January 20, 2003

THIS IS A JOB FOR…. SUPER MANAGER.

By James Eugene*

In a few weeks, the Mayor's Management Report will come out grading the management of the different city agencies. This year's report is really the first one under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Yes, one was issued on his watch last year, but those results really spoke to Giuliani's management rather than Bloomberg's. Bloomberg felt the main accomplishment last year was his making the report easier to understand.

Due to the early snowfalls and cold weather, I can tell the Mayor one management issue that I have… potholes. They are popping up earlier and they are not getting filled quickly, if at all. In past years this job could wait until February or March because it wasn't that cold in November and December and the potholes arrived later. But seasons change and this year they changed early. So please, get the crews out early.

But I digress. Unbeknownst to the Mayor, I have received an advance copy of the Management Report from my secret mole in OMB. I have read and digested the entire report and guess what??? The City is better managed this year than it was last year. Surprised?! You shouldn't be. I mean what administration would actually put out a report saying that the City was managed worse this year over last. The Dinkins Administration? Let's get real, former Mayor Dinkins thinks he saved the City. The Giuliani Administration? Giuliani's folks certainly weren't going to do it. In fact, his first management report was amazing, chopping out statistics that had been in the report for years. (Could these omitted statistics have actually shown worse management?) Giuliani complained that these items were irrelevant or inappropriate indicators. Okay, but at least footnote what was dropped, so a public debate could take place on its relevancy.

Without question, the Management Report is an important document, but it needs to become better than the fluff report that it has become since the end of the Koch Administration. (Does anyone get the feeling that I think Ed Koch was the last complete Mayor this City had? You would be right.) I therefore have three suggestions for it, one for each of the Mayor, Comptroller, and the Council.

The Mayor should have the report explain the rationale behind each statistic in a footnote and discuss the methodology used to reach each statistic. Agencies sometimes pick and choose which statistic they wish to report in order to show improvement. Fine, but explain why the statistic is important and what methodology you used to reach it. Then, in future years, the agency will need to explain why the statistic was dropped (which may be difficult because in an earlier year, it was such a good method of measuring management) and/or explain why the methodology changed (similar to what public companies must do if they change accounting standards).

Second, who says I trust a self-reported statistic anyway? If the Mayor tells me the sky is a shade of green, why should I believe him? Thus, my advice to the Comptroller: audit the report. No, not the whole thing, but certain parts of it. Each year, pick 25 statistics (use a dart to pick the 25, I don't care which ones) and then verify their accuracy and whether the methodology is the most appropriate. Bet the agencies will be a lot more careful about which statistics they use and their accuracy if they know the Comptroller might actually look into them. To keep the agencies on their toes, pick 24 new ones each year, but redo one statistic from the prior year… again to keep the agencies honest, lest they think they can relax on something that was audited the prior year.

Third, I have some real legislation for the City Council. Pick ten statistics per agency that you want in each year's report. Then legislate the fact that they must be within the report. As you may be aware, the Council has ample staff to figure out which statistics it wants. And ten is not so hard for the Administration to monitor. The Council has a right to ask for answers to areas it has as a priority and to have the public see those answers in the initial report. That much said, I do not want the Council going overboard here. They are management overseers, not the managers themselves and should allow some room for the Administration to do its job and not micromanage. (With ten statistics per agency, I really do not think the Administration would have grounds to complain about the Council micromanaging it.)

The Management Report is a great idea, but it is not thoroughly and properly examined. A little scrutiny will sharpen its role in City government and make it more than just a photo-op for the Mayor. And about my mole in OMB - you'll never know who he or she is.

REPUBLICANS INVