Jill Silverboard was feastured as the January “Thinker of the Month” on January 2 at Thinkspot: http://thinkspot.co.
Jill Scroggs Silverboard thinks local governments can innovate and she’s leading by example. Serving as assistant city manager in Clearwater, Florida, Jill has oversight of the city’s primary operations departments, including public utilities, solid waste, planning & development, engineering, public works, libraries, parks & recreation, finance, budget, information technology and human resources.
Silverboard is a native of North Carolina but has called Florida home for more than 23 years. She earned a Masters of Public Affairs from Western Carolina University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. Jill is a member of the International City Management Association (ICMA) as a Credentialed City Manager and President-Elect for the Florida City & County Management Association, and holds membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners and American Planning Association.
It’s not what Jill’s resume says about her past that warranted recognition as a Thinker of the Month, rather her understanding of the complexities of public service challenges today.
Five Questions for Jill Scroggs Silverboard:
1. What is the single most challenging issue facing county and city administrators?
Answer: Distinguishing one’s community from others in an age where every county and city seeks to be the best place to live, work and play. Floridians, and those seeking to live, work or play in Florida, are selective in choosing their “home town.” Cities and counties are challenged to meet those expectations uniquely from one another and holistically across the three facets of living, working and playing within a single community.
2. Why do citizens tend to be so critical of the public servants who provide services to them?
Answer: We do a poor job of translating value of service for what citizens pay in taxes and fees. Citizens believe that “taxes” pay for everything when in reality property taxes rarely cover the cost of public safety in most Florida communities. According to the Consumerist, an average American worker pays more for coffee each year than they pay in property taxes. As public servants, we must do a better job of conveying value for service and recognizing those delivering same. Citizens may have disdain for elected officials, but they love their police officers, firefighters, librarians and garbage collectors. Recognizing the value of these public servants is integral to improving citizen perceptions.
3. The harshest of government critics scoff at the idea that counties and cities innovate. How would you describe the nature of innovation in counties and cities?
Answer: Counties and cities are stewards of public assets and money, which limits our ability to assume the risk, cost and disruption of innovation. We do not specialize in one product, commodity or service, but rather, manage processes and programs across a myriad of functions and we often do so within unionized environments. All these factors represent real limitations to innovation in a private sector sense. However, if one considers the Kaizen definition that “innovation is the introduction of a new process,” then counties and cities are just as likely to innovate as the private sector. The process of continuous improvement and adoption of best management practices is filled with innovation opportunities for counties and cities.
4. You went to a liberal arts college in North Carolina. What about that educational experience has helped you most in your career?
Answer: My liberal arts background taught me how to think and how to find solutions using emotional intelligence and effective communications among a variety of personalities. Most importantly, my educational experience taught me to collaborate, which has served me extremely well in local government.
5. In the movie “Bull Durham,” Kevin Costner’s character Crash Davis asks Susan Sarandon’s character Annie Savoy, “How come everyone thinks they were someone famous in an earlier life?” Who would you have been in a previous life?
Answer: A lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth I of England.