How Did this Decision Become Mine?

Heidi, an MBA student who is only a couple of weeks into her new job as City Treasurer, was asked to be on the city’s negotiation team that would negotiate the new contract with the local firefighters’ union. She accepted the assignment with the understanding that her role would mainly be one of observation. She soon realized, however, that her responsibility as the City Treasurer put her in the role of primary decision maker with regard to what the city could afford to offer the firefighters in terms of increased wages, insurance benefits, and the possibility of certificate pay. The conflict within her arose due to her desire to fulfill her duties as treasurer by taking care that the monies collected in property taxes were spent wisely, thereby keeping the citizens of Milmore in the decision equation, pleasing her new boss, the Mayor, and not alienating many of her friends and colleagues from the fire department.