BURBANK : New Mayor Awaits Views of ‘Customers’

Burbank Mayor Bill Wiggins heads City Hall in the same way he runs his metal-finishing company in Glendale: stressing the need to keep costs down and emphasizing a close working relationship with those around him.

In the two months since he became mayor, Wiggins has developed a reputation as an accessible consensus-builder who is still learning the ropes but is trying hard.

This month, questionnaires he refers to as “customer service satisfaction” surveys will be mailed to Burbank’s 93,000 residents in an effort to learn how well city government is performing.

Once the results are in, the mayor hopes to hear firsthand about residents’ concerns in five planned neighborhood summits similar to President Clinton’s town hall meetings.

“I think city government works well. I’d just like to bring the community and city government closer together,” Wiggins, 45, said Wednesday from his City Hall office.

In Burbank, the part-time job of mayor is rotated once a year among the council’s five members. The city’s chief administrative officer is paid as much as individual council members--about $830 a month.

A political novice and father of two, Wiggins based his 1993 campaign for a council seat on the fact that he had no previous experience in local government. Two other newcomers, Dave Golonski and Susan Spanos, were also elected. There were no incumbents in the race.

During the first few months after last year’s election, the three council members attended a series of weekly study sessions to acquaint themselves with the various city departments.

Wiggins earns high marks from colleagues for his willingness to listen to their opinions before expressing his own during Tuesday night council meetings.

Yet some say his lack of political background is a noticeable drawback.

Wiggins said he sees public service as an opportunity “to give a portion of my time back to the community.”

“I had never been involved with the city. I didn’t know one department head. I didn’t know the city manager,” the Toluca Lake native acknowledged.

“If you take the time to go through the educational process of learning and using staff as a resource, I don’t see a detriment to learning on the job. I think the biggest part of my job has to do with listening to other people.”