When Departments Break: Why Local Government Employees are Leaving | Ep.22

2026-04-07

Departments don’t usually fail all at once. They break quietly, then suddenly. Across local government, employees are leaving, burnout is rising, and many leaders don’t realize a department is broken until it’s too late. It starts subtly. One resignation that doesn’t get filled. One burned-out employee holding everything together. One leader hoping the team can just push through. Until one day, the department stops functioning and everyone wonders how it got there. Across local government, vacancies are lingeri...

It starts subtly.

One resignation that doesn’t get filled. One burned-out employee holding everything together. One leader hoping the team can just push through.

Until one day, the department stops functioning and everyone wonders how it got there.

Across local government, vacancies are lingering longer. Institutional knowledge is walking out the door. And in too many organizations, the warning signs are either missed or rationalized away.

That raises critical questions for leaders:

What does a truly broken department look like from the inside?

Why are people really leaving?

What does it take to rebuild trust, culture, and momentum once things begin to fall apart?

In this episode of Gov360, City Manager Chris Mann sits down with Sophia Selivanoff and Ashley Metzger of Regional Government Services (RGS), a public agency that works with cities, counties, and special districts during moments of transition, instability, and organizational strain.

Together, they explore what broken departments feel like for the people inside them, why employees often trust outsiders more than their own supervisors with the truth, and how leaders can recognize the warning signs before disengagement becomes collapse.

This conversation also examines the emotional toll these moments take on leaders, why asking for help can feel so difficult, and how organizations can begin to recover when trust has eroded and hope has faded.

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We unpack:

✅ The difference between a busy department and a broken one

✅ The quiet warning signs leaders often rationalize away

✅ Why employees stop speaking up in struggling organizations

✅ The real reasons people are leaving local government

✅ What burnout, disengagement, and loss of hope look like from the inside

✅ Why outside support can create the first real opening for recovery

✅ How Regional Government Services helps agencies navigate instability

✅ The concept of fractional leadership in local government

✅ Why rebuilding trust, not just filling vacancies, is the real work

✅ Why there is still reason for optimism about the future

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Broken departments are not personal failures. But rebuilding them requires courage, humility, and intentional leadership. For many city managers and department heads, these moments become the defining tests of their careers.

If your organization feels stretched, fractured, or on the brink, this episode offers perspective and a path forward.

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▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eTCDXyVjHE4

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Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Gov360 Ep.7 with Jacob Green titled "Should You Leave Local Government?": https://youtu.be/VJGEfRkCpBY?si=ts6hruBaTtMdxdTR

Regional Government Services: https://rgsjpa.org

Sophia Selivanoff: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophia-selivanoff-259a1123/

Ashley Metzger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-metzger-8a66105b/

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Chapters

0:00 Cold Open: When Departments Quietly Start to Break