Restructuring Washington

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Thu, Oct 29, 2009, 7:00 pm  //  Craig Mayberry

Current Washington State Org Chart
At the Bellingham City Club on Wednesday, Norman Rice, the former mayor of Seattle, spoke about public process. It was an enlightening conversation for all that were in the room, as a politician (albeit former) clearly articulated many issues around government process. I could write a lot on the public process piece, but two other insights were important as well and parallel many of my own experiences and thoughts.

One of the problems of large bureaucracies (whether business or government) is the stove pipe organizations they have that limit innovation, communication, and the ability to solve complex problems. The other problem Rice articulated was about where power is held and how an organization will hold on to power, even if results are better when they give it up. He repeated a conversation he'd had with a federal cabinet member who, when presented with a new way of organizing, in effect stated, it is my budget and I am going to keep it. Senior executives (again in business and government) will make decisions based on their own personal power and preferences, and go against the greater good. He also told the story of Washington State legislators who would not cede control over their transportation budget to let regional governments solve transportation issues. In both instances, protecting their turf was more important than solving problems.

Washington State has a stove pipe organization, pictured in image 1. This style of organization takes critical government functions and creates silos which limit the ability to solve complex problems that cross organizations. Occasionally the state government will try to cross silos to solve issues, for instance, the Puget Sound Partnership. But overall the state government will never solve critical issues like the environment, education, poverty and job creation, simply because they do not have an organizational structure that will allow resources, both financial and human, to be directed so as to solve them.

Fundamentally, the government has three primary responsibilities. The first is children and making sure they are not only ready to learn, but that by the time they are 18, they have a solid education and life skills that will allow them to get jobs. Ensuring children are ready to learn is not the only function of local school districts, they must also concern themselves with things like poverty levels, parental support (or other appropriate mentorship), and health care access. We expect school districts to make sure children are ready to learn, but they do not have the financial resources to deal with all the issues that might hinder a child’s readiness. Image 2 shows a new organizational structure to give school districts the primary responsibility for readiness to learn and then gives them access to all the state's resources to help them in that effort.

The second responsibility of government is economic vitality. Jobs must be available and businesses must be able to function so they can create new jobs. Again, the current structure forces businesses to deal with all sorts of departments, each working against each other to promote economic vitality. Aligning all those functions, like Labor and Industries, Ecology, Commerce, higher education, and Agriculture and Transportation, allows the state to work with businesses to make sure they have both the resources and ability to successfully create good-paying jobs as well as people ready to fill them.

The last responsibility is livability, which is the community aspect of our state. Individuals need workable housing, health care, transportation, etc. to have a good quality of life. The livability portion of the state's responsibility should be controlled by local governments and state resources should be directed by local government as a way to help them be more successful. This is another instance where power would be better served at the local level instead of the state level. Norman Rice mentioned his idea of giving neighborhood organizations more power and authority in the budgeting process and having more say over police, parks, etc. This could be equivalent at the state level where taxes may be levied, but the state should not control how they are spent, that is left to local governments.

Certainly there are issues to be worked out, most notably to have some organizations with responsibilities in multiple areas (like transportation and social services), but those functions can easily be divided to provide necessary focus, and then cross-coordinated where needed. This also requires politicians and government bureaucrats to give up their kingdoms for the good of society. Considering they continually ask citizens to make sacrifices for the common good, maybe some politicians can follow their own advise and give up their turf to those who could better serve the citizens.

We can talk all we want about government funding and increasing the amounts for education, poverty, transportation, etc., but we will be talking until we are all dead and nothing will change because the funding level is not the problem; the structure is. Fix the organizational systems and then you can fix the problems. This is change we can really believe in.

Revised Org Chart

Dick Conoboy  //  Fri, Oct 30, 2009, 1:12 pm

An excellent summary of the problem.  Over 10 years ago I worked as a Re-invention Associate for the National Partnership for Re-inventing Government in the Office of the Vice-President (Al Gore) where we attempted, with some success, to convince federal managers to recreate the manner in which they did business to include merging with other organizations. They howled like stuck pigs.  Those who did begin to examine their processes soon discovered savings and efficiencies. Until then, federal managers were not valued for saving money and reducing their budgets.  We (I was a resource manager for over 10 years) all went through the end of the year spending spree so as not to lose monies for the next year.  All was puffery in the budget and personnel world. I assume that after the Clinton/Gore years, any advances we had made have since been lost.

Few organizations, once created, are ever eliminated even though there are such activities as the Quarterly Defense Review at the Pentagon (that I had to undergo several times) during which each office has to justify its existence. Attending these sessions was better than Reality TV as managers all but dissembled to justify the unjustifiable.  I admit that I even resorted to slight of hand [following orders, of course, from my boss :-)] by stating our budget in billions of dollars as did agencies with large budgets.  However, our yearly budget was about $15 million.  I told them that cutting us would only save $.015 billion.  That was under their radar.  We were saved.


Dick Conoboy  //  Fri, Oct 30, 2009, 3:05 pm

Forgive my mis-statement above.  The Pentagon conducts the Quadrennial Defense Review.  If they did it quarterly, there would not be time for much else, although some might see that as an improvement in itself.


Lummi Ferry Petition is Linked

Wed, Sep 01, 2010, 2:40 pm  //  John Servais

A petition to the federal government online at skookum.us. It asks they step in to resolve the impasse between the Lummi and Whatcom County.

0 comments


Lummi Island - The Price of Admission

Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 3:01 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Legal or Political Football?

