City manager: council is spending heavy time on constituent requests; city weighing systems changes

During a mid-afternoon segment, City Manager Tiante Hayward joined facilitators for a conversation about how council members and staff handle constituent requests and service issues.

Hayward said council members often play dual roles — both as representatives who respond directly to residents and as trustees focused on long‑term planning — and observed that much council time gets absorbed by constituent service requests. "You all are spending a lot of time and energy bringing things into the system and back and getting lots of information," Hayward said, arguing the city should consider shifting some routine work into systematic staff processes to reduce bottlenecks.

Hayward told the group the city has been discussing options, including a dedicated customer-service position to improve response coordination and reduce reliance on the city manager's office as a single funnel. She framed the change as a response to growth: "I do not think right now it is super sustainable as we grow and that traffic continues."

Council members who spoke during the exchange praised staff responsiveness while also noting residents can be unsure whom to contact for issues such as business development or code questions. One council member said the detailed staff responses and follow-up conversations have helped them better explain outcomes to residents.

Staff also presented results from a recent citizen satisfaction survey during the session. The survey showed strong benchmarking results compared with peers, but staff cautioned that continuing to improve more complicated, high‑importance services (for example, infrastructure and enforcement) will require creative resourcing and storytelling to sustain public support.