After nearly a year in Sun Valley's top office, Wayne Willich is adjusting to the fact that business in city hall is indeed different from that in Fortune 100 boardrooms.
While the managerial skills honed over the course of 36 years with aircraft manufacturer Boeing have served Willich during his tenure as mayor, they have also led to moments of frustration and tension, as well as humor.
"To be honest, sometimes I would just rather give orders," Willich said with a grin last week. "At City Council meetings, I get to talk, but don't get to vote, so I have to use logic and moral persuasion instead."
Willich is finding that this can be more challenging than his last role in the private sector as the director of marketing for the Boeing 737, the best-selling airplane in the world.
"Before, I could make a $4 million deal without having to run it by my colleagues," said Willich, who first entered the aerospace industry as an engineer. "With the city, especially when it comes to spending money, the decision-making process is incredibly different and that can be difficult to take."
The resulting friction was evident during the city's budgeting process for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, which brought out raised emotions and voices on a number of occasions. At a meeting in August, a clear rift appeared among the council leaders during a battle over funding priorities, which witnessed Willich banging the gavel not once, but twice.
In the end, the officials reconciled their differences and approved a budget just in time to comply with state law, but despite the unanimous voting by the council members, it was clear that they remained on different pages.
"I was trying to force fit it and that was poorly done," said Willich, noting that he expected the preliminary budget he had brought to the council to sail through. "I didn't realize my budget could just be thrown into the can."
For Willich, the lessons learned during this exercise will be invaluable come next year's budgeting session. This includes bringing the council members into the process earlier so that everyone has the necessary preparation when then public hearings begin.
"We're still a distance from the real clarity on how we're working together," Willich said of the council, two of who, like the mayor, took seats for the first time in January. "We may have differences in political persuasion, but we have to work together to do the right thing. If you're trying to get things done for the city and its taxpayers then I'm all for it."
And with the current downturn in the economy, Willich is emphasizing action over political wrangling.
"In this economic climate, we need to put aside the griping and get going," Willich said. "In the business world, you take a loss and move on. In public office, too often people get mired down and exacerbate the problem rather than looking for positive solutions and moving forward."
Willich said that all of the communities throughout the Wood River Valley are interdependent, and that only by working together can all of the cities come out healthy on the backside of this financial crisis.
To this end, Willich said a concerted effort must be made in attracting entrepreneurs and location-neutral businesses.
"We have a tourist economy, but we have to fill in the cracks through strategic development," Willich said. "There should be a real clarity for the city in the next few months as to where we're going."
He'll be helped by results from the Sustain Blaine research carried out by the economic consulting firm TIP Strategies, as well as the continuing process of finding a replacement for Hailey's Friedman Memorial Airport.
In the meantime, Willich is focusing on the characteristics he found successful during more than three decades in the business world, specifically a hands-on approach to managing the various city departments. Willich said he has made it a habit of hanging around the fire station and got to know police officers by taking shooting lessons at the range.
"You have to be interested in people and what they do. You can't fake that," Willich said. "This in turn allows me to speak with my constituents without having to constantly defer to the departments or get caught flat-footed."
And while he continues to learn how the intricacies of city government differ from the inner working of a 737 airplane, Willich said he is also trying to bring a bit more formality to the proceedings, even if it means occasionally rubbing someone the wrong way.
"A culture has been created here that people can stand up and say anything with impunity, but a council meeting is not the same as a town hall-style meeting. I want to bring some formality in order to prevent Camp Run-amok," Willich said. "People are here for business and we have to ensure they have the opportunity to be heard, but I can't have them filibuster."
His last comment referred to a public hearing at which he cut short the public comment being given by supporters of the Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau, an action viewed by some members of the public and council as out of line. However, Willich stood by his reaction.
"Was that improper? Perhaps, but it had to be done. Their point had already been made," Willich said. "If someone wants to call me on something and I was wrong, I'll apologize."
Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich is nearing the end of his first year in office, during which time he faced a difficult budgeting process and worked on transforming his big business managerial style into one that would fit with city governance. Photo by David N. Seelig
