Last days are always a bit bittersweet. Today, I got the morning off as there was a cancelled legislative meeting. Accordingly, I arrived at noon to have a Lunch with the Deputy Town Manager and other members of the town. This meeting was not really suppose to be for getting things done, rather it was to foster a better sense of community within the town. It was interesting because all members had lunch with other Town workers who all work in different parts of the town. Overall, It really gave me a sense of the wholesome culture that the town of Cary has.
Next, I attended the GoCary Service changes, which was a whirlwind of objectives and goals that were explained. Some of the information went a bit over my head, but it seemed like it was a very productive and efficient meeting. One other thing I got out of the meeting was that the town of Cary really does care a lot about citizen input when making policy decisions. They addressed the specific needs and requests of certain citizens which I was extremely happy about.
When this meeting finished up, I had some downtime to review some documents regarding the finances behind Cary.
After that, I actually had a meeting with the financial strategy/budget manager. I found this meeting particularly interesting because all of my previous meetings were talking about different expenses that went into their work, but I never really figured out how the local government pays for all of these expenses. I also got a better feel for applications of the federal economy & dollar towards budgets in local government.
Last meeting of the day and work experience was a meeting with the Assistant Town Manager/Chief Innovation Officer. I got some good information regarding the logistics behind Innovation in Cary. Turns out, shifting mindsets from the past to future requires a of persistence and patience. I also got a better perspective of what a Assistant Town Manager needs to know about their town. Long story short, they have to know A LOT about all the many workings of their own town.
To conclude, I had a debrief with Ms. Hygh of my time and my day and work experience was. I am extremely glad to have had the opportunity, it really gave me a better perspective of local government!