Talk of the County Podcast | Interview with Stacy Rogers, President-Elect of NFBPA

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:00:14

Good morning, Franklin County. I am here, with The Honorable Stacy Rogers, who serves as the President-Elect of the National Forum of Black Public Administrators and serves as The Chief Administrative Officer for Baltimore County, Maryland. How are you doing this morning at ICMA?

Stacy Rogers [: 00:00:35

Indeed. I am well and really Honored to join you, today. I wanna thank you and, your team for inviting me.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:00:45

Yes. You are a living example of she leads. Just the size of the government in Baltimore County, give us a little preview of of of of what the size and scope of the government there, in Baltimore County, Maryland, that you are in charge of

Stacy Rogers [: 00:01:12

and that you do use every day? Well, Baltimore County, is the 3rd largest jurisdiction in Maryland. We have 850,000, Residents, and, we are a charter, government. We have a, elected County executive, and I am appointed. My role that people often ask, what does the, County administrative officer, do I'm responsible for the day to day operation Of the, county government, my role or my job description, if you will, is defined in our charter. So that makes it, real clear, to everyone what my responsibilities are. One of the biggest responsibilities Is annually developing and, presenting to the county executive for his consideration And submission to our county council. We have a 7 member, county council that we work closely with to carry out the work. We have, our f y 24 operating budget is 4,400,000,000, dollars, and I'll say, our workforce in in full force is a little under 10,000 employees.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:02:40

Right now, as many jurisdictions, we're struggling from the with the great resignation, And we have quite a few vacancies, particularly in our public safety spaces, so that's One of our big challenges right now.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:02:57

There's a saying in our field, show me your budget, show me your priorities Of over $4,000,000,000, where does the money majority go?

Stacy Rogers [: 00:03:11

Well, Ken, we're in a county that we fund our school system. So 48% Of our budget goes to school system. Right behind that is public safety and then the rest of the government. From the standpoint of our working relationship with the school system to develop that budget each year, it's It's a, deliberative process. We work very closely with the school system, But that's where the majority of the the funds go to school system.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:03:50

That's, you know, that's what we see a lot. It's what's little bit different, in some jurisdictions, funding of of education goes through local school boards. Yes. And local school boards have taxing authority. But, you know, it's really about educating the youth of Baltimore Will be the future of Baltimore

Stacy Rogers [: 00:04:14

Absolutely.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:04:14

In keeping people safe every day. Absolutely.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:04:17

It is basically, you know, what you do, what your your Yep. Well, your your biggest charge is is where I see it. Well, back to the question of, about, priorities. I will say, When our administration arrived, and I'm I'm just so pleased to, work with Our county executive very, very closely, county executive John a Olchevski junior is our county executive. We changed things, a little bit in terms of engagement with community with respect to our budgeting process and hearing from community.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:04:58

Mhmm.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:04:59

In in prior administrations, very few people came out to testify on behalf of or about Our budget, period. But under the county executive's leadership, we absolutely opened that up, and we started budget town halls Where we went into the community and talked about, what we were doing and heard from, Community members. In that way, thousands of people participated in the process. We have about well, we have, 7 house minute jurisdictions, and we hosted a town hall in each of those jurisdictions, in conjunction with the council member and heard from the citizens. And even more recently, we began to do, you know, the little, Immediate response polls, and the citizenry has responded affirmatively that between, public safety and education, that's where their priorities are too. So it it we do have Confirmation that our budget priorities are aligned. The other big thing that we did prior to our administration, we did not have an Prize wide strategic plan and that's where where my base is around having that plan because we know that without a plan That you're all working together toward reaching goals is difficult for an enterprise to make, You know, demonstrative, moves forward, as an organization. So we have 6 goals and it is Based on community, it's based on accountability, and, in terms of, sustainability, you know, we're concerned about Issues of, sustainability, ethics.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:06:56

We have a big, you know, accountability piece for the government and empowered workforce. And now we're branching that out from just focusing on the internal workforce with the entire County workforce. I'm pretty pleased.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:07:14

Workforce is is everything. Absolutely. We can't serve our we can't we can't We can't serve our residents if we don't have a quality workforce. And you spoke at a great resignation. You spoke of, a increasing demand from employees for greater work life balance. Absolutely. And they, people, before the pandemic, compromised Work life balance in a lot of cases, but not anymore. So as administrators, we have to Speak to that and act, in a way that not only we state our employees that we value them, But we have to show them

