local government – CA Work Experience Program

Day 3: Local Government

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!

Day 2 Local Gov.

Today was a busy, long, fun and exciting day! Our first meeting was at the Garmon Operations Center which is a town of Cary Public Works building. I learned about the many different functions of public works, consisting of: recycling, underground piping, street paving, etc. After the presentation and Q & A, I was given the full tour of the facility. The facility was massive. I saw snow equipment and salt, garbage trucks, firetrucks and even a huge car washing machine.

Next, I attended a meeting regarding the incredibly nebulous boundary between Morrisville and Cary. This meeting was primarily about smoothening the edges and making the intersection between the two towns clearer. Of course, this would require a discussion with Morrisville, but this meeting objective was to establish a clear gameplan for what will be a fair deal. Additionally, Ms. Hygh clarified applications to the general assembly because this border must be approved and passed by the senate and house.

After that, Ms. Hygh gave me a walking tour of downtown Cary. I learned about the new projects that are occurring like a new park, a new parking lot and a new library. All enacted to breath more life into an already sufficiently bustling downtown. Then we had lunch at the Ashworth Drug store/restaurant where I ran into my favorite rising sophomore in college: Sam Chow!

After a hearty lunch, we rushed to attend a Police shift Study presentation. This presentation consisted of a showcase of a piece of data analysis that documents and displays different shifts on different days all in a well organized sheet. As the data was incredibly easy to read, I noticed just how often and long police officers have to work. I also noticed that for events that I sometimes attend like the lantern festival or the SAS championship requires a extremely large number of police officers to keep all attendees safe.

Day 1 Town of Cary

Today was an exciting first day working at local government! My schedule was very busy today. I first walked into the incredibly sophisticated town of Cary building excited to learn. Before I began my planned meetings, Ms. Hygh gave me the tour of the town of Cary building. Apparently, the building used to be three separate buildings that are now connected to each other by glass, brick and big pillars.

My first activity started off with an general introduction to local government. I learned the different standards and rules that must be followed by our local government. Additionally, I also learned the many different functions of local government and its differences with state and federal government. I also got a brief explanation of the Cary 2040 future projection plan.

Then, I sat in on a infrastructure issues presentation and Q & A. It was also incredibly informative. I learned about how effective Cary is at beautifying its own city. It was particularly illuminating because there was a interesting discussion regarding weighing risk and consequence. Because of my experience in speech and debate, this was especially interesting as we often use corresponding risk and weighing calculus when debating a policy resolution.

After that I spent some time at the town of Cary traffic management office. To be frank, I was expecting a basic overview that wouldn’t really resonate with me. But, I got a extremely passionate presentation that actually really made me interested in traffic management. I learned about procedure during crashes, construction or general traffic and I learned that there are different traffic patterns to different times of the day. For an example, I was shown the different Cary Academy traffic patterns, including the infamous 7:50 intersection deadlock.

Next, I sat in a ordinance meeting where I did not understand much of what was happening. Despite this, the meeting ended up being still fun to attend as the meeting had some jokes and funny banter.

Lastly, I went to the utilities north plant to attend a presentation on how Cary’s water cycle worked and how sewage gets turned into safe water. The presentation was extremely detailed and thorough with a great water cycle packet and some simplified explanation of difficult concepts. Additionally, I was thankful that I actually got to walk through and see myself how the process worked. Despite the smell, it was a informative and interesting aspect of local government that has incredibly relevant ramifications to the lives of all citizens in Cary.