6.1. SR 08-03-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Separating the management of the water and electric departments gave Troy Adams the opportunity to focus on pressing personnel, morale, and policy issues. When Bryan Adams resigned, tensions between ERMU and the city had escalated to an all-time high due to diminishing coordination and cooperation. This strife lead to speculation that the city wanted to sell the utilities. Representatives from Connexus and the mayor had held a meeting that fueled this speculation. Troy Adams was determined to rebuild the relationship between the utilities and the city to eliminate any desire to sell ERMU.141 In addition to conflicts with the city, ERMU experienced internal tensions during this transitional period. Employees were concerned with the city's apparent loss of interest in having a municipal utility, as well Vance Zehringer(L)and Bryan Adams(R) as the economic downturn. Wanting to (Elk River Municipal Utilities) ensure that they maintained fair wages and benefits regardless of what happened, employees filed a petition to unionize. Thanks to an effective response to their concerns by the commission and management, the employees dropped their efforts to unionize. Troy Adams continued to focus on improving internal management,resolving personnel issues, and rebuilding the relationship between the utility departments, the employees, and the commission. He began promoting from within, emphasizing professionalism and communication, to strengthen ERMU as an organization. In time,he was able to rebuild trust and relationships through these initiatives and others, such as joint staff meetings where everyone received the same information at the same time. He also focused on increasing communication with customers. As a municipal utility, it was essential that operations were transparent, so ERMU began a newsletter and held public meetings to inform and engage the community.142 Difficult times had created the opportunity to realign organizational goals, focus on core values, and redirect the organization to better serve the community. The decisions made by the commission during this time and the development of a new leadership team were good preparation for facing challenges that were just over the horizon. The Big Stone II Decision In 2008, shortly before Bryan Adams resigned, Connexus had informed ERMU that it would be terminating its contract in 2018. ERMU believed that if it tried to renegotiate a new contract, 141 Troy Adams in conversation with Rachel Peterson,June 2,2014. 142 Ibid. 39