Stacy Rogers [: 00:08:09

in a tangible way that we value them. Absolutely. And I was so impressed recently, when we were Participants at the the NACo, the business of counties, forum just this past week, The physician who came and talked to us realistically about that, I was very impressed with the presentation and the data. So this is something that we really do have to focus on because the intergenerational, considerations with the workforce, The, balance between trying to, you know, be more flexible in terms of duty, Whether that's, teleworking, what jobs are portable to a teleworking environment, accountability, access in terms of our employees because it's it's not We can't be confused about the fact that when you're teleworking, you're just sitting in a different seat. But sometimes you hear people say, oh, they're teleworking today. When teleworking and different alternative ways of of doing our work begin to compromise our Service delivery and access for our residents, then that's a challenge. So we have to be very, very careful to set clear expectations, but try to have that balance. And in our area, we're competing with the federal workforce.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:09:44

You know, we've got a number of major federal installations, in our immediate area, and, teleworking is is a big piece of the the federal workspace and the salaries, so we have to really Work closely with our unions, you know, with with the tours of duty And, you know, the options for telework, how do we make the decisions on what positions are, appropriate for telework. There's a lot to it. Yeah. And we have to be ready to to be Flexible. What's the greatest opportunity that you see in the DMV, DC,

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:10:33

Maryland, and Virginia area as you all call it. DMV. The that And what do you see as the

Stacy Rogers [: 00:10:41

Greatest challenge. I wanna talk about the the opportunity. Because of how we're situated, you know, Between Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, the major our our 2 largest jurisdictions in Maryland are border jurisdictions with the District of Columbia. And then, of course, when you come to the Baltimore, Metropolitan side is regional collaboration. We have so many opportunities as, governments right there together To to collaborate because, let's face it, natural disasters, You know, inclement weather issues, issues around, sustainability. What are we doing about The Chesapeake Bay touches us all because we have to work together on those issues because no one jurisdiction can Solve it alone. Global warming. You know, what are we doing about, you know, sustainable renewable energy Collectively, because our region is impacted by what we all do.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:11:58

And I'm pleased to say that we have have a great working relationship in our region. We have to work more strategically, I believe. This is a challenge to Go after federal resources that we can use collectively to address some of the regional issues. Transportation Across the metropolitan area, also for us, you know, water and sewer issues, Especially on the Baltimore side, we have I was honored to, share our, review of our our our metro, utility, water utility, that the governing, guidance and legislation for the utility goes back to the early, 1900. The last major change in the the the guiding documents and MOUs between the 2 jurisdictions go back to the seventies. So we you know, people have talked about this for years, but we proactively work together to Do something about it to take a close look. Yeah. Yes.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:13:17

Resources are everything. When

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:13:20

you talk about water, sewer, having a reliable, source electricity There you go. And The grid. Utility yes. And digital access in broadband Is Absolutely. Very much a public utility. Is there any major initiatives, Or

Stacy Rogers [: 00:13:45

are there digital equity, issues in Baltimore County? Absolutely. I'm really pleased, even prior to the start of our administration 5 years ago, the county had been very successful In securing federal funding through NTIA, the National Telecommunications Administration that's Tiles within commerce. And I'll also say I'm really, really pleased that the, through NFBPA, The region, we received funding for, that was geared toward digital equity, efforts in conjunction with historically black colleges and universities, and I'm very proud that, The county and Baltimore City are working with Morgan State University and Coppin State University, where actually I started my career, on digital equity and inclusion activities, not only with connectivity, but training and outreach Into the community that the, grant required, HBCU, a government entity, And a nonprofit community entity to work together, and both universities received, Close to $3,000,000 each.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:15:12

Yeah.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:15:13

2,900,000 for 1 and then one point, 1,98,000,000, and we were part of that. It was a requirement of the the, grant program, the MTIA grant program. So and it's focusing on 3 areas. Number 1, not just, the access, but sustainability with the access in terms of promoting the the federal, benefit, the $30 a month benefit. So the state of Maryland kicked in, and we're putting in, through the state an additional, $15 a month, for our residents who who qualify. We're, doing training On how to utilize equipment, and then that next step that we're taking is how do we ensure that after Residents receive the training, have the equipment, that if something happens to that equipment, that long term, They can get access to, repairs, things like that because it's one thing to have it, but we all know that things go awry with Pads and and laptops and things like that and some of the data that the county we did a a digital, access survey a couple years ago, and within that data, it suggested to us that we needed to address those issues. So absolutely, Baltimore County, and working with our partner with Baltimore City, I believe are on the the the leading edge of, community engagement around digital access, affordability, and long term sustainability through NTIA funding.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:17:06

