Better, Faster, Cheaper Government

By joydoss on May 26th, 2010

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.”