As many of you may
be aware, it has been a long held dream of mine to someday run for political
office. That goal, despite the current
state of American politics, or perhaps because if it, is one way I see myself
giving back to my community—wherever that community may be.
In the interest of furthering
that goal, I wanted to use this space to offer up some of my basic opinions
about things—especially since I have recently received some feedback that I am
a card carrying liberal or an outright socialist. To those that know me well, a chuckle of
sorts should have just occurred.
I would love to get
some feedback on these core principles of mine, especially if you don’t agree
or have some questions. And I certainly
recognize that in the future someone may hold up what I write here to further
their perceptions of me being one way or the other. But remember, in all cases, perceptions are in
the eye of the beholder. And if writing
what I believe and hold true now serves to ensure my future consistency with my
ideals or to further my efforts to broaden and evolve my opinions and creeds
based on future science, public discourse, or societal growth then I feel
strongly that this effort has served its purpose.
In no specific
order, here we go.
Sustainable Development
The number one
threat to long term viable communities is development that is not planned or
managed effectively. Sprawling suburban growth
has fostered many negative consequences from environmental impacts to the
exacerbation of social problems to increased tax burdens to pay for inefficient
public services required by the expectations of residents in far flung areas of
development. In many cases, effective suburban
growth means greater density—not less, as this ensures the ability to provide
effective services, contributes to more functional communities, and permits
city services to be provided in a more cost effective manner.
Taxes & Government Services
In many if not all
cases, government revenues have not increased to match the increases in cost of
government services. Governments at all
levels have a vested interest in providing effective services—this means hiring
and maintaining a stable and skilled workforce. Therefore, government salaries and benefits should
be better than the private sector—provided that the worker is skilled and
effective. Lowballing public sector salaries
or benefits only drives away the most competent workers from public service. Beyond this, citizens at all levels of
government have come to expect a certain level of service from their
governments and that the services they expect are competent. Therefore this creates a catch-22, many don’t want to pay for a service, but
they still expect that service. The
key is in several areas—first, the sustainable development mentioned above. Second, making public sector employees
partners with their employers and their communities to improve local services
while maintaining viable cost structures. There are many, many opportunities in this
area—from flex time workers, encouraging workers to live in the communities
that employ them, to holding managers and supervisors directly responsible for
outcomes. The primary key, however, is
public education on the part of community leaders about what services cost and
what services are required to keep a community a safe, secure, and quality
place to live. My home town reacted to
budget crises by laying off its building code officer and not growing its Police
Department to meet demands for service. Now,
although
taxes may be a few dollars less a year, many neighborhoods in the community are
literally dying and turning to minor ghettos. Was saving $50 or $100 a year on
taxes worth it? Put another way,
many people love to say government should be run like a business. I agree.
But if the cost of hamburgers and buns goes up as well as the rent for
the building, the local hamburger stand does not always look to lower the
salary of its workers—for it knows what the outcome would be—decreased customer
service. Instead, the business tweaks
its product and adjusts prices. Yes,
this isn’t desirable—but it is the reality of doing business.
Government Consolidation & Cooperation
One of the prime
ways that local governments should work to save money is by working to lessen
the layers of local government and bureaucracy.
Each of these added layers is an added burden to the taxpayer. Specific examples are many of the townships
in Ohio. This form of government was a creation to
oversee sparsely populated villages and farmland in Ohio (and other states) with the obvious
expectation that, as areas developed, they would incorporate and evolve into
cities. That three trustees and one
fiscal officer can be considered effective representation for thousands of
residents of a township is an amazing reflection of power being held onto by
some—in spite of fiscal or practical logic.
Further, in areas where townships are simply political islands, the time
has come for the cities that surround them to absorb townships and bring them
into the community that they are so obviously a part in ever other way.
In addition to
streamlining layers of government, there exists an obvious need to work on
consolidating agencies that provide government services. This does not have to mean the ending of local
community boundaries—but it can mean a county-wide agency for Fire, Police,
Road, Sewer, Water, and other services. This type of consolidation will save serious
money and can result in improved services.
The critical caveat, however, is that these larger agencies will require
effective feedback from local communities to ensure that services are maintained
or improved, and competent leaders and managers to ensure that the agency does
not become a monster run amuck.
If these can be avoided, then the opportunities are well worth the risk.
