New City Manager's First Goal: Rebuild Trust

3/7/2021

José Madrigal wants to rebuild residents' trust in the City of Durango through transparency in the city's finances and decision-making processes, and he wants and expects accountability for meeting the goals that the community wants accomplished.

Learn More...

Read the Full Transcript

1

00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,501

Durango's new city manager

has spent his first six months

2

00:00:03,501 --> 00:00:08,020

on the job meeting people,

crafting a strategic master plan

3

00:00:08,020 --> 00:00:11,310

and coordinating $800,000 of COVID relief

4

00:00:11,310 --> 00:00:14,850

for local businesses, and that's not all.

5

00:00:14,850 --> 00:00:16,550

You're watching the Local News Network

6

00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:19,040

brought to you by to Tafoya

Barrett and Associates

7

00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:20,800

and The Payroll Department.

8

00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,910

I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

9

00:00:22,910 --> 00:00:25,280

When we asked new Durango city manager

10

00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,540

Jose Madrigal how his wife

would describe him, he laughed.

11

00:00:29,540 --> 00:00:33,070

Very happy, very optimistic, positive,

12

00:00:33,070 --> 00:00:35,724

and loves to socially engage.

13

00:00:35,724 --> 00:00:37,985

Those would be kind of who I am.

14

00:00:37,985 --> 00:00:40,710

I don't get down on myself too much.

15

00:00:40,710 --> 00:00:43,500

I don't get down on failures or times

16

00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:45,540

where we stomp our feet or we go through,

17

00:00:45,540 --> 00:00:47,600

it's always about the next and moving on

18

00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,640

and always looking at that future goal.

19

00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,220

And Madrigal certainly

has been socially engaged

20

00:00:53,220 --> 00:00:56,530

since he arrived in September

to succeed former city mayor,

21

00:00:56,530 --> 00:00:58,371

Ron LeBlanc, who resigned last spring

22

00:00:58,371 --> 00:01:00,540

in the midst of controversy

23

00:01:00,540 --> 00:01:03,670

over a more stringent

performance evaluation proposed

24

00:01:03,670 --> 00:01:05,880

by a new city council.

25

00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,110

Madrigal's meetings with a

broad range of constituents are

26

00:01:09,110 --> 00:01:12,392

one of several strategies he

has set to reestablish trust

27

00:01:12,392 --> 00:01:16,220

and transparency in city government.

28

00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:18,320

And I know that even when

I looked at my calendar,

29

00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:20,720

everyone was like, "Wow, that's,

you've got like, you know,

30

00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:22,980

six hours a day of just

kind of meeting with people

31

00:01:22,980 --> 00:01:23,813

in the community."

32

00:01:23,813 --> 00:01:25,050

And I knew it was important.

33

00:01:25,050 --> 00:01:28,370

It was something that was

very well ingrained into me

34

00:01:28,370 --> 00:01:31,300

during the interview process

and a part of a challenge

35

00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:34,150

yet an opportunity of really

establishing that trust,

36

00:01:34,150 --> 00:01:36,040

and the biggest way that

you can do that is be part

37

00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,371

of the community and be

out in the community.

38

00:01:38,371 --> 00:01:40,410

So every moment that I can, I, you know,

39

00:01:40,410 --> 00:01:43,510

taking in new meetings,

meeting with people, talking

40

00:01:43,510 --> 00:01:46,620

about their issues, talking

about what their concerns were

41

00:01:46,620 --> 00:01:49,640

and, you know, beginning to

make, piece by piece slowly,

42

00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,010

rebuilding that transparency,

rebuilding that portion,

43

00:01:52,010 --> 00:01:53,070

and it, and it really does start

44

00:01:53,070 --> 00:01:56,290

with making those introductions,

talking about who we are

45

00:01:56,290 --> 00:01:59,210

and when that call

comes in for assistance,

46

00:01:59,210 --> 00:02:00,930

being there to help out.

47

00:02:00,930 --> 00:02:03,100

Madrigal grew up in Austin, Texas,

48

00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:05,490

and attended Texas Tech University

49

00:02:05,490 --> 00:02:08,660

where he completed a bachelor's

degree in political science

50

00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:11,630

and master's degree in

public administration.

51

00:02:11,630 --> 00:02:14,359

He has 17 years of municipal

government experience

52

00:02:14,359 --> 00:02:17,235

in central Texas, with 13 of those

53

00:02:17,235 --> 00:02:21,350

in executive leadership positions

that included all facets

54

00:02:21,350 --> 00:02:24,880

of city management from

public safety to public works

55

00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,220

to finance and communications.

56

00:02:27,220 --> 00:02:29,930

In addition to his

community outreach efforts,

57

00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:34,290

Magical coordinated an

$800,000 COVID relief package

58

00:02:34,290 --> 00:02:37,030

for city businesses, and he led the effort

59

00:02:37,030 --> 00:02:39,210

to develop a strategic plan to address

60

00:02:39,210 --> 00:02:42,550

some of Durango's most pressing problems.

61

00:02:42,550 --> 00:02:46,260

So I think right now the

biggest challenge, the biggest,

62

00:02:46,260 --> 00:02:48,010

I think, issue that we hear

63

00:02:48,010 --> 00:02:50,647

about all the time can be

summed up with affordability.

