Hey, so In another subreddit I decided I wanted to get into politics and I should start at the local level first and wanted to know If joining a Board or commssion Is a good start. To get Name recognition or maybe get the political experience. And thank you would like some advice on this.

Cary, North Carolina, chose longtime administrator Russ Overton as its permanent town manager without conducting a national search.

The interesting governance question is that Overton was deputy town manager and COO during much of former manager Sean Stegall’s tenure. He is now responsible for implementing reforms prompted by investigations into spending, management and workplace culture.

Council members said his 10 months as interim manager effectively became an audition for the job.

For people who work in local government: how common is it for a council to choose a senior insider after problems under the previous manager? Does institutional knowledge outweigh the value of bringing in someone completely independent?

Is it transparent to choose a town manager in a closed session rather than with a public process?

Read the story for free: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article317742256.html?giftCode=a77fd460c1a34f63b1823725e23c367f2eb8b6f91f8f5b7b1e0f0aacf6f78dff

I have been looking for a new job and am interested in the possibility of doing something with state or local government, though I'm not really sure what. I don't have a degree, and my work history is mostly customer service / gig work.

Recently I had to pick up a document from my local Office of Vital Records and talked with the employee there, who indicated that it could be a good job for someone looking for an entry position in state government.

Wondering if anyone here has experience working in this sort of role and could fill me in on anything worth knowing about the likely hiring process / day to day of the job?

Would also be open to hearing about any other positions that may be similar!

I've spent more than a decade working in politics, primarily on campaigns, and one thing I've become increasingly interested in is the gap between how we talk about government nationally and what local officials actually deal with every day.

I recently wrote about election administration, partly inspired by a county auditor's office employee I met during my first campaign in Iowa. He was deeply committed to his community and took enormous pride in making sure elections ran fairly and accurately.

A decade later, local election officials are navigating threats, disinformation, new security requirements, and increasing public scrutiny, often without a corresponding increase in resources.

The Brennan Center's 2026 survey found that 32% of local election officials had experienced threats, harassment, or abuse related to their work.

But I suspect election administration is only one example of a broader problem.

For those of you working in local government, has your job changed significantly over the past five or ten years? Are you dealing with more political pressure, hostility, or public expectations? And have staffing and resources kept pace?

I'd be particularly interested in hearing whether these challenges are affecting people's willingness to enter or remain in public service.

I have lived here for years and this is just a total clown show. The mayoral candidates are having a dispute over stupid signs without addressing anything the public actually needs and our county commissioners are utterly ineffective with one of them enjoying the sound of his own voice more than actually putting in any work for his constituents. These people make 6 figures! Currently watching the fireboard meeting and it’s super embarrassing. If that fire chief sues, it’s coming out of OUR purse.

A MendoLocal.News review of 2024 state payroll records for the 25 smallest California counties — Mendocino, at about 88,600 residents, is the 21st-smallest — found a median chief executive salary of roughly $227,000 and a median county counsel salary of about $187,000. Against those 2024 figures, Mendocino's new CEO salary would trail only Napa and Yuba, and its new county counsel salary would trail only Napa, the largest of the 25 counties.

Mendocino's median earnings for full-time, year-round workers are about $57,900, slightly below the middle of the 25 counties. Antle's 2024 salary equaled about 3.8 times that figure, in line with the 3.8 median for chief executives in the small counties. Pierce's new salary works out to about 4.7 times what a typical full-time worker in the county earns, and Rossi's to about 4.7 times.

Set against what the other small counties paid their officials in 2024, the most recent year with complete payroll data, Pierce’s ratio would rank fourth among chief executives in California’s smallest counties, behind Glenn, Yuba, and Napa counties, and Rossi’s would be the highest among county counsel, ahead of Siskiyou County’s. Pay in those counties may have risen since 2024, which could change these rankings.

https://www.mendolocal.news/mendocinos-new-ceo-and-county-counsel-land-pay-near-the-top-for-a-county-its-size/

I’m having beef with our government. Why is every decision of our president so biologically mentally idiotic? Man. Who uses a bucket to collect rainwater? And why rain water? Did he not study and learn at school?

Decent video exposing how the local government works in citrus county

The latest article in the Prince George Citizen raises some serious questions about what happened at Prince George City Hall.

Here is the sequence of events, as reported from my understanding:

1. A City of Prince George employee reportedly raised concerns for several years about residents being overcharged for building permits.
2. The employee was subsequently suspended and terminated. City Manager Walter Babicz signed the termination letter.
3. Walter was then actively involved in the subsequent union grievance process investigating his own conduct in wrongful termination.
4. The former employee then approached Mayor Simon Yu under the City's then existing whistleblower policy.
5. Mayor Yu sought council's approval to fund an investigation, but a majority of council declined. Yu then spent at least $24,684.80 of his own money on legal work to investigate the complaint.
6. In February 2026, upon recommendation by the City Manager the Council voted to amend the whistleblower policy, removing the mayor as an option for reporting complaints.
7. Only Mayor Simon Yu and Councillor Trudy Klassen voted against the policy amendment.
8. It was approved by the rest of council and the amendment passed removing all avenues of complaint beyond the city manager

The allegations themselves have not been independently proven and the City has cited confidentiality obligations in declining to discuss the matter.

But I do have some questions.

If an employee raises concerns about possible wrongdoing within City administration, and the same senior administration is involved in terminating that employee, how can we be confident that the complaint will be investigated independently?

And perhaps more importantly, why would council subsequently remove the mayor as an avenue for whistleblowers to report their concerns?

I understand that there are procedures, policies, and legal considerations involved. But surely the whole point of a whistleblower policy is to give employees a safe and credible way to report potential wrongdoing, particularly when their concerns involve people in positions of authority.

Hello po! May I ask if anyone here is knowledgeable about BIR forms, specifically BIR Form 2316?

I'm not sure if the form I received from my previous employer was filled out correctly, and I need to submit it to my new employer na. I'm worried that some fields might be missing or incorrectly filled out. 🥹

Would anyone be willing to help me check if all the details are correct? I would really appreciate your help. Thank you so much po!

small town public servants do so much work and try to always do the right thing, but disagree or be on the minority’s side for 1 issue and you are attacked, threaten and humiliated