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The holidays are
a time for
excess. Excess
eating, excess
celebrating, and
excess spending.
For most people,
once the
holidays are
over, the excess
goes away. In
Washington, DC,
however, that’s
not the case.
For as others
have pointed
out, when it
comes to federal
spending, it
truly has become
Christmas all
year.
Put another way,
fiscal excess in
our Nation’s
capital has
become the norm.
But with our
debts piling up
and our
obligations
growing
everyday,
perhaps it’s
time to admit
that “normal”
doesn’t cut it
anymore and
start acting
like responsible
adults. That’s
what we did in
Fresno,
California,
where I proudly
serve as Mayor.
Not only have we
invented a
remarkable way
of conducting
the people’s
business, but we
have also been
able to do more
than we ever
imagined.
We have invested
over $100
million in
infrastructure
capital
throughout the
City and have
dedicated
another $45
million to our
neediest areas
through our “No
Neighborhood
Left Behind”
program. We have
built, in 11
months, what is
considered one
of the top
Triple A
baseball
stadiums in the
country. We have
experienced over
$1 billion worth
of new
investment in
downtown renewal
projects. We
have invested in
our Police
Department in
record amounts
which has
resulted in the
lowest crime
rates in over 30
years and
resuscitated our
Fire Department
which had been
gasping for air
far too long.
Perhaps most
significantly,
we created an
outcome based
budgeting
system. At a
time when
governments at
all levels are
struggling to
stay in the
black, we built
up our reserves
from zero to
over $15
million.
We call our
system “The New
Normal.” The New
Normal is the
result of a
realization very
early in my
first term that
there was no
real knowledge
of what our
budget was based
on. Oh, there
were trappings
of good
judgment. There
were endless
columns of
revenues and
expenses,
volumes of
departmental
reviews of last
year’s
extraordinary
accomplishments,
pages and pages
and pages of
numbers all
bound neatly
into a heavy
green book. But
the more I
looked and the
more I
questioned, the
more it became
clear that the
current year’s
budget was
simply based on
the prior year
with the
addition of
incremental
departmental
increases based
almost entirely
on a barter
system that had
been the norm
for decades.
For Fresno to
reach its
potential in the
competitive
world of
municipal
government in
the new
millennium,
change was
mandatory. I
compare it to an
automobile race.
You can have the
nifty paint job,
the shiny wheels
and even a
handsome driver
behind the
wheel, but if
you enter the
race with a four
cylinder engine
when everyone
else has eight,
not only will
you be unable to
compete, you’ll
most likely
embarrass
yourself and
your team in the
process.
We lacked a
universal game
plan, a system
that would
motivate
appropriate
behaviors and
lead us
inevitably and
predictably to
success. Like
other municipal
organizations,
operations were
steeped in
conventional
methods and
procedures. In
fact, it could
be said that
processes had
become our
products and
comfort was
found in their
built-in
predictability.
Without meaning
to, we had
sequestered
ourselves from
the very people
we were bound to
serve. Instead
of focusing on
outcomes that
were in sync
with
organizational
and community
objectives, we
maintained a
commodious
relationship
with the status
quo.
Let me be clear
– I do not
believe in big
government.
However, I do
believe in
government big
enough to do its
intended job.
The challenge is
figuring how big
is big enough.
Put another way,
how many
cylinders do we
need to be
successful? To
answer this
question, we
first set forth
a set of
financial
principles to
guide our
administration:
·
We
will always
spend within our
means.
·
We
will apportion
the people’s
money by
following three
basic tenets
o
Return the
majority to the
people in the
form of
efficient
services.
o
Invest in
economic
development.
o
Save for
emergencies.
·
We
will be wary of
gifts, grants
and guarantees
that come with
too many
restrictions
that can end up
doing more harm
than good.
In developing
our New Normal
system of
government, we
planned and
systematically
constructed a
series of
sequential
elements. No
attempt was made
to implement any
element out of
sequence or on
its own. To do
so would have
corrupted the
system and meant
a return to the
old normal.
