Newark City Manager Kyle Sonnenberg addresses UD Army ROTC cadets.

ROTC seniors hear city manager

Newark city manager speaks to Army ROTC seniors

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1:04 p.m., March 21, 2011----Newark City Manager Kyle Sonnenberg visited the University of Delaware Department of Military Science recently and addressed members of the Army ROTC senior class about managing a city and how it parallels the responsibilities the students might have as Army officers, both stateside and abroad.

As the city manager, Sonnenberg explained that he has executive authority and oversees the two primary functions of local government: regulating behavior and providing services.

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Drawing on his experiences in Dallas, Fayetteville, N.C., and Newark, Sonnenberg explained how the local government fulfills its duty by providing public safety programs to maintain civil organization and offering judicial, public works, built environment, leisure and utility services.

He told the cadets about the challenges of maintaining city operations while balancing the differing needs of the Newark constituency.

Sonnenberg engaged the cadets through a question and answer session, and inquiries ranged from revenue from parking services to the construction progress on Elkton Road.

In response to one question, Sonnenberg informed the cadets about the dynamic and unique relationship between the University of Delaware and the city, which he said was quite similar in some aspects to what he had seen in his previous experience between Fort Bragg and the neighboring town of Fayetteville.

Lt. Col. Bernard L. Moxley, Jr., UD professor of military science and chair of the Department of Military Science, emphasized the need for the senior cadets to be aware of the intricacies of governing people and managing resources.

“This is the second year that Mr. Sonnenberg has made a presentation to our senior students, and it has been very enlightening for them to understand the challenge of delivering services to the residents of Newark,” Moxley said. “This is extremely beneficial to the students as they become Army officers and participate in overseas contingency operations. These operations can include humanitarian, combat and peacekeeping missions. The take-away for the students is an understanding of the operational complexity and the need for prioritization and resourcing.”

Senior Matthew Robbins summed up the value of the lesson, saying, “In the future, we may be involved in assisting a local government's development in a foreign environment; we may be involved with garrison operations and managing a major Army installation. Knowing the material that Mr. Sonnenberg provided us will prepare us with the awareness to understand what is necessary and sufficient to maintain a functioning system of government at the local level while providing the services that the U.S. Army is renowned for.”

Article by Justin Hicks

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