4 comments; last on Aug 27, 2010


Politics & Ice Water: Part 1 of ?

Sat, Aug 21, 2010, 8:07 am  //  Larry Horowitz

Politics is like a pool of ice water. When men jump in their balls shrivel up.

5 comments; last on Aug 26, 2010


Lummi Island Softball

Fri, Aug 20, 2010, 3:26 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Islanders need a new game

1 comments; last on Aug 24, 2010



Cantwell Confused

Wed, Aug 18, 2010, 4:07 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Ignoring the real problem

3 comments; last on Aug 19, 2010


Election Results

Tue, Aug 17, 2010, 8:05 pm  //  John Servais

A running blog this election night

0 comments


The Political Downzone of Responsible Land Use Planning

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:55 pm  //  John Lesow

John Lesow rebuts Jack Petree's Herald oped article that strongly criticized county planning.

30 comments; last on Aug 25, 2010


Herald runs a beautiful smear of Rossi

Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:03 pm  //  John Servais

Headline and article paint U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi very badly on final day ballots are mailed. The Bellingham Herald editors print a perfect smear.

5 comments; last on Aug 18, 2010


Lummi Football

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 12:20 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Time for hardball?

0 comments


Mail your ballot by Monday, 3 p.m.

Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 6:51 am  //  John Servais

Mailing even late Monday evening is gambling on its being counted. Mail in time.

1 comments; last on Aug 14, 2010


Deceptive Herald article on planning

Fri, Aug 13, 2010, 8:39 am  //  John Servais

Am looking for a writer to rebut Jack Petree's BIAW propaganda article the Herald saw fit to print.

3 comments; last on Aug 20, 2010


The Way I See It - Time to change

Wed, Aug 11, 2010, 4:00 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Fear and attack-rhetoric are leading us in the wrong direction.

1 comments; last on Aug 12, 2010


Candidate choices of John Servais

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 3:15 pm  //  John Servais

Personal opinion and recommendations from an independent liberal and progressive. ADDED more on Tuesday, Aug 10.

3 comments; last on Aug 13, 2010


And in the 40th we have…..

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 1:49 pm  //  Ham Hayes

Candidates, o candidates - where art thou? Monday Updates

2 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010


Where’s the Info?

Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 pm  //  Viki Warner

One week till the Primary, but no info?

3 comments; last on Aug 09, 2010


Cooperation no substitute for small libraries

Sat, Aug 07, 2010, 8:18 am  //  John Servais

A library card from any Whatcom County library can now be used at any library in the county

5 comments; last on Aug 15, 2010


40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Tom Pasma’s Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:54 am  //  Ham Hayes

Tom answers our questions

1 comments; last on Aug 08, 2010


40th District State Representative Pos 2 Primary - Rep. Jeff Morris’ Responses

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:50 am  //  Ham Hayes

Jeff answers our questions

0 comments


40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Chuck Carrell’s Respones

Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:48 am  //  Ham Hayes

Chuck answers our questions

0 comments


Act of War or Act of Congress?

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 1:50 pm  //  Tip Johnson

Where, oh where, are our federal representatives?

6 comments; last on Aug 06, 2010


A letter to the Bellingham City Council

Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 8:28 am  //  John Servais

We ask why the EIS extension was given to the Chuckanut Ridge developers when the city is negotiating to buy the property.

0 comments


City bumbles on Chuckanut Ridge extension

Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 8:12 am  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department is giving quiet extensions to the Chuckanut Ridge developer - propping up the property value.

1 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010


Chuckanut Ridge Development Gets Extension

Mon, Aug 02, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

Bellingham Planning Department gave a three month extension, till Oct 29, to Greenbriar

2 comments; last on Aug 02, 2010


John Powers death, in the words of a friend

Sat, Jul 31, 2010, 9:29 pm  //  John Servais

John Powers died yesterday. Ted expresses his remembrance.

0 comments


Raising a Village: Can the Bellingham Cooperative School be saved?

Fri, Jul 30, 2010, 10:54 am  //  Kamalla Rose Kaur

Mourning the loss of a valuable community asset

2 comments; last on Aug 01, 2010


The Way I See It - Mud resurrected

Wed, Jul 28, 2010, 4:39 am  //  Ham Hayes

It is time we gave “mud” back its good name.

0 comments


The Way I See It - En Garde

Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:42 am  //  Ham Hayes

“We have lots of robberies.” As I reported last week, that was the apocalyptic statement by the investigating officer to our recent plight in St.…

0 comments


Greed: The Shadowy So-called Non-profit Taecan

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:53 am  //  Tip Johnson

For-Profit Non-Profits - Pulling the Plug on Services

0 comments


The Forsaken Constituents of Lummi Island

Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:20 am  //  Tip Johnson

Taxation without representation

3 comments; last on Jul 28, 2010


Libraries are still very valuable

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 8:18 pm  //  John Servais

The New Spice Man tells us why libraries are useful and valuable. This applies to all libraries.

0 comments


Three Port Executive Finalists Withdraw

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:30 pm  //  John Servais

In a surprise development, the Port of Bellingham is starting over again in their search for an executive director. Position now vacant for over a…

1 comments; last on Jul 18, 2010


Book Review:  Whole Earth Discipline

Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 4:44 am  //  Guest writer

Eric Hirst reviews this October 2009 book by Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalog fame. Stewart is critical of several mainstream environmental stances.

1 comments; last on Jul 19, 2010


 

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