Furthermore,
each element was
specifically
designed to
motivate certain
behaviors that
would be
essential to
achieving
success. These
six elements
included the
following:
First, I
circulated to
the entire
community my
mission: “Fresno
– A united City
working together
to ensure equal
access to
opportunity,
education and
quality of life
for every man,
woman and child
regardless of
their race,
religion, age or
socioeconomic
status.” I
wanted the
City’s Municipal
Operations
Organization
(traditionally
referred to as
“The City” and
lead by our City
Manager) to
realize that if
they pictured
the City as a
wagon wheel, it
would be clear
that they were
one of many
spokes that,
when made strong
and true,
supported the
wheel on its
journey. This
new picture
helped them
understand that
they were not
“The Wheel” as
many had
believed.
Rather, they
were an integral
spoke among many
others that are
required to move
the “Wheel”
forward. The
message I was
trying to convey
was simple: in
short, we’ve got
to remember who
we work for –
the people.
Second, after
realizing their
position within
the bigger
picture, the
organization
needed to create
a view in their
collective minds
that would
depict
specifically how
they wanted to
be identified.
They put that
picture into
words and called
it their Vision:
“Fresno – A
Culture of
Excellence Where
People Get the
Best Every
Day.”
Third, after
stating how they
envisioned
themselves, they
agreed upon a
core set of
Values that
would guide
behavior and
become the
bedrock of our
organizational
culture:
Accountability,
Compassion,
Trust,
Innovation, and
Teamwork.
The fourth
element
consisted of
what we called
our triad of Key
Objectives that,
when kept in
absolute
balance, will be
the ultimate
measure of our
success. These
Key Objectives
included
Customer
Satisfaction,
Employee
Satisfaction,
and Prudent
Financial
Management.
Every decision
we make is
determined by
quantifying each
of these Key
Objectives and
making sure that
one or another
does not upset
the equilibrium
of the three as
a whole.
Fifth, we
established six
Key Result Areas
(KRAs) for the
purpose of
determining who
would do what
and by when. A
Cabinet made up
of
interdepartmental
decision makers
was created for
each KRA. Their
objective was to
work together as
a formal team to
establish
specific
outcomes
relative to
their particular
KRA and then
formalize the
Goals,
Strategies and
Tactics that
would allow them
to achieve
success.
Notably, this
system became
the basis of our
budgeting
process. No
longer would we
budget by adding
incremental
increases to
each
department’s
previous year
total; now every
dollar had to
fit within one
of the KRAs,
balance the Key
Objectives and
be formally
justified and
substantiated by
the KRA cabinet.
The KRA system
spurred the
destruction of
silo-based
budget bloating.
Honest budgeting
can only be
accomplished in
a
crossdepartmental
group setting.
The sixth and
final element of
our New Normal
system of
government is a
compilation of
Implementation
Tools, a set of
devices,
mechanisms,
gadgets and
contraptions
with which we
measure success,
adjust direction
and reward
performance.
Through all of
this, our goal
is to not spend
one dollar
without fully
understanding
how it adds
value to the
outcome for
which it is
being requested.
Our system takes
more time and
effort in the
short run. In
the long run, we
believe it will
pay, and is
paying,
dividends far
beyond our
investment.
But of course,
in the end, the
success of any
system – no
matter how
potentially
efficient – is
dependent on its
leadership. I
truly believe
the only way to
govern
successfully,
whether you’re a
Mayor, Governor,
Senator or
President, is to
have unshakable
principles and
flexible
politics. Too
often it’s just
the opposite
when dogmatic
political
ideology clouds
the principles
of good
governance.
There is no
silver bullet or
secret mojo that
will change the
“Christmas all
year” attitude
of government
spending. It is
only through
people of
principle with
the political
courage to
change what has
been considered
normal for far
too long that we
will find true
economic
integrity.
RF
Alan Autry is
the Mayor of
Fresno,
California. |
