Who
is Oliver Porter and why should you care?
This
interim city manager from a town very few have
heard of has a lot to teach all of us about what
local government is, how it should work, and what
it should be.
Unless
you’re from Georgia you’ve probably never
heard of Sandy Springs—a suburb of Atlanta in
Northeast Fulton County.
Already
gaining national attention, Sandy Springs soon
will soon become a familiar phrase in the halls of
public administration. After nearly 30 years of
fighting, citizens approved a referendum for
incorporation on June 21st with 94.6 percent of
the vote—in effect seceding from Fulton County.
Soon
thereafter, the Georgia General Assembly passed
legislation approving city-hood, finally allowing
residents to “obtain accountable and responsive
local government for the citizens of Sandy
Springs.” Sandy Springs residents
were upset with dismal service, a lack of local
control, and the skyrocketing costs of public
services. Now that they’ve wrestled control
away, the new city has a unique opportunity to
redefine how municipal government should look,
function, and interacts with citizens. City
leaders are starting with a blank slate enabling
them to ask the fundamental questions about what
role government should play.
Taking
a page from management guru Peter Drucker, every
“traditional” service or function will need to
prove its worthiness and proper role and place
within government. Absent any program history,
city officials are able to apply Drucker’s test
for business, “If we weren’t doing this
yesterday, would we do it today” to the
operation of municipal government. There is little
doubt that some services will no longer be
provided by Sandy Springs—either because
they’ve outgrown their purpose, they no longer
are effective, or they are outside the role of
government.
Secondly,
city officials are determining whether to “make
or buy” public services. City officials expect
to contract-out as many services as possible to
the private sector.
In
addition, they hope to partner with other
neighboring municipal governments for service or
even with the county. All of these options, for
the most part, are preferred over ‘making’
their own internal bureaucracy.
With
a focus on efficiency, but more importantly
effectiveness, of public service Sandy Springs has
embraced the power of competition to determine how
services will be provided. Public and private
entities alike are competing for the right to
provide services in Sandy Springs. In addition,
city officials see the value and power of a
contract to guarantee high quality services—and
plan on using them for all services, including
those potentially “made” with internal
resources.
All
of this activity is taking place under the
fearless direction of Oliver Porter ,who was
appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to oversee a
transition board. With the help of countless
volunteers, Porter is steering relatively
uncharted waters.
The
plan is modeled after the city of Weston, Fla.
With 65,000 residents Weston incorporated after
years of poor public service and spiraling costs.
Today the city has fewer than a half-dozen
employees—most of Weston’s services were
privatized resulting in better service at
significantly lower cost. In the words of John
Flint, Weston’s City Manager, “Over what the
county was providing, there was a dramatic
increase in the quality of services, with the next
jurisdiction in the county more than double our
property taxes.”
In
order to keep our tax burden and cost of
government low, and our economy and business
climate vibrant it’s clear that the
Commonwealth’s governments can learn a thing or
two from Oliver Porter and Sandy Springs’
approach to governance. All levels of
government should periodically ask the fundamental
questions about how governments operate and
whether there is a better way. What types of
services and programs are essential and necessary
to provide, and perhaps more importantly what are
not?
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August 23, 2005
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