City of Middlevale Annexation Negotiation MGT/445 January 9, 2012 The City of Middlevale is introducing a plan to annex properties currently outside of the city limits. The annexation process is due to budget constraints and the cities inability to continue funding emergency services to these outlying areas. The citizens in the proposed annexed areas will be required, if the annexation is passed by the state legislature, to pay city property taxes and city sales tax on purchases made in Middlevale.
The citizens residing in the unincorporated area are either lower income households or elderly.Most moved to the unincorporated area to avoid paying the taxes associated with incorporation into the Middlevale city limits. Without annexation, the citizens of the unincorporated area would be without emergency services. Both the city and the effected citizens are poised to begin negotiations to find a solution that will mutually benefit both parties. Negotiation is the act of discussing or conversing with another person or persons with the goal of reaching a mutually agreeable solution. The agreed upon solution may be fully or partially agreeable to both parties.
This process is used when one person needs or wants something from another and seeks to gain their support or cooperation in obtaining his or her objective (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2006). There are two types of negotiations. Collaborative negotiation refers to focusing on mutual gain for both parties, whereas adversarial negotiation seeks to maximize gain for one party or the other, but not both. In a collaborative negotiation, the two parties seek to come to an agreement through the strength of a relationship or multiple options.Adversarial negotiations have the parties withholding information and there is little regard considered for the relationship between the two parties.
In negotiations there are key stakeholders. These are usually the parties that have the most to gain or lose in the negotiation process. The key stakeholders in the negotiation to annex the unincorporated properties are the City of Middlevale and the citizens currently residing in the unincorporated area. The City of Middlevale is acting on their needs to control their city budget, while maintaining adequate and reliable emergency resources to all of the citizens in the area.The citizens affected by the proposed annexation are acting on their rights and needs to maintain a lifestyle associated with living in the unincorporated area.
These citizens moved to this area with the knowledge that this area provided them with a lower cost of living. The citizens are concerned that with annexation will come the lowering of their property values and an increased cost of living due to higher taxes. The City of Middlevale needs to work closely with the citizens affected by the proposed annexation. The Middlevale City Council cannot take an adversarial approach to the negotiation.
The City should incorporate an integrative bargaining technique. Integrative bargaining is a collaborative negotiation, whereby both parties work closely to maximize the potential for a joint outcome. Both parties are willing to work together to achieve the desired results, sharing and respecting each other’s position to help find a common ground. Both parties must invest time and effort in understanding the other person’s position. In integrated bargaining, both parties expect to continue working together and therefore enter the negotiation with an attitude of relationship, strength, and respect.Integrative bargaining helps to create long-term solutions and long-term relationships.
Integrative bargaining is best known as a “win-win” negotiation. It does require compromise from both parties to meet in the middle or swaying one way or the other. In either case, one or both sides will compromise their initial objectives for the betterment of the whole. Unlike distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining requires both parties to share their needs and objectives, listen carefully to the others requests, ask open-ended questions, and remain focused on the bigger picture.Integrative bargaining can be counterproductive when the negotiation is over and the one party that conceded more than the other sees the effects of the negotiations outcome. This party may feel as if they have lost in the negotiation because less of their objectives were agreed upon (Lewicki, Barry, & Saunders, 2006).
The first step in the negotiation is for both parties to seek understanding. Both parties should enter the negotiation separating their personal interests from their positions. Both parties have a position that should be made clear.The City of Middlevale’s position is financial.
They cannot afford to continue subsidizing the costs of emergency services to their unincorporated citizens. The citizen’s position is that they do not want to absorb the additional costs associated with annexation of their homes into the Middlevale city limits. Such positions tend to be relatively fixed and narrowly defined. Positions must either be accepted or rejected on a yes or no basis.
Interests, on the other hand, are the underlying motives and concerns that drive each party’s position.Interests tend to be numerous and vary widely in the relative importance each party places on them. If the two parties enter the negotiation expressing their positions they will have a difficult time locating a common area of agreement. The two key stakeholders, the City of Middlevale and the citizens affected by the annexation, must understand the other party’s underlying fears.
