Scott Lazenby is New City Manager

To All COLA LO Members,

Scott Lazenby is the new city manager.    He currently is the city manager for Sandy and has worked there for 20 years.    The council unanimously approved this choice with the backing of both the citizens advisory group and the staff group that interviewed candidates.    

Details on Scott can be found in the announcement released today by the city.(see below)  and also  in the press Lazenby is city manager..:  

City Release

The Lake Oswego City Council has selected Scott Lazenby as its new city manager.  Mr. Lazenby, currently the city manager for the city of Sandy, OR, replaces Tom Coffee, who has been interim city manager since January 2013.

Mr. Lazenby brings over 30 years of solid city management experience. This experience includes larger cities (Vancouver, WA and Glendale, AZ), and most recently, the city of Sandy, OR – a city that has been on the cutting edge of innovative service provision and collaborative government.

As city manager for the city of Sandy, Mr. Lazenby was responsible for administration of city operations, staff, and managing the budget. He has extensive experience in management of large public improvement projects including construction of a sewer lagoon in Vancouver and expansion of a 400 million gallon-per-day sewage treatment plant in Arizona. In addition, in Sandy, he has overseen major upgrades to a water treatment plant, construction of a new sewage treatment plant, police station and field operations center, and a complete remake and expansion of the library. He has also been active in regional issues including urban and rural reserve issues, regional trail planning, green space, transit coordination, economic development, and transportation planning and has extensive experience working with state legislators on intergovernmental issues and lobbying.

“It’s a real honor to be selected for this position,” Lazenby said. “Professionally, I’m looking forward to working with the city council and staff. And personally, my wife and I are eager to get to know, and be a part of, this outstanding community.”

“After a thorough recruitment process that involved members of the community and staff, we have selected Scott to be our new city manager and I am very excited.” said Mayor Kent Studebaker.

Prior to his 21 years as City Manager of Sandy, Mr. Lazenby served as Assistant to the City Manager for the city of Vancouver, WA, and then Management and Budget Director for the city of Glendale, AZ.  His educational achievements include a B.A. in Physics (Phi Beta Kappa) from Reed College in Portland; an M.S. in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburg, PA; and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Portland State University.

Mr. Lazenby will begin his duties Monday, August 5, 2013. Council approved his employment contract on June 25, 2013.

 

 

City Manager to Start 8/5?

To All COLA LO Members,

The latest agenda of the city council indicates Lake Oswego may have a new city manager on 8/5/13.   


The agenda can be found at City Council City Manager Hiring

Rumors have been flying that there may be a formal announcement as early as tonight    



Please notify all members, contacts, and friends

LO House Prices Increasing Rapidly.

To All Cola LO Members,

A recent release of information by Zillow indicates housing prices are increasing rapidly in Lake Oswego.    This could be good news for many homeowners and the local government.   

Both city government and LOSD have had flat revenues for several years and have seen some compression in property taxes recently.  

The latest details can be found at:   LO Home Price Index.

Many are wondering if changes brought by the new council are also having a positive impact on real estate prices in the city.    Only time will tell.....

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

New City Manager On The Way?

To All COLA LO Members,

Lake Oswego may have a new city manager soon.    Interviews were conducted two weeks ago week by a wide range of participants.     The LO Review is reporting the city is now in negotiations to hire a new city manager.  

Rumors are flying that there may be a formal announcement as early as Tuesday of this week.    

Will Lake Oswego have a new city manager by July?   Only time will tell but changes in the direction of the city are already evident.  



Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Good Governance Includes Working "Together"

To All COLA LO Members,

This past week COLA board member Gary Gipson published a second article on his ethics complaint about the leaking of a confidential memo.    It clarifies the details and also indicates that he feels no further action is necessary as the City Council is working well together despite disagreements on specific issues.  

His article can be found at :  No Plans to File Again.

Its clear that while Council Members disagree on many issues across the board, they are actively engaged in trying to address the public's concerns.    COLA LO will post a six months assessment of the council's efforts later this summer.  



Unfortunately it seems the Clackamas County Commissioners aren't getting the same message as LO City Councilors.    This week the Oregonian published an article that indicated commissioners are having issues within the same "conservative"  group.   The details can be found in Fighting Words.

It may be time for all representatives to step back and reflect on what it takes for "good governance".   

 Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

New LO City Manager on the Way?

To All COLA LO Members,

Lake Oswego may have a new city manager soon.    Interviews were conducted last week by a wide range of participants.     The LO Review is reporting the city is now in negotiations to hire a new city manager.  

Details can be found at  Council Closes In:  http://portlandtribune.com/lor/48-news/154927-council-closes-in-on-city-manager-hire.


One interview group included citizen members.    The members included representatives from various groups including COLA, LONAC, KLOG, and the Lake Corp.  



Many residents are expecting the council to conclude its efforts in the near future and provide a public announcement on any decision it makes.  

Stay tuned....

Please forward to all members, contacts, and friends.  

Budget Article Discusses Key Issues Facing Lake Oswego

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week COLA board member Dave Berg published an article discussing the details of the budget recommended by the Citizens Budget Committee (CBC).  

In it he describes the strategy behind the budget proposal as endorsed by the citizen members in a final 13-1 vote.    

The members of the group adopted the proposal after several focused and intense meetings discussing a variety of options.  

The meetings included public testimony in person and through a recently adopted online forum.    Members reviewed comments from the community weekly, prior to their formal meetings.   

Details of the article can be found at:  Redirecting Resources and several releases form the media in response to the budget adoption can be found in our previous post.   

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Budget For LO Approved by City Council

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the city council approved the recommended budget in a 5-1 council vote.     THe budget exceeds $422 million for fiscal year 2013-2014.     It includes over $100 million for the largest capital project in LO history,  the LO-Tigard Water Project.

The Citizens Budget Committee (CBC)   reviewed the city managers proposed budget and made many modifications to it in recommending a budget to the city council.    

Several articles on the details of the budget have been presented in the media.    They include an Oregonian article:   Council Cuts Staff Positions.    Many of the articles focus on staff reductions in an attempt to "spin"   the decisions in the budget rather than address the direction of the budget and the issues behind it.  

In another article Council Adopts Budget  the LO review presents a clear picture of the issues and also broader support for the budget process.  

In general the budget process this year was revised to allow for greater citizen input and to focus on the key issues facing the community.    The city provided for online input of citizens prior to each budget meeting and many citizens testified during the sessions.  

Overall there was broad level support for the process across the entire community and the city council. 

The new process was supported as more inclusive of all the stakeholders in the community with a variety of views being discussed by the committee.    Many believe this is what produced a council vote that approved the CBC recommended budget without changes for the first time in four years.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.