Thank you for sharing that great partnership. Yes. And collaborations matter. Absolutely. You can accomplish so much more together than operating in silos. And for the listeners, the affordable connectivity program Mhmm. If you're eligible, go online, Google it. It's a it's a it's something that we want every resident of anywhere in the country to take advantage of if they're eligible.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:17:35

So thank you for mentioning that as well, Stacy. Now let's talk about NFBPA. You mentioned your work, And now you're president-elect. Just briefly touch on what you're seeking, to accomplish, in this position. And I know you're very excited about Bringing the annual conference back to Baltimore. I believe you said 3 decades has been Absolutely. Since you hosted it. So you're gonna be The president, you're gonna be the lady in charge.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:18:15

You're gonna make sure that everything is right. So let's talk a

Stacy Rogers [: 00:18:18

little bit about that. Once It's one of my Ken, it's one of my favorite subjects right now. It's it's threefold for me. It's it's it's to me, you know, the the circle Going going full circle back to the beginning. The NFBPA conference for all of your listening audience is April 3rd through 7th, 2024 in Baltimore in Baltimore City at the, Marriott Waterfront Hotel is our host hotel, but we are planning lots of, learning activities In Baltimore and in Baltimore County, because Baltimore City and Baltimore County are 2 separate jurisdictions, But because of, the Maryland chapter being a state chapter, our approach to the conference is a little different Because we are, hosting the cap the the conference in conjunction with the chapter, Maryland chapter, I'm very proud of, been a member for many many years, and the surrounding jurisdictions, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Baltimore County, we have a few others that we're working with In Baltimore City, we are supporting jurisdictions supporting the conference. So lots of exciting things. The thing for me when I reflect back over these 30 years, as I've shared a couple times since we've been here at ICMA, Is that going back 30 years, I was just starting out in my career and looking out at this sea of African American professionals who looked like me that gave me the inspiration that I too could work in the public sector and be successful. And in a BPA was the place that I could get the additional training besides, You know, my my education, you know, my undergrad, my master's degree.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:20:18

I learned about NFBPA from one of my professors at the University of Baltimore. And throughout that time, went through the training programs. We have 2 flagship programs, the mentor program For, colleagues who are in their early phases of their career, they're assigned a mentor, and those mentor relationships are long term relationships. My mentor and I stayed together for 26 years. We were a mentoring management pair. Wherever she went, I went with her. So I've been in 7 jurisdictions. She retired after we left the federal level.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:20:57

I had the honor of serving As the chief of staff for the Social Security Administration for 6 of the 8 Obama years, And that organization touches the entire nation, everybody in the country in terms of this charge. So when you look at the experiences and opportunities and training opportunities, particularly For emerging leaders that are that are looking to move up into, leadership roles, NFBPA is definitely an organization that is designed to do that. And in my during my tenure as President-elect and going forward into the presidency, that's one of my big pieces because when you look at government, You know, the way government is is structured and you look at the opportunities to grow and to move into positions, we we will know That there's a lot of potential, but the opportunities come by who knows What you can do. When people are asking, do you know a good person? I'm asked that all the time. Do you know do you have a clone? Someone recently said, do you have a clone? I said, I wish I did, but I'll say this, I know of young people in the pipeline Who are ready, who have a potential, the capacity and the ability to go forward, So we we're promoting that. We also promote our relationship and partnership with ICMA because the ICMA certified, public manager program, excellent program. I share that information often with colleagues who, are looking to go in the, city county managers, track because there are opportunities all over the country, But we have to ensure that we're preparing the next generation and that they're ready because these jobs are not for the For those faint the faint at heart. There's a lot.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:23:11

There's a lot of sacrifice, and you have to be ready for that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:23:17

I'm so glad you talked about the importance of mentorship and the importance particularly, As African American leaders to set the example and to be committed to Uplifting others and encouraging others to stay in the profession because there's numerous opportunities, different positions, but there is great reward in being a public servant Absolutely. And impacting your Community and being able to work in areas such as early childhood learning, Economic mobility. We need we need, you know, to do everything we can to Promote the profession and mentor those in the pipeline. Absolutely. You mentioned HBCUs. We need to promote public administration as a profession within HBCU Absolutely. Within, you know, Higher education in general. MBAs are great, but MPAs are great as well.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:24:32