Coordination amongst local groups and
government agencies
Regardless of the local
governing structure, one of the greatest threats to effective communities is
the silo based approach that characterizes our local governments today. To often, problems or opportunities are
looked at from only one prospective—without an understanding of how they affect
the whole of the community. For
example, closing a school—while it may save a certain amount of funds, may have
wide ranging impacts that take it from being cost effective to cost prohibitive
once the costs of transportation, the impact on nearby businesses, and the
local community are taken into account. The same may be true of the decision to not
build a road and leave isolated a certain area of the community. As a result, the decision to save $5 million
on a road may result in a new firehouse having to be built to service that
isolated area of town—at a one time cost of $5 million and annual personnel
costs of $1,000,000. Cities and communities and
other institutes of government need to be looked at as systems—where everything
has an impact on everything else. Too often, people only see one part of the
picture and, as a result, decisions are made that are in a small way good (or
bad) but have an undesired effect on the community as a whole.
What make a community successful?
In my opinion,
these key areas are the major parts of the system that must be considered at
all times when discussing the health of a community:
1. Public Safety—The community
must have an effective police, fire, and emergency medical service focused on
providing services that meet accepted national standards for public safety
response and protection.
2. Education—To be
viable, a community must have effective schools—including post-secondary
schools. These schools should prepare
students both for college and, for others, for work in the private sector.
Many industries across this country are
clamoring for workers to perform tasks that don’t require a college degree but
do require vocational training. Matching
a local school system to the needs of our modern economy will do far more to
ensure economic success than tax abatements or new jails.
3. Economic
Opportunity—Local communities must ensure that well managed businesses can thrive—not
just big corporations, but every business right down to the mom and pop deli
and the tech start up or new artist working from their basement. However, this doesn’t mean letting these
business operate as they want. There
must be common sense regulations, enforced fairly, that ensure a level playing
field and safety for employers, employees, and consumers alike. Further, the great innovators should be supported
as well. Shared community supported
space for start-ups, are a great way for local communities to encourage
economic growth. Companies don’t start off in office towers—they start in
garages, small office parks, or on tables in libraries—or around coffee tables
in a diner.
4. Culture and
Diversity—People are most creative when they are free to be themselves. A successfully community needs to respect and
encourage all kinds of people to live in the community, start families in the
communities and start businesses in the community. By encouraging an atmosphere of true freedom
and respect—an immediate result will be improved outcomes as people of various
backgrounds, cultures, orientations, spiritual beliefs, socio-economic classes—and
more, combine their experiences into a fabric. There is a reason that so many great American success
stories come from places that exemplify these traits. It is a lesson taught by the rich history of America and it
is a lesson we should not forget.
5. Recreation,
Sports, and Events, and Religion—residents of local communities benefit from
activities and social outlets and these benefit even non participants through
increased economic activity, increased sense of pride in the community, and
greater interaction between community members. Whether it is a once-a-month major event (such
as art festival, 4th of July parade and fireworks, or Christmas
Show)—the more is truly the merrier. These
events should focus on all age groups—from toddlers to senior citizens and help
to build a vibrancy that is a hallmark of revered American Towns across the
country. All local groups have a role to
play in this effort—from churches to senior centers to schools—and many of
these groups should devote a portion of their mission to helping those in the
community that are less fortunate. By
organizing literacy efforts, can food drives, big-brothers- big sisters events
and related efforts, these groups can not only build a sense of community—but also
the level of success in the community.
6. Best Practices—Many
of these things we already know, or someone else does.
The greatest secret of what to
do to build viable communities is that it’s not a secret. Many
of the things we need to do can be illustrated by successes from other places—places
that have tried to address problems that they faced and have come away with
amazing successes in many cases. Not all
the time, of course, but even from less than successful efforts there are opportunities.
We need to be open to learn from other places and our own past to take those
lessons, match them to our local realities, and build teams and approaches to building
better places for our families and friends and fellow citizens to live.
Conclusions and
Approach
Too often, politicians
and local leaders focus too much on radical ideologies and partisan games
rather than getting down to the essential goal, questions (and answers) that
should be paramount at all times in the hearts and minds of any political
figure—how do I do what’s best for the community I serve. Not how do I lower taxes, or get union pay
increased twenty percent. Not how do I get
a firehouse built with my name on it, or exact revenge on the person that ran
against me. But rather how
do I work together—with all the people of my community—to solve problems,
create and take advantage of opportunities—and ensure that for this generation
and those that follows, my community is safe, secure, growing, and great place
to live. We have done this
before—in different times and different places we have found these answers and
this is why I am optimistic that we will find them again. That is why I am looking forward to being a
part of the solution.