64

00:02:50,647 --> 00:02:52,810

That is what we're hearing

from the residents.

65

00:02:52,810 --> 00:02:55,270

We just went through our

strategic planning process

66

00:02:55,270 --> 00:03:00,150

and it was affordability,

affordable/attainable housing.

67

00:03:00,150 --> 00:03:02,750

So, you know, an ability

to, to grab a house

68

00:03:02,750 --> 00:03:05,195

and purchase a house, even

for those that you know,

69

00:03:05,195 --> 00:03:07,950

are making, you know, a

working wage here, and I think

70

00:03:07,950 --> 00:03:10,900

that's the biggest part and the

challenge that we'll have is

71

00:03:10,900 --> 00:03:12,650

how do we solve that issue to where we can

72

00:03:12,650 --> 00:03:15,760

kind of make Durango that

multi-generational place

73

00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:17,420

where kids can come back and live,

74

00:03:17,420 --> 00:03:19,480

where we can continue to go

through and it doesn't get

75

00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:21,540

to that portion to where

it's such an expensive place

76

00:03:21,540 --> 00:03:23,500

to live that we end up losing a lot

77

00:03:23,500 --> 00:03:26,560

of that local charm that we

have here in the community.

78

00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:28,710

Madrigal said the strategic plan

79

00:03:28,710 --> 00:03:31,830

also identified

homelessness as a priority,

80

00:03:31,830 --> 00:03:33,880

but it won't be solved easily.

81

00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,080

Nevertheless, the city

and La Plata County took

82

00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,950

a giant cooperative step

forward this winter,

83

00:03:38,950 --> 00:03:42,440

when it approved funding for

a homeless navigation program

84

00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:44,641

at Manna Soup Kitchen and formed

85

00:03:44,641 --> 00:03:48,760

a management-level task force

to ensure some progress.

86

00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,870

The task force includes both

city and county managers,

87

00:03:51,870 --> 00:03:55,713

attorneys a commissioner,

and city councilor.

88

00:03:55,713 --> 00:03:57,410

Will there be a solution next year?

89

00:03:57,410 --> 00:03:59,090

Probably not, but I will say

90

00:03:59,090 --> 00:04:00,300

that I think we're getting progress

91

00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,240

to where we're making

small continued steps

92

00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,970

to making to that big solution at the end.

93

00:04:04,970 --> 00:04:07,489

Madrigal admits that rebuilding

the community's trust

94

00:04:07,489 --> 00:04:11,130

in city government will take

more than a few handshakes.

95

00:04:11,130 --> 00:04:13,353

It will take transparency, setting clear

96

00:04:13,353 --> 00:04:16,190

and measurable goals, and accountability

97

00:04:16,190 --> 00:04:19,480

for meeting those goals

through the strategic plan.

98

00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,770

That's the biggest part of

what is my management style is

99

00:04:22,770 --> 00:04:23,780

that we're going to be strategic.

100

00:04:23,780 --> 00:04:26,730

We're going to hit the goals

that the community has outlined

101

00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:27,900

through the council.

102

00:04:27,900 --> 00:04:29,800

We're going to show our

progress within the projects.

103

00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:30,890

We're going to report back.

104

00:04:30,890 --> 00:04:33,190

We're going to let the citizens know, hey,

105

00:04:33,190 --> 00:04:34,550

this is where our work is.

106

00:04:34,550 --> 00:04:36,640

We're doing OpenGov right now, which is

107

00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,670

a really cool tool that I've

used that's going to open up

108

00:04:38,670 --> 00:04:41,610

our financials where anybody

can jump on at any time

109

00:04:41,610 --> 00:04:43,950

and take a look at what

we spend on our budget,

110

00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:45,620

where we're at on our

budget, what we spend

111

00:04:45,620 --> 00:04:48,050

through our check register,

you know, begin opening it up

112

00:04:48,050 --> 00:04:49,730

to where people can

come in and take a look

113

00:04:49,730 --> 00:04:51,630

and see that we're

open, we're transparent,

114

00:04:51,630 --> 00:04:53,930

you know what we're doing,

you know why we're doing it,

115

00:04:53,930 --> 00:04:56,300

may not agree, but at least you know why,

116

00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:57,300

and then you'll know the results

117

00:04:57,300 --> 00:04:59,140

of where we're coming from on it.

118

00:04:59,140 --> 00:05:01,820

Madrigal and his wife

Meredith have a blended family

119

00:05:01,820 --> 00:05:03,090

of five children.

120

00:05:03,090 --> 00:05:05,440

To learn more about the changes

that Madrigal hopes to bring

121

00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:09,850

to city government, visit DurangoGov.org.

122

00:05:09,850 --> 00:05:12,850

Thanks for watching this edition

of the Local News Network.

123

00:05:12,850 --> 00:05:13,930

Be sure to stay on top

124

00:05:13,930 --> 00:05:17,170

of our latest news stories

on Twitter and Instagram

125

00:05:17,170 --> 00:05:20,410

or listen to us on your

favorite podcast app.

126

00:05:20,410 --> 00:05:21,863

I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

PAST DURANGO LOCAL NEWS STORIES

Need more  Local DURANGO News?

News for Locals. By Locals.
Editorial Policy | Copyright © Local News Network Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy