Back in June, the City of Atwater hired Chris Hoem to be their next city manager. It was his first city manager gig and he was coming off of being terminated as a department head a few months before.
This interview was conducted shortly after he had completed his first 100 days in the position in late October. We talked about his preparation and how he navigated this introductory period. And he candidly shared his story about his termination and why he did not accept an offer to resign.
SHOW NOTES:
Chris Hoem's LinkedIn page
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by Holbrook Asphalt.
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Mark Moses is the author of "The Municipal Financial Crisis" where he lays out a "framework for understanding and fixing government budgeting."
Mark has some strong opinions on how local governments have gradually increased and broadened their scope of services to an unsustainable level and he kills off some sacred cows along the way diagnosing the problem.
In this episode, we discuss zero based budgeting, privatization, impacts on the nonprofit community, and how elected officials negatively impact the budgeting process.
The book is very thought provoking and I highly encourage you all to read it. In particular, I recommend that the city and county managers listening to this podcast purchase the book for their electeds so that they can read Chapter 3, which was probably my favorite chapter.
SHOW NOTES:
The Municipal Financial Crisis by Mark Moses
Mark Moses' LinkedIn page
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

One of my goals with this podcast is to help you produce "wins" for your resume so that you can advance your career.
When you can do the "right thing" and help those who need it most while also scoring a professional win -- it does not get much better.
This is a great, relatively low cost idea that many communities will benefit from.
Morgan Massera of Coalinga, California, is a mother of a young child that has difficulty communicating verbally. In this episode, we discuss her personal journey and her efforts to get communication boards installed throughout the parks in her community. Not only do these boards help children like hers, they also help children and individuals who are unable to communicate in the same language interact with each other.
She worked closely with the incredible staffers staffers at the City of Coalinga and the Coalinga-Huron Recreation and Park District. This includes former Coalinga city manager, Marissa Trejo, and Mallory Griffith-Wells, general manager for the district.
Funding for the project was generously provided by the Coalinga Healthcare District.
SHOW NOTES:
Link to Morgan Massera's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/morgankathleen9/
Morgan would like to refer parents and families of those affected to Apraxia Kids for more information and resources.
Communication Boards produced by Talk to Me Technologies
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
 

In last week's interview about radical mental health transparency, Todd Hopwood broadly discussed the 10 questions he asks himself each day.
In this follow up episode, we breakdown those 10 questions, how you should assess them, and how to calculate your score so that you can better track your mental health and mood.
Here are the 10 questions:
How motivated am I today?
What are my perceived energy levels?
Are simple tasks easy or difficult?
How well have I slept lately?
How's my physical health today?
How purposeful do I feel?
How connected am I to family and friends?
How has my diet been lately?
How are my stress levels?
How easy or difficult is decision making for me today?
What does your daily score mean:
10/10 -  All time, lifetime peak form
9/10 -  Exceptional Form
8/10 -  Very Good Form
7/10 -  Decent Form
6/10 -  Average Form
5/10 -  Low Mood
4/10 -  Very Low Mood
3/10 -  Extremely Low Mood
2/10 -  I am struggling and need help
1/10 -  CRISIS, please reach out to me
These questions are based off of the research and work over at FormScore.
SHOW NOTES:
Todd Hopwood's LinkedIn Page
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 
 

Todd Hopwood shocked me when he explained his radical approach to mental health transparency. We discuss a system he has implemented which is designed to help him when he is struggling and needs help the most.
Frankly, it is not an approach that I would personally be comfortable practicing in my workplace. However, there is no question that his courage, leadership, and modeling of this behavior promotes greater awareness of mental health issues in the workplace and it most definitely gives employees greater assurance that their mental health concerns are valid and will be supported within the organization.
Todd is my first international guest on the show. He works for the Australian city of Wollongong as the senior manager for their Customer and Business Integrity department.
SHOW NOTES:
Todd Hopwood's LinkedIn Page
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

Seth Winterhalter has some thoughts on work-life balance, leaders needing chaos to thrive, and the let down that achievers can feel once they accomplish major goals.
An executive coach and owner of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, Seth seeks to help city and county managers escape burnout, set boundaries, and experience breakthroughs in work-life balance.
He recently rebranded his podcast to focus on local government executives and content. He has started rolling out interviews with city managers, too. I encourage you all to check it out and will link to it in the show notes.
Also in this episode, I went "off script" and put myself on the couch a little bit. It was an unplanned detour and I thought about cutting my personal elements out of the podcast -- but I think the resulting discussion may prove beneficial to some of you so I left it in.
SHOW NOTES:
Seth Winterhalter's LinkedIn profile and website for HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions
Link to The HaltingWinter Podcast
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

In my first installment of my new "Side Hustle Sunday" series, I discuss the power of leveraging real estate to create wealth with Noel Bernal.
Noel started his real estate investment journey in his early 20's before he became a public sector executive. He, along with his wife, have increased their real estate holdings over time and expanded into larger real estate transactions through syndication deals.
We both preach the importance of city and county managers adding additional income streams to their portfolio so that they can weather separations and also maintain some control over their own destiny when it comes to working in toxic environments.
Passive and secondary income streams give you options and prevent you from being trapped in soul crushing situations where you might feel forced to put up with abusive and unprofessional treatment by elected officials because you are fearful of not being able to put food on your family's table.
My initial plan is to release an episode on the first Sunday of every month featuring interviews with government employees who are working on a side hustle or highlight someone outside of local government who is engaged in a side hustle that I think might inspire you to start your own journey towards securing financial independence.
If you or someone you know has an interesting side hustle that they want to share with my audience, please reach out and contact me.
SHOW NOTES:
Noel Bernal's LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelbernal/)
Noel is the Founder & CEO of Main St. Public Financial (https://mainstpublic.com/)
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
 

Confident. Certain. Poised. Prepared.
Jorge Garcia, a first-time city manager in Pismo Beach, California, embodies all of these adjectives.
He has spent many years readying himself for this moment -- his first assignment as a chief executive officer for a municipal corporation.
He is only one year into his tenure, but as you listen to this interview, you will come away with the impression that he's sat in "the chair" for a decade plus!
Jorge is the next generation of public sector leadership and he models a wonderful example for those aspiring to become city managers.
There are several really good nuggets in this conversation and in particular, his communications strategy with his elected officials designed to build trust and create confidence.
SHOW NOTES:
Jorge Garcia's LinkedIn profile
Pismo Beach public works director vacancy with an 11/15/2024 application deadline can be found here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/pismobeach
EPISODE SPONSOR:
This episode is sponsored by KUDO. Make your council meetings accessible with translated audio and live captions into 45+ languages.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Only listeners of the City Manager Unfiltered podcast can sign up for a FREE, no risk, no obligation one-month trial offer. Use this link: https://kudo.ai/cmu/
AAME JOB BOARD:
The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.
Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page
City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!
Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.