The issue Smooth-running city goverment What we think Lake Ozark residents could get used to productivity
It is encouraging to note the change in the air in Lake Ozark. We hear it’s a change you can actually feel.
Much of the credit belongs to the air of calm interim city administrator Joe Barfield appears to have brought to the town.
Perhaps the fact that he dealt with tornado destruction when he had the same job in Carl Junction prepared him well for the challenge in the city by the dam.
The changes he brought to the position have been noticeable, perhaps the most his statement that he puts “all agendas aside” when dealing with governing the day-to-day operations of the city.
That is how the job is supposed to be performed.
That Barfield gets information to board members days before the aldermen gather makes one question why it wasn’t done before. The opportunity for board members to have questions answered ahead of time has made a noticeable difference, where in Lake Ozark, it has not been the norm to have smooth running meetings, or goverment.
Barfield’s challenge will be to keep running the city – in his own words - like a business.
It appears he is off to a good start.
That has caused many to question just how interim his tenure will be for the city that has had too many administrators run the city by handshake or snarl. The question is worthy of discussion.
Lake Ozark needs quality individuals who are capable of meeting challenges with research, reason and responsibility; rather than just throwing someone else’s money at a quick fix.
Joe Barfield appears to meet those qualifications. The longer Lake Ozark can keep him from retiring again, the better off the city will be.
