Few people get the opportunity to write their own job description. And after getting that new gig, even fewer get a $5.4 million checkbook to help win friends and influence people.

Both are in Autumn Radle’s corner as she takes the reigns as the city of Oklahoma City’s new sustainability manager.

“Autumn’s background in environmental planning and experience in the field will move Oklahoma City toward a more sustainable future,” says City Manager Jim Couch.

Radle’s job is simple: Just make everything the city does better.

“This job has really been an introduction to every department, every facet of the city,” says Radle, a native New Yorker. “It’s incredible how much we accomplish with the resources we have, but there’s so much to it. I’m finding out how much I don’t know. The public is very happy with what we do … and I’m trying to figure out how to make it better.”

TASK FORCE
She owes her new job – in part – to herself. With two years in the city’s planning department, Radle was selected for a task force that recommended the position be created.

“Interestingly enough, I qualified for it,” she says with a giggle. “It was a nice coincidence at the time that I was involved in at least getting the message out there that this was an important initiative for the city to take on.”

While a task force member, Radle says she pushed for the city to get its own house in order.

“My feeling as a city employee: I don’t want to ask the citizens to do anything the city is not willing to do itself,” she says. “If the city is not recycling, how can we ask the citizens to do it? If the city is not upgrading its lights, how can we ask (citizens) to do it?

“That was the foundation of my recommendations: Let’s get city government from operations to services to procurement. Let’s get ourselves sustainable and then take that message out to the public.”

Right now, Radle is focusing on identifying a partner in each city department to help her move initiatives forward. And while she may be an outsider poking around, she’s been welcomed with open arms.

That’s thanks to $5.4 million in grants from the Department of Energy that the city has to spend over the next three years. The first step in getting that funding is submitting an energy efficiency and conservation strategy by Dec. 8.

Ideas range from standards such as retrofitting older, less-energy efficient buildings to installing solar panels and wind turbines on city property to create renewable energy.