City manager Jeff Fielding says council, administration need better relationship

Calgary's new city manager says he wants to improve the relationship between city council and senior administrators.

• Jeff Fielding named as new City of Calgary manager

Jeff Fielding gave city council his impressions on Monday of his first three months on the job. He told members the status quo isn't working.

There is an element of mistrust between the two sides that needs to be addressed, he said. 

“I'm trying to talk about more informality, have more conversations. Get to know one another so that we can understand what your issues are and how we should appropriately address them, because we're here to serve you,” he said.

“It's not, we're not here to, you know, to keep you in the dark or to try to slip one by.”

Fielding said he wants to foster the feeling that council and administration are part of the same team, not adversaries. He added that he’s concerned there isn't much actual communication between his office and elected officials.

“I’ve remarked to my colleagues that — and I mean this in a respectful way — I don't hear much from you,” he said.

Marathon meetings a problem, says Fielding

Fielding also told council it needs to focus on strategic direction so that administrators can come up with the concrete ideas for accomplishing it.

But Fielding says those leaders can't do that if they're sitting in marathon meetings as council prepares for its four-year budget plan.

“We can't have months like September anymore guys. This is nuts,” he said.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he agrees some changes are needed. He recalled working with someone on the last city council who considered senior bureaucrats the enemy — not teammates.

“So if we say, 'You know, we have to trust administration,' then we have to actually trust administration and not continually be second-guessing them.”

The mayor says he's confident a new balance between council and administrators can be found.