In negotiations, parties often operate from a hidden agenda that grows out of their key underlying fears and concerns. At first, few, if any, of these fears and concerns will be discussed openly.Neither party wants to expose themselves to additional risk. They may be concerned that exposing their fears will cause the other party to view them as weak and vulnerable. Most fears center on the party’s potential for loss (Karrass, 1995). These include loss of control, loss of face, loss of resources, and loss of stability.
Neither the City of Middlevale nor the citizens want to lose their positions or interests. Both must be prepared to communicate respect to each other’s views. Neither party should enter the negotiation in a head-on confrontational manner.Both parties should allow the other to be open in their communication, listens carefully to each other’s position and interests, and summarize what is said to clarify understanding. Once both parties have expressed their needs, they must seek alignment. Once a foundation of understanding has been created, the City of Middlevale, and the citizens must pursue a line of discussion that aligns them both toward a common win.
They should begin by summarizing their own interests. These are the key elements both parties want to take away from the negotiation.At this point in the negotiation, neither party should lock into a fixed position or final solution to the problem. Instead, they both should emphasize commonality in their interests (Karrass, 1995).
To pursue alignment both the City of Middlevale and the citizens must agree on a definition of the problem, including the facts that support the problem. In this case, the citizens must understand the financial burdens placed on the city to continue providing emergency services and the City of Middlevale ust understand the financial burdens the citizens will endure if the annexation takes place. Both parties must also agree on a goal for the negotiation. Because they are using an integrative bargaining technique, both parties are expected to compromise their interests along the way to assist in achieving a common goal. Finally, in the pursuit of alignment, both parties must agree on the approach they will take to reach their common goal.
The most effective means of starting the negotiation is to work from areas of least resistance to those of greatest resistance.During the negotiation, the City of Middlevale will want to open a path of agreement with the citizens. To do this, both the City of Middlevale, and the citizens should start with areas in which they both agree; then progress to minor points of disagreement. If a disagreement stalls the negotiation, then the two parties can agree to table this point and address it at a later time. Both parties should look for ways to realign their separate viewpoints.
Resistance usually occurs because one party disagrees with the other.Both parties must consider ways of bringing these separate viewpoints into greater alignment. If one or both parties cannot realign, then one party must reframe the source of resistance. This means that one party must place the issue within a different context to help the other party have a different view of it (Karrass, 1995). In this case, the City of Middlevale may need to show statistics that support the annexation. In addition, they could show the necessity of emergency services to unincorporated areas and the effect these services have on the health and well being of its citizens.
The citizens could show the effect the annexation would have on their financial stability and ability to support their families. The City of Middlevale has an ethical dilemma. They must consider the wellbeing of the people they serve, while also maintaining a balanced budget. They have a financial responsibility to current taxpayers and have a standing commitment to maintain emergency service to all citizens in and around their city. They cannot continue to do both. Morally speaking, their commitment is to protect the citizens.
This must be maintained regardless of the outcome of the negotiation. Both parties must make concessions to address their mutually exclusive financial concerns. The City of Middlevale could provide a plan to implement the increase in taxes to the citizens over several years. This could provide the citizens a means of saving for the impending increases. Additionally, this would provide the citizens a chance to sell their home and move elsewhere without the threat of decreasing property values.The annexation is the appropriate solution to resolve the financial burdens placed on the City of Middlevale.
The citizens will need to concede part of their fight to maintain emergency services. This concession will cost the citizens in a graduated property tax increase and an immediate increase in taxes paid on purchases made in Middlevale. Assuming that both parties are able to reach alignment, they must then finalize the agreement by capturing a commitment from one another.This means that both parties have translated their good intentions and innovative ideas into a solid plan of action.
This step will help both parties walk away from the negotiation with a clear agenda for change. Summarizing the final outcome in writing will ensure that both parties have their positions, interests and concessions documented for future reference (Karrass, 1995). References Karrass, C. L.
(1995). Give and Take (2nd ed. ). Beverly Hills, CA: Stanford Press.
Lewicki, R. J. , Barry, B. , & Saunders, D. M.
(2006). Negotiation (5th ed. ). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill.
