Recently, while listening to a nationally syndicated radio talk show, I heard an author discussing the merits of a new book being touted as addressing the concerns of local governments and elected officials. Intrigued by the author’s continued use of the phrase “rightsizing for results,” and his references to team leadership, I continued to listen — and learn.
Taming City Hall — Rightsizing for Results was written by former Corvallis, Ore. City Manager, Gerald Seals, now Greenville County, S.C., county administrator. The book recounts the work done from 1987-1993 by the city council, Seals, and staff to “rightsize” the city government of Corvallis, Ore. The successes chronicled in the book include:
• reducing taxes by 10 percent
• reducing major crime by 11 percent
• raising productivity by 10 percent
• increasing employee salaries by 35 percent, and
• cutting the budget from $83 million to $43 million.
During a recent interview, Seals discussed his book and the philosophy that informs it.
Seals says he wrote Taming City Hall because he saw a need to “powerfully resonate a clearly articulated vision of government and citizens” and to “offer a process which offered real, not perceived, results.”
Seals lives by the mantra “do more with less” and for twenty years has chanted “no tax increases.” This same experience has shown him that “rightsizing” is the ongoing examination of citizens’ service needs, desires, and the ability to pay coupled with continuous assessment of government’s constantly improving service delivery capabilities.
He’s put this philosophy to work again in Greenville County (pop. 320,000), S.C.
Since his arrival in 1994, without cutting services or freezing wages, Greenville County has:
• tamed its annual growth in expenditures from 10 percent to under 2.9 percent
• accumulated a 22 percent revenue surplus, and
• forgone tax anticipation notes to meet payroll or fund day-to-day cash needs.
In addition, the county council’s decision to hand residents a tax credit equivalent to three percent of the county’s budget and a storm water fee refund illustrates the dramatic turnaround of Greenville County during Seals’ tenure as county administrator.
Seals said his approach can be easily replicated because the processes involved “nurtured citizens’ and employees’ abilities to solve problems and to excel.” The true test of the processes and procedures outlined in Taming City Hall, however, will come as other local governments and their officials begin to “rightsize” their own governments and measure their own progress.
If you are familiar with Seals’ book, Taming City Hall — Rightsizing for Results we’d like to know if you are having any success in your county with the strategies mentioned. If you would like to order the book, contact The Institute for Contemporary Studies Press, 415/981-5353 Ext. 253.
NACo is interested in hearing from other county officials regarding all types of programs that work for county government. Please let us know what you’re doing and the results you are having. We’d love to write about your successes in this column.
Please send your stories to County Programs That Work, c/o NACo Membership Column, 440 First Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, or fax them to 202/393-2630, or call 202/942-4221 for Cynthia Featherson with your questions and/or comments.
(Membership News was written by Cynthia Featherson, membership marketing director.)