Township Relations

• Spring Road Maintenance Workshop– June 2, 2003– Prepared by Philip Dux– Manager of Field Operations– Township Supervisor– Grader Operator– (Of us and them, Phil may be one of them!)

Program Goals

• To reduce erosion sediment and dust pollution originating from unpaved roads.

PA SCC Mission Statement

• “…to ensure the wise use of Pennsylvania’s natural resources and to protect and restore the natural environment through the the conservation of it’s soil, water and related resources.”

Benefits Of The Program For Conservation Districts

• Program provides:– Legitimate entrée for a positive relationship

with municipalities– Conduit for developing Municipal awareness of

Environmental Regulations and Permit Requirements already in place

– Opportunity for increased visibility for other Conservation District Programs and Goals

Building Relationships

• Township Supervisors – Elected officials with enormous power within

their municipalities– Historically territorial and independent– Come from diverse backgrounds– Predominantly male (85%)– Largely middle-aged and older (Average 56yrs)

Township Supervisors Profile

• Predominantly male (85%)• Largely middle-aged and older (Average

age is 56yrs) – 67% over 50 years old– 25% over 65 years old– 11% under 40 years old

• Years in office: (10 years)

Township Supervisors Profile

• Education– 8% No High School Diploma – 57% High School Diploma– 17% Bachelor’s Degree

• Years of Service as related to Education– College Degree -9 years service– High School Diploma -10 years service– No High School Diploma -13 years service

Where They’re At!

• Informal polling at training sessions shows:– In a group of 30 attendees,

• Between 3 and 5 have ever held a “Permit”• 3 or 4 know what an E&S Plan is• When asked if they have ever installed the elements

of an E&S plan, about half of the people familiar with permits and E&S Plans have installed actual E&S measures….. About 5% of the total…..

Getting The Relationship Started

• Three Steps– Initiate Contact– Develop Understanding of the other person’s

point of view– Develop a project that moves the Municipality

toward a greater awareness of the role erosion and sediment play in road maintenance.

Initial Contact

• Treat this like a date– Gather as much information as you can– What do you know about these people?

• Areas of interest• Politics/party affiliation• Hobbies• Years in office

Initial Contact

• Try to meet with more than one of the Supervisors at a time

• Assess the dynamic and try not to get too close to the “odd man out”

• If one of the Supervisors is a real Techno- geek, and understands GIS etc, be careful, the other Supervisors will be suspicious

Point Of View

• A Recent Cover of PA Township News stated it with incredible clarity!!!!!

• IT’S ALL ABOUT ROADS!– The more rural the Municipality, the truer

this statement – Generally speaking, rural populations

expect less of Government (except roads)

Initial Contact

• Check your ego at the door!!– This is not about you– Your meetings with the Township should be

very low-key– This is a poker game where it is best to watch

and listen a lot and speak very little– You are not walking in to the relationship with

“standing”

Initiate Contact

• It is always easier to meet the municipality on their turf– Meet in the early morning at the garage or shed

where they gather prior to the work day– This is usually a time where they chit chat

about what is planned for the day– There is a lot going on that you can not see– Be patient. If your meeting is over in just a few

minutes, you probably failed miserably.

First Impressions

• How will they see you?– What do the clothes you wear and the vehicle you drive

say about you?– Do you advertise your views with your attire?

• “Save The Whales?”• “We all live down stream”• “Save the Bay”

– Will they understand those issues? – How important is it to make those statements that day?

First Impressions

• This is not an E&S Inspection– Forget the cool professional detachment you

may be encouraged to have in that setting– Make every effort to be warm, friendly and

engaging– You are on their territory– The success of your program lies in getting

them to participate

Working Together

• Clearly the success of the Program requires working together with the Municipality– The dynamic should be one of partnership– In developing a work plan, accept that they

know more about roads than you do– Try focusing on water as your area of interest

and allow them to be the road experts

How It Works For Your County

• Develop staff talking points– Local Control

• Regularly mention the QAB members by name• Refer to the locally developed ranking criteria

– Distance to stream Spread the money around– Magnitude of problem– Cooperation In-kind Contribution

Township Perspective

• Historically, programs that hand out money have been very political– Municipalities are very prone to the impression

that getting a project funded is a “political” deal• That is the world they live in

– Protect yourself from accusations of favoritism by developing local criteria for ranking projects and including them in every communication and press release

Avoid Acronyms

• Do not representing yourself as knowing a lot about roads. That is their territory.

• Do not speak in acronyms. In reference to NRCS, always explain that this agency is the former Soil Conservation Service.

• Older supervisors remember the SCS as the good guys.

Soil Conservation Service

• This is the agency that brought us Multi- flora Rose and Autumn Olive. If this is thrown up to you, do not defend. These are sterling examples of good intentions gone bad.

