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level of services in spite of inflation and cut budgets. Your administrator can explain how fees and charges are not discriminatory and how scholarships can be used. All of us had to overcome this mental block. The Administrator Unless you are a member of a Board in a tiny community, you will have an administrator, a full time employee who is responsible for the day to day operation of the Park Rec agency. As a group these people are well trained, competent, and understand their role. They are responsible to work for the board and quickly observe how the board wishes to work, and the special interest areas of the individual members. You owe this person one specific action each year — an honest evaluation of his or her work. Unfortunately, the majority of Boards do not ever take this step. The administrator is entitled to know how he or she is doing, what the individual board members think of his or her performance and the areas where the board believes improve- ment should be made. Most CBMs do not do this as they feel em- barrassed in such a discussion, but you owe it to your residents. The fitter boards with the better programs always do this each year. So, imitate the successful. It pays. What Does the Administrator Do? This varies with the size of the community of course. The Administratc like a City Manager School Supt., Polio Chief, Librarian, or other person respoi ble for operating ar agency or departmE He or she hires and fires the employees; you do not. He or she runs the day to day operation; you do not. nC ur 5ne cxcL;u[e5 the roiic set Dy the Board at monthly meetings. The ADM sits at the foot of the table and does not have 14% of the action. He or she works with or for a group of 7 people and can count (quicker than the Board can) and will do what the majority wants. Tell the Administrator What You Think The Administrator wants to please the CBM, this is his/her job. He or she is prepared to do it daily. The ADM cannot do it unless you tell him what you want. He or she is not paid to read minds. If you tell the other CBMs, the public, the media, you are compounding the problem. Tell the administrator your likes and dislikes, what you think, what you think the public thinks. They want to know. You are not doing your job unless you talk to the administrator. Policy vs Administration If you are a policy board, this one is something you hear frequently about from young staff and a lot of conversation is wasted here. The board sets the policy, the staff ad- ministers the policy. The easy way to remember; the board decides what to do and the staff decides how to do it. You decide to have a high school girls' soft- ball program, that is policy. That is all you have to do. The staff finds the space, publicizes the program, registers the players, selects the volunteer coaches and umpires, determines the games to be played, etc. That is their job; let them do what you are paying them to do. 26 27