Interesting -- if you don't mind waiting for this huge pdf document to download, you'll see that Martha Bueche did this same kind of work for the same bureau, and for the the Bureau of Transportation System Management, in 2003-2004.

More on Mary Zinkin here (another pdf, but smaller).

Coaching help is definitely necessary here. First assignment should be to craft a simple sentence defining what the agency does.

I recently listened to Paul Scarlett at a luncheon meeting presentation, describe what his department does. The foggy incoherence, presented in 100% public trough wonk-speak was mind numbing, laughable and over the top. Knew as little when he started as I did 20 minutes later when he finished.

Amendments to the coaching contracts are on the City Council Agenda for tomorrow.

They must already be under contract with the city to do this work. As I said, Bueche's definitely done it before.

PPS has followed the city's lead and hired $100+ an hour "career coaches" for their worst-performing, completely inexperienced principals.

That's for the kids, right?

Right.

Maybe Nigel (the only investigative reporter in town, apparently) could figure out how much we're spending on this cr*p -- and why.

This kind of crap is rampant, as is untold countless hours and dollars devoted to "diversity sensitivity training" and "sustainable practices training" and on and on ad nauseum. About the only thing the city isn't spending money on is taking care of the city.

Totals if the contract amendments pass:

Zinkin $15,500
Bueche $32,500

" Knew as little when he started as I did 20 minutes later when he finished."

This, at least, is positive. That bureaucratese crap can suck the knowledge right out of your head, leaving you less informed than you were when you started.

Zinkin $15,500
Bueche $32,500

...plus $136,772 for Scarlett, would come to $184,772 to run BDS. Sheesh.

Scarlett must be bad off, these are "emergencies"!

If you're worth paying over 100K, you shouldn't need any management coaching. If you need coaching, you shouldn't be paid your full salary until you've gotten it. This "coaching" thing comes up every couple of years. I wonder what Nike, Fred Meyer and the like pay for "coaching" their management (and this doesn't count training sessions which everyone has to attend).....

Multnomah County has a number of these "coaching" contracts as well. There are several people who have contracts that are renewed every year -- I think they run 35,000 to 45,000 per year. They hold "retreats" for managment staff and do team-building exercises.
I'm not sure if you can find them in the county budget by name as a line item -- departments have amounts in their budgets for personal services and these people are pre-approved to provide them.

A reader who's in the know writes: "Martha Bueche has had loads of contracts with the City for as long as I can remember."

This really would be a good topic for a reporter to spend a few days on...

"I wonder what Nike, Fred Meyer and the like pay for "coaching" their management"

Don't kid yourself. There's plenty of waste in the private sector, too. The main difference is, if you don't like the price/value profile of the product or the stock, you don't have to own it.

From personal experience - the best team-building exercise is working for a great boss who loves his team members and gives clear direction as to the desired end-result and then lets his capable and qualified team who have nothing but respect for and trust in one another get the job done and then acknowledges and rewards them appropriately. Whew! It was a job of a life-time. Everyone won. Shareholders, management, workers, customers, consumers. It's a simple formula; and it worked every time we tried it.

Martha Beuche was the consultant who coached Parks Management through their 2004-5 reorganization.

With PDC, CoP, Metro, Multnomah Co., TriMet, and Port of Portland all using coaching personel to coach personel with job descriptions running from $70,000 to $140,000 you have to wonder why they were even given the jobs if they can't perform. It is time for an investigation and I am sure Randy Dandy will be right on top of it. He can start with his own bureaus.

I can think of one Bureau head that needs some big time coaching...maybe even having a coach yank her from the game- *** ***. She has got to be the most clueless person in the city.

Sorry, that's just too ad hominem (or ad feminam, in this case).

OK Jack! Sorry! I will say I am just very disappointed with where the Parks Bureau is heading these days....I miss Charles Jordan, he was a real leader.

Villager is right on!!!

Why is PPS hiring stone cold rookies as principals, for $100,000 a year and bennies, only to hire $100 an hour coaches to save their careers as they crash and burn on taxpayer time?

I sure wish my rookie principal had stayed in retail.

Would have saved this city a ton of money!

And her staff and students a ton of pain.

What are the criteria for determining who gets "coaching" help?

Probably depends on which bureau chief's "cousin's-best friend's-brother" needs a job...

I am just hoping the Fireman hasn't read about the proposed Popcorn Ban for Seattle Public Employees.

I predict a huge run on the local microwave popcorn supply (with follow-on shortages) if Commish Randy even opens his mouth. Imagine all those Oxygen Movie of the Night mommies brawling in the aisle at Freddys. Truly scary.