• We all make mistakes. The people who do not make mistakes are not doing anything.

• Supervisors understand this concept.

Avoid

• Discussion of controversial aspects of a plan early in development– Controversial items include:

• Erosion and sediment control plans• Permits

• Avoid discussion of these items until you have thoroughly explored the solutions proposed and talked about money

Avoid

• Calling and leaving messages at the Municipal Building– This group responds best to personal contact– They typically work outside during the hours

that you are available to receive their return phone calls.

– Between your schedule and theirs, telephone tag can go on indefinitely.

Avoid

• Technology is not necessarily embraced by this segment of the population.– GIS is a valuable tool for all of us– It may not be a card you want to lead

• People typically will shy away from things they do not understand. Human beings naturally avoid embarrassment.

Avoid

• In developing work plans, E&S Plans, and permit applications, do not, in any way, communicate to the Municipal people that you are doing anything out of the ordinary for them.

• As the source of the funds, it is perfectly natural that they would expect you to do these things

Money

• This is the lubrication for the relationship.• The Municipality will be more willing to discuss

work sequencing, E&S Plans and Measures and permits if they are genuinely excited about the project.

• Do not raise expectations beyond reason. Helping a municipality to develop a $60k project makes no sense if you are fully aware the money is not available.

Start Slowly

• For the over whelming majority of the applicants, this will be their first experience with permits. (if permits are required)

• Our informal polling shows about 3to5% have ever had a permit of any kind…..– Or ever installed an E&S measure

Regulations and Permits

• One of the benefits of the program is increased awareness of these issues.

• Willing cooperation with regulations will not happen until a municipal official sees a project completed on a timely basis with the proper permits.

• Help them through it and pollution will be reduced. Little by little.

How They See It

• Historically, rural municipalities have flown under the radar of regulations and permits.– The perspective they hold is that regulations

and permits make projects slower and more expensive.

– Our goal is to help them through the process and try to show them that they can accomplish their objectives within the regulations.

Walk Softly

• The fact that you believe the regulations apply to all work done by municipalities is irrelevant.

• All of the regulations and field agents you can muster will not change behavior with out willing cooperation.

• To get willing cooperation, you must help them through the process a couple of times.

Common Sense Test

• Municipalities are unlikely to accept the literal interpretations of regulations necessary to get technical compliance

• Regulations are written by engineers for engineers.

• Township supervisors are straight forward people, if it doesn’t make sense they will not do it.

• Preventing pollution by reducing maintenance makes a lot more sense than compliance to a regulation they do not understand and can see is not uniformly applied

The Challenge

• Buy In And Believe It!– Let go of the old paradigm– If you see it as ‘us against them’, it always will

be – The Goal is not fearful, resentful, wistful

compliance to regulations– The Goal is willful protection of the resource

borne of understanding how it works

Developing Work Plans

• This is your entrée for explaining the integration of Erosion and Sediment Control measures into a project.

• Discussion of work plan sequence makes a great deal more sense to them than “E&S Plans.”

• After the work plan is completed, the E&S Plan is integrated into it.

• It is not what you say but how you say it.

Project Management

• Stay involved, especially if you are not confident the people executing the work know what you expect.

• Attach pictures to the contracts if you can.• Offer to help out on something that the

applicant perceives as particularly difficult.– Like headwalls– And while you are there…..

Project Participation

• If the grades are subtle, offer to help install the pipes. Bring out a laser level and let them see how easy they are to work with.– Purchase of a laser level is a good use of education

funds– Even if you are really proficient with the laser, don’t

show off. – Offer to show them how simple it is and make the laser

available for them to borrow if they need it another time. And the reason to not loan it to them is?????

Project Management

• Help them out with the stationing. This simple step can avoid a lot of problems.

• If aggregate placement is involved, have a clear understanding that you want to inspect the site prior to aggregate placement.– It is difficult to motivate the applicant to make

corrections if they have gotten the part of the job they most want.

The Spirit Of Cooperation

• Stress this point at every turn.• From start to finish, it is about working together.• If difficulties arise, ask “How can we fix this

problem?”• When you do not know the answer, say so and ask

them for help. Let them participate.• Strive for an atmosphere where people can make

mistakes without fear of embarrassment.

Be Pleased!

• When something goes well, offer praise. • Show that you are pleased with their efforts.• Insist on an atmosphere of cooperation.• When something does not go well, be very

careful with criticism. • The techniques used in this program are

confusing for some applicants.

Press Coverage Is Important!

• This is government. The public perception of the work is very important.

• You are in a position to influence public perception enormously.

• Use your influence to reinforce the spirit of cooperation. Express to the media how important it is to have cooperation to improve water quality.

Soil And Water

• These are two important building blocks of the prosperity we enjoy as a nation.

• Everybody’s effort at conservation is important.

• Keep up the good work!!