Real-Life Communication
The city administrator is the go-between for the city and other local boards and commissions.
You need to have good communication skills to be able to serve the population as best as you can. If the city provides services in a second language, it's in your best interest to learn that language, and as much as possible about that culture.
"I don't see people without the educational background and communication skills do the job I do every day," says Gerald Berry. He is a city administrator.
"It will be a real challenge when dealing with technical terms if as a representative of the city you don't understand the basic terminology."
Here are the top 10 terms you should be familiar with:
- Administration
- Annual budget
- Corporation
- Democracy
- Fringe benefits
- Goal
- Leadership
- Policy
- Tax
- Year-end
Using the definitions below, can you explain each term with examples?
Top 10 Terms:
Administration: The art or practice of carrying out policies in government, business or public affairs.
Annual budget: The written statement of funds the city will receive and expected expenditures it will make over the next fiscal year (12-month period set for accounting purposes).
Corporation: A body of municipal authorities that act as one.
Democracy: Government by the people represented by elected officials. You vote for the person who will represent you best.
Fringe benefits: Besides wages, ways to give satisfactions to employees (such as extra paid time off, sick days, and insurance plans).
Goal: An aim or objective to get to where you plan to be.
Leadership: The directing head of a group is the leader. Leadership will demonstrate to others how to lead or guide a group.
Policy: A legal contract between two parties.
Tax: A charge on the value of someone's property, income or bought goods to collect revenue for the government. Taxes are found at municipal, state and national levels.
Year-end: The end of the fiscal year where all the calculations are made to see where spending went and how much was spent. It is closing the books for the year in preparations for the year to come.