Apr. 22—For the last several years, Third Ward council member Joyce Poshusta has been a representative voice along with Paul
Fischer. So much so that when she ran for her first term she billed herself as Joyce the Voice.
“I feel like people felt I’m a what you see is what you get type of person,” Poshusta said Monday afternoon before what was her final meeting as a member of the Austin City Council. “It felt that they had that trust aspect with me. They knew if I heard something that I was going to take care of it.”
Poshusta announced in March that she was stepping down to take a job that would require her to move out of her ward and will prompt an appointment scenario much like what happened when Oballa Oballa stepped down during his term in Ward One and was replaced with Geoff Baker.
During her time, the Austin City Council has juggled the every-day as well as the challenging, including the mammoth Wastewater Treatment Plant project and the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s bridge project.
However, one of the more challenging has been internal as the council has grappled with issues of morale and employee engagement within the city’s own structure.
From the beginning Poshusta has been an advocate for the city’s employees and took time regularly to visit with each department.
As she began to hear more and more about the lack of trust in leadership from the top down, Poshusta began to push for the utilization of a third party to evaluate and allow employees to voice their concerns.
“I pushed and pushed for engagement and pushed and pushed for a third party,” she said. “Focus more on people than politics. We started a massive ball rolling. I’ve been the big push behind that and I don’t want that to fall by the wayside because I’m not there anymore.”
But Poshusta saw more than a lack of trust. She also saw a lack in transparency that she said starts at the top.
“It trickles down,” she said. “When the top is not transparent, you can’t trust them. You feel like you’re not heard and it trickles down into a morale issue.”
Poshusta admitted that it’s been a difficult process to work through, especially after hearing about the morale issues.
She feels that there needs to be some kind of change in the future.
“The answer for me is you can’t change personality,” Poshusta said. “If there is a personality conflict, you just can’t change that. I think the council needs to reevaluate starting from the top. Reevaluate starting from the top and make changes where necessary.”
While it’s been a challenging job, Poshusta said that in a lot of ways it’s been a rewarding job as well. She’s had the opportunity to be a part of how the city works and it has contributed to her own personal growth.
“It’s a great learning experience,” Poshusta said. “It’s opened my eyes really well as to how city politics work and the ins and outs of it and behind the scenes.”
The opportunity has also given her perspective regarding those in general who serve in local politics.
While Poshusta said she won’t be running for office again, she still has come away with appreciation for those who do work to be a part of the solution, especially in a community where she has raised a family and has received so much in return.
“Austin has been so good to my family and raising my boys and it was time to give back,” Poshusta said of her initial decision to run. “I have the utmost respect for anybody who participates in city politics and city boards. It takes a lot instead of just being critical of how everything is done.”