Inform, Respect, Deliver: Local Government Managers in the Policy Arena

In this kickoff-to-2026 episode of Generation on the Rise, hosts Dave Pribulka, Brandon Ford, and Eden Ratliff tackle the question: what is the real role of a municipal manager in forming local government policy? Generation on the Rise is produced by Nancy Hess (Publisher of MuniSquare) and features Eden Ratliff (Middletown Township Manager, Bucks County PA), Brandon Ford (Lower Merion Assistant Township Manager, Montgomery County PA, and Dave Pribulka (Bellefonte Borough Manager, Centre County PA)MuniSquare is a reader-supported publication. To subscribe to this feed, receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This is a great listen for anyone interested in the work of local government or just wants to understand how it really works. Be sure to leave your comments and questions for the crew to tackle in a future episode.“Our job is to inform the process, respect the outcome, and then deliver with enthusiasm.” - Eden“We took ‘leaf blower ban’ as a goal and did what staff does—we turned it into options, wrote the ordinance, and recommended a seasonal ban. The board said, ‘Thanks, but we want a full ban.’ And that’s democracy.” - Brandon“Sometimes the textbook says, ‘The board sets policy, the manager administers.’ The real work is everything in between—the translation, the conflict, the opportunity costs.” - DaveTIMESTAMPS:00:00 – New Year banter & Y2K03:30 – First-week-back routines & “Purge Day”06:30 – Reorganization meetings as the “real” New Year09:00 – Setting up the topic: managers and policy formation10:00 – Textbook council–manager model vs reality12:00 – How Eden reads and frames board policy priorities13:30 – Who really sets the agenda? Chair vs manager14:30 – Is capital equipment a policy question?16:00 – Municipal vs nonprofit vs corporate boards17:30 – Disagreeing with the board and processing it at home21:00 – Culture, roles, and “no big emotions” about policy24:00 – Translating decisions up and down the organization28:00 – “Negotiation” vs expectations and culture29:30 – When managers do and don’t make recommendations33:00 – Budgets, tax policy, and whether a balanced budget is a recommendation36:00 – Assistant manager perspective: one functional unit38:00 – Preemption, home rule, and plastic-bag bans44:00 – Inertia, backlash, and revisiting policy after it “marinates”47:00 – What’s distinctive about the Generation on the Rise cohort?48:00 – When operations are failing and the manager must force the policy conversation49:00 – Closing reflections & takeaways