What Elected Officials Want From Planners

By LESLIE S. POLLOCK*

We know fairly well what planners want from elected officials — continuation of our jobs, high salaries, and implementation of all of our proposals for improving cities. In short, we want the elected officials to spend the taxpayer's money in the fashion that we deem appropriate.

But, what do elected officials want from planners? Or, more appropriately, what is it that planners can provide to elected officials? As someone who has been on both sides of the fence — as an elected official and as a professional planner — I think there are three basic things a planner can provide: information, vision, and backbone.

Information

The most obvious role of a public planner is to provide information to elected officials so they can make reasonable policy decisions. However, this information need not be limited to the data requested by a decision maker.

Most elected officials are amateurs when it comes to government. Trained to carry out particular trades and/or professional roles, the majority of elected officials come to the task of public decision making by virtue of their connections, commitment, ego, or some combination thereof — not necessarily because they're trained in the art of governance.

Thus, a planner, you are a professional serving an amateur. The information you provide will help that amateur make a decision . . . and, hopefully, feel comfortable with the results of that decision. To that end, the main pieces of information any elected official should want from a planner are:

(a) a clear explanation of the problem;

(b) the experiences of other places in resolving the problem;

(c) options for solutions; and

(d) implications of the different options, both pro and con.

What elected officials don't want is for you to tell them how to vote or what to do. Your job is to make the elected official smart, which, after all, is the function of information. And, presumably, an educated and informed elected official will make the right decision.

Vision

Every elected official's view of a problem and the potentials for solving it are colored by the background, training, experiences, and socio-economic context of that decision maker. Hence, a self-made minority councilman might view your redevelopment proposal as a way to disenfranchise the present occupants of the property, rather than as a method for creating new jobs and economic growth for the city. Similarly, a suburban housewife councilwoman might view your proposal to rezone a single-family parcel next to a commercial district for multi-family use as destructive to the adjacent residential neighborhood, rather than as the desirable land-use transition that you feel is appropriate.

Elected officials know very well about the adverse impacts of doing something. Indeed, even when elected officials can't identify what it is they want, they can identify what it is they don't want. Unfortunately, thinking about the future is difficult. And having a vision of the future and being able to articulate it is even more difficult. Most elected officials, let alone most people, have a rough enough time dealing with the practical issues of today. Planners, though, are trained to think about the future and to help identify actions the city should take to reach the desired future. Somehow, we need to impart this vision to our elected officials, and we need to do it in a positive sense, rather than in a negative one.

Backbone

Elected officials also have an almost primeval urge to back the status quo, to look for ways to minimize expenditures, or, in a general sense, to look for ways to minimize making the wrong decision. At the same time, though, most elected officials want to be recognized as leaders who can direct their community to solve problems. How can we help them meet both needs?

One way is to act as their conscience. As hackneyed as it sounds, this is a critical function, especially for the community planner who, by training, ethic, and hopefully moral fiber, should be the resident visionary and implementation expert. The information and vision you give the decision maker will provide the guidance to reach a sound decision.

January 1987 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11

Sometimes the decision, while correct in the long term, will have a short-term down side, and, hence, will not be politically popular. Introducing, arguing for, and supporting a politically unpopular decision in a room full of antagonistic voters is never a pleasant scene. Clearly the elected official needs all the support that he or she can get. Help this politician in distress — provide reasons, counter-arguments, and, if you can figure them out, political "zingers" that can be used to disarm any opponents and support your position. Also, commiserate with the elected official, making them aware of the number of people who do support his or her position.

This type of confidence building service, while not discussed in textbooks, is part and parcel of your function as a professional planner. You need not be just a technician or a mere government functionary. The elected official needs your insights as well as your information. •

January 1987 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 12