Videos about Better, Faster, Cheaper Government
| By Rebuild Government on May 27th, 2010 | No Comments  |
Former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith yesterday commended the Metro Charter Commission for its work so far in creating a government that is “better, faster, cheaper,” the qualities that he said are vital for governments to be effective.
In a presentation yesterday, he said innovations like metro government are needed to attack the “imbalance” caused by the cost of government outstripping the ability of the county to pay for the climbing costs. “There is a permanent structural imbalance between the cost of pensions, medical care, and services in every city in American that is not supported by enough revenues,” he said. It’s crucial to make government more efficient, because effective government produces economic development success, he said.
Mayor Goldsmith is taking a leave of absence from his post at Harvard University, where he heads up the innovations in government program, to become deputy city mayor in New York City under Mayor Bloomberg.
Rebuild Government asked Mayor Goldsmith some of your questions about efficiency, law enforcement, and 9-1-1, and the videos of his answers are posted here.
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Loading ...Better, Faster, Cheaper Government
| By joydoss on May 26th, 2010 | One Comment  |
Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indianapolis, paid a second visit to Memphis. The presentation, simply captioned “Better, Faster, Cheaper” easily sums up the overarching goal of the Charter Commission. As he spoke to the packed room about the positive impact of efficient government structure and practices, one could best summarize the key to success as this: economic empowerment and engagement.
Effective government yields effective economic development strategy. That was his mantra.
Although he was not in office at the time Indianapolis became a metro government, he acknowledges that the merged city-county government allowed for him to employ the strategies that would eventually stimulate the local economy and make the necessary changes that would undergird this growth. He credited economic development as the single most important factor to unblocking the path to growth for his city.
As mayor, Mr. Goldsmith was responsible for savings of $400 million. He said a single government – and a single voice – will simplify business dealings in Shelby County, by eliminating barriers to entry for businesses that are looking to anchor themselves in Memphis. Heavy regulations and tax burdens tend to stunt economic growth, which translates to bigger businesses moving out of one region to another that is more user friendly producing an unemployment spike.
He said: “You can’t solve complex horizontal problems with vertical solutions or by accomplishing bureaucratic activities better.” In the end, there has to be a better structure that allows for better, faster, and cheaper government.
It’s not just simply about putting services together; they must be combined in the right way. He commended the Charter Commission for tackling this “right way” priority, because it’s about the cornerstone of high-performing government: efficiency. Mr. Goldsmith expressed an understanding that in Memphis, like many other American cities, there is “permanent structural imbalance” because cost of services exceeds the city’s revenues, and it plays out in ways like the difficult budget hearings in City Hall now.
He said public safety is an area that would benefit from a merger. It is a top priority of the Charter Commission given that is always the primary concern of the residents. He said benefits included better allocation of manpower and resources; unified vision and leadership; better information systems; better intelligence sharing; and a career path for public safety professionals.
It’s law enforcement officials that don’t cross various city lines, he said. The criminals do.
One major point of the morning presentation was Mayor Goldsmith’s grasp on the connectivity between the city and the county. Their futures are interwoven and if the urban area declined, ultimately, the entire region will do the same
The second major point was that people have to be given power over government by making it transparent. It gives citizens the ability to hold elected officials accountable. He praised Rebuild Government for pushing through stricter ethical regulations, and that complementing these is the development of measurement tools so that citizens knows exactly how well government is working.
Ideally, a streamlined metropolitan government symbolizes a movement from being a bureaucracy to one with the people at the center, he said. There are two groups that are important in any city — the underemployed and community organizations. Engaging the underemployed will convert citizens who are passively receiving services to active citizens who are productive and contributing to the local economy. Engaging community groups is also a not-so-secret weapon, because they are the heartbeat of the city. They are more often than not the connector between the people and the politicians. They are in the best position to educate and inform, from a more neutral place.
Mayor Goldsworthy said both the city and the suburbs would be beneficiaries of better government and a unified vision. “Urban stabilization and job creation help everyone in the community including the suburbs.”
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| By Rebuild Government on May 21st, 2010 | No Comments |
The Metro Charter Commission has been dealing with economic development recently, and Memphis business leader Gary Shorb wrote an op-ed column in The Commercial Appeal praising their recommendations which you can read here.
Mr. Shorb wrote that from his work heading up the Memphis Regional Chamber and leading Memphis Fast Forward, he is certain that “if we are to create more and better jobs and give our children opportunities to stay here to live and work, it was clear that one of the highest hurdles is the need for more efficient, more effective and streamlined local government. It was equally clear that we will never achieve this goal as long as our government structure itself breeds duplication, cumbersome decision-making, needless red tape and erodes public confidence.”
In addition, he commended the Charter Commission’s “new way to direct economic development in our community — streamlining multiple government agencies into a single structure that is laser-focused on growing jobs.” To read his op-ed column, click here.
National Expert Stephen Goldsmith Speaks Tuesday
Economic growth will certainly be one of the issues on the agenda when Stephen Goldsmith, recently appointed deputy mayor of New York City and national expert on innovative government, speaks Tuesday, May 25 at Holiday Inn at University of Memphis, 3700 Central Avenue. We hope you can join us to hear his insights to making government more efficient, responsive, ethical, and effective.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Speak Your Piece about Ethics in Government
| By Rebuild Government on May 2nd, 2010 | No Comments |
Citizens of our community tell us that they want iron-clad ethics rules in a new government.
We’re following up last week’s survey about ethics with another one about what you want to see in processes and policies.
We appreciate your taking time to share you opinions and encouraging everyone you know to join you. You can take the survey here.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Ethics Set as Major Issue in Survey
| By Rebuild Government on May 2nd, 2010 | No Comments |
Authority to Write and Amend Ethics Policy:
76% of the respondents said ethical rules should be in the charter and only amended by a public vote. 20.5% of the respondents said ethics policies should not be included in the charter and should be written by the legislative body. 3.5% had no opinion.
Ethical Standards for Boards and Commissions:
89.7% of respondents said local boards and commissions should have ethical standards but not with the same level of penalties as elected officials. 7.9% of respondents said local boards and commission members are volunteers and don’t need the same ethical standards as elected officials. 2.4% had no opinion.
Ethical Standards for Elected Officials and Government Employees:
71.6% of respondents said elected officials and government employees should abide by the same level of ethical standards. 27.2% of respondents stated that there should be higher ethical standards for elected positions. .4% of respondents stated that there should be higher ethical standards for government employees. .8% had no opinion.
Anti-Nepotism Standards:
90.7% of respondents said the new government should have anti-nepotism policy. 5.8% of respondents stated that the metropolitan government should not have an anti-nepotism policy. 3.5% had no opinion on this issue.
Anti-Cronyism Standards:
81.2% of respondents said the metropolitan government should have an anti-cronyism policy. 15.3% of respondents said it should not have an anti-cronyism policy. 3.5% of respondents had no opinion. Recommendations included creation of a review board for appointees and the creation of a minimum qualifications standard for all appointees.
Anti-Fraternization Standards:
50% of respondents said Memphis and Shelby County Charter Commission should research and include an anti-fraternization policy in the charter. 41% stated that an anti-fraternization policy should not be included and 8.7% had no opinion.
Thank you for your continued interest in a new government and for your involvement with Rebuild Government.
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