out the door.
Elected Officials - Someone once wrote the chief concern of elected officials is to get re-elected. That may very well be your council's global concern. Be aware they catch flack all day long about garbage, police, water bills and everything else about city government. They don't need new problems. They also do not like being embarrassed by some reporter questioning their decisions so make sure they have all the facts to make good decisions. Make them look like the smartest people in the world for going along with your project!

Is this going to get you the win every time? I doubt it. But presenting your pet project before the city council can be nerve-wracking at the very least so you need every asset you can muster. If you'll follow this advice you can take off a little of the pressure.