Name: Bobbie L. Agler
Age: 65
Occupation: Chief Financial Officer, Creig Agler Automotive, Inc.; Certified Public Accountant, State of Kansas, Aug. 1, 1968; Shareholder, director & officer with Agler & Gaeddert; Certified Public Accountants through Dec. 1997; Vice President, Financial Operations, Birch Telecom through Dec. 2002
Education: Emporia State University, BS in Accounting, May 1963
Personal: High-school sweetheart and wife for 45 years, Marcia K. Agler; son, Creig Agler, Owner/manager Emporia Motors; daughter, Christine Miller, homemaker and business partner in A&M Consulting; daughter, Cindy Agler, Career army reserve with tours in Desert Storm and Iraq; son, Chad Agler, finance manager, Laird Noller Ford; daughter, Callie Agler Chambliss, professional singer at Grand Country in Branson, Mo.; 10 grandchildren
Q Why are you running for this office?
A Two years ago you gave me an opportunity to contribute to the future success of Emporia and I believe I have had a positive impact in critical areas such as financial and operational accountability. I also have the management skills and leadership experience to contribute for continued success.
Q If elected, what are your goals?
A An ongoing goal must be maturing the financial integrity of city operations and strengthening financial reserves to levels dictated by our operational budgets, without placing additional stress on property taxes.
We must accelerate our economic development efforts and resulting success for both industrial and commercial opportunities.
Develop processes to formally engage our citizens in ongoing dialog regarding benefits and costs of key initiatives as they develop, providing the commission valuable input before the final decision.
Q How will the city commission be better with you as a member?
A As a CPA since 1968, I have a solid financial background, including extensive involvement with municipal consulting and budgeting. This has already proved to be extremely beneficial during my first term as your City Commissioner when identifying the historical cash flow issues and developing a responsible resolution. Beyond the financial area, I believe my extensive business consulting experience has proven beneficial in addressing organizational and operational challenges. I have also served on the National League of Cities Futures Panel for Public Finance which has proven to be the driver for bringing public finance to leading edge business practices.
Q What do you think is the biggest issue facing the city commission and how would you resolve it?
A It is critical that we continue to develop an “accountable business model” for City operations. We made great strides during 2006 by balancing the budget, repaying a significant amount of the 2005 shortfall and ending the year with a better general fund cash balance than we have had in years. This was accomplished without increasing the mil levy.
However, even more important than the financial aspects of the business model is the management structure and operating plan. It is critical that we continue to build a management team that will effectively lead city personnel in an efficiently operated organization. To accomplish this, highly developed leadership and management characteristics were key criteria developed by the commission early in city manager search process. Matt Zimmerman has demonstrated these characteristics during his career and has the high energy level that will sustain the development of this model.
Emporia obviously has a number of other heavy challenges, including property taxes, diversity, economic development, plunging “pull” factors, etc. However, until we develop this “accountable business model” foundation, I believe we will be extremely handicapped in experiencing real success in other areas. We must be able to function at a very efficient and professional level.
Q What should the city commission’s priorities be when it plans a budget?
A The commission is responsible for establishing goals and objectives and adopting the related budget. Therefore, an overriding priority is to assure that budget requests include linkage between services to be provided and the goals and objectives. This will allow the commission to focus budget questions on how spending relates to the results they are seeking. The City Manager manages the budget development, including the process of providing the outcome information and relating it to performance measurements. It is during this process that public input would be included. The commission holds the manager accountable for managing the budget.
Q Looking to the future, what are three things you’d like to see happen in the city commission?
A I’d like the commission to become more process driven, concentrating on policy and planning as opposed to operational matters. Second, we need to assist our City Manager in developing an operating plan for the balance of 2007 and support him in implementing the plan. Third, it is critical that the commission develop a long range strategic plan that defines and prioritizes key objectives for Emporia, and then revisit the plan in a structured manner annually.