It's very, it's very versatile because a lot of, young, professionals asked me that too Was what did what do I see? MPA, MSW, MBA. I said, well, The MPA is broad enough that you could work in so many different fields, And the JD MPA is even more so. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gone that track because the law is so Important to everything that we do. People often ask me, have an am I an attorney? I said, no. I'm not an attorney, but I rely on my colleagues In the office of law because it's by what authority do we do what we do and knowing that knowing that when we're planning something, Have we vetted and consulted, the law? What does our own, legislative, references say, what, does our code say? What does the state, So I often say if you want to work in government in an operational capacity than an MPA, It's definitely because you're gonna get budget, you're gonna get, the the programmatic operational Aspect, how do you measure, your outcomes? You're gonna get performance management. You're gonna get HR. Looking at all of the foundational pieces in our program, we we had a subset on IT that I was like, why do we have to learn this? I would hire somebody to do these things, but what the professor said at the end was, sure, you'll hire people to do things, But how will you know if the people you're hiring are selling you a bill of goods

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:26:36

Right.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:26:36

Or really doing which needs to be done. So you need a little bit of everything. An MPA gives you that.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:26:44

Yes. I could just talk at least a half an hour plus. I have so many other questions in my head, but, yeah, we're limited in in time. As we, wrap up, the talk of the county, I want it to be a relaxed conversation, But yet be informational to to to to residents that that tune in. So, Tell me a fun fact about Stacy Rogers, the CAO for Baltimore County, Maryland. What what what fun fact? Well, what do you love? What's your favorite ice cream? What tell us a fun fact.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:27:25

Sure. Everyone who knows me, my fun fact, revolves around my grandchildren. I have 2 wonderful little grandsons, one just turned 9 and the other one will be 11 in, January. And I still go to amusement parks, I hang out with them as much as I can. It's just a spin off of, Funkadelic way back in the day, if you hear any noise, it's just me and my boys. Well, for me, if you hear any noise, it's just me and my g boys, My grandsons, they they keep me focused, because I know that there's A finite amount of time that they're going to be little boys. You know, by the time we hit middle school and the the the whole aspect of Girls and other things come into play. They're not gonna wanna hang out with Grammy, but I, we go to amusements, parks.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:28:29

I still ride On on rides at 60 plus, I'm out there with them. We swim. As a matter of fact, I'm already planning, post conference To, take them on a cruise and experience this will be our 1st international experience. We're going to Bermuda, And, they're very excited. We've looked at pictures and the things we wanna do, but when it comes to them, They have said to me, Grammy, especially during COVID, why do you have to work so long? You could you're on your computer when we get up in the morning and you're on your computer when we go to bed at night. Why do you have to work so many hours? And I say to them, it's because We have to ensure that in government, the people we're charged to serve get what they need.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:29:27

That's that's so that's so important. You have such an important job. You're over a multibillion dollar budget. You have all of the issues That come up over the course of, of every day. So being a soccer Grammy is important to you.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:29:52

Absolutely. Went home, went from New Mexico, went back across the the coast to go to my grandson's Soccer games on Saturday then flew back to to Texas. Tell me you got a t shirt with soccer Grammy on it. I don't, but I'm gonna get one. Thank you for sharing that fun fact, and thank you for, Agreeing to just have a conversation with me here on Talk of the Cowen. Well, it was my pleasure. I had Wonderful experience during my, undergrad experience. I spent 2 years at Ohio University in Athens.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:30:34

Bobcats. At Go Bobcats, I have 2 lifelong friends. 1 lives in Sandusky and one lives in Dayton. So I have connections to the state of Ohio. And being from Pittsburgh, I had cousins and relatives in Cleveland, so we made that trek back and forth on, 70 West Coming into Cleveland, as a teenager, coming over to the, Steelers and the Browns Football games, so I have a lot of, connectivity to Ohio.

Kenneth Wilson [: 00:31:16

Ohio is A big football state. You're right about that. Big football state. Go, Buckeyes. Wanna Thank the listeners, for tuning in, to the 1st Talk of the County podcast with With Stacy, the CAO for Baltimore County, Maryland.

Stacy Rogers [: 00:31:37

Thank you so much for that honor