Mammoth’s Interim Town Manager Dan Holler. Photo courtesy of www.union.com
In his first month on the job, Mammoth’s Interim Town Manager, Dan Holler, has delved into the organizational structure of the cash-strapped town to determine if and how many employee and department head vacancies should be filled, how town government can function better, how functions are related – all of this in the short-run and long-term.
Manager Holler said he hopes to have a report prepared for the Town Council for their November 20th meeting or the first meeting in December. Holler said, “I’m looking at the broader issues – the organizational structure and where we need management versus workers. My priority is to enhance efficiencies,” he said. Holler said he also wants to see if there is a better way to organize around the workload.
Key policies are also under scrutiny. Holler said that for instance some positions were funded with savings. He said, “That’s not a good way to finance positions.” Holler also has an eye on who would fill in if a department heads leaves. This examination focuses on immediate needs, six-month concerns and a five-year window, according to the Manager.
Holler made it clear he will not “just fill vacancies.” He says he will examine operations in light of how all departments tie together. Holler said, “You can’t build in a vacuum, department by department.”
What about town finances? Holler said the Town does have the money to pay its MLLA debt. It was paid July 1st. It’s about managing cash flow. Holler admitted that “Things are extremely tight.” He did say that the Town is coming out of last year in better shape than first thought. He said he will “manage the limited resources we have. It’s an ongoing challenge.”
Next week, we’ll hear from the Interim Town Manager on much-discussed potential land purchases and selection of a permanent Town Manager.
Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News - The Community's News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
And what exactly are they going to learn on this “peer resort” visit that they couldn’t glean from a (much less expensive, schmooze-free) conference call with Mr. Vance? Maybe that it’s possible to do things like that in Whistler that are unlikely to happen in Mammoth because of a) that little event called the Olympics b) a$$-loads of ca$h from the Canadian government to help sponsor that same little event.
Get real. At least visit a resort with some similarities to Mammoth…Oh wait, that wouldn’t be nearly as much fun now, would it?
PS: Tell Mathew, John and Dan that there might be a few boxes of files at Town offices full of priceless information from the mid-90’s peer resort tour that was orchestrated at Town expense. Apparently no-one learned anything from than boondoggle either.
“visiting other peer resorts”
ha ha I suggest first defining and agreeing what a peer resort is. Or are their heads that fat? Mammoth Lakes is no Whistler.
Translation: Yes…”peer resort tour” boondoggle impending.
To commenter who asked about a trip to Whistler. Mayor Rick Wood responded to that this morning:
“No, I did not go to Whistler, nor, to my knowledge, did Matthew and Dan. However, I understand that John Eastman, Matthew and Dan plan a short trip to Whistler in a couple of weeks to review the work Mike Vance did while he was there, including the planning of the Olympic Village housing which has apparently successfully been converted into workforce housing. I fully endorse Councilmembers visiting other peer resorts to see what has worked and what has not in order to apply lessons learned to ML.”
Clint Eastwood once said”Tomorrow is a promise to nowhere”. Good luck to Mr. Interim!
Bennett, you should look into something I heard about the new Town Manager, the mayor, and Matthew Lehman, taking a trip to Whistler together for some much needed boondoggling this month.
OK.
BK
Boondoggling- that’s good!
fire everyone and start over,cant be any worse