Council may seek help to get along

SeattlePI ^ | July 9,2003 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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TACOMA -- City Council members are thinking about hiring a consultant to help them get along better, but say they're not sure they can scrape $19,000 out of their budget to pay for it.

Council members have aired sharp disagreements and bickered behind the scenes since Police Chief David Brame fatally shot his wife, Crystal, then killed himself April 26.

Those deaths were followed by City Manager Ray Corpuz Jr. taking leave and then being fired, an assistant police chief being placed on leave, a criminal investigation by the Washington State Patrol into Brame's career, and a $75 million claim against the city by Crystal Brame's relatives.

"We're deflated," Councilman Doug Miller said. "We're drained somewhat as a body, and we need to enjoy coming to work to tackle the tough issues."

On Tuesday, the council heard a proposal for a professional team-building program, featuring one day and two evenings of sessions aimed at bringing members together into "a very strong leadership team that is functioning very effectively."

"An exercise like this has great value," Mayor Bill Baarsma said. "But I'm not sure we can afford it."

Kent Kingman of the Edge Learning Institute, a Tacoma-based company, said he would interview each council member, then report to the council and work with all nine members to develop a plan for their team-building meetings.

"We should go in with realistic goals," Councilman Rick Talbert said. "If it's going to be the Kum-Ba-Ya kind of stuff, we're setting ourselves up for failure."

Baarsma said he would work with City Manager Jim Walton and other council members to find ways to pay for the training sessions out of the City Council budget.

Options include cutting travel and per diem expenses and pulling out of some civic associations that require the city to pay dues.

"Emotions have been raw," the mayor said. "We're trying to move through that period and again work together as a council in an effective way."

Information from: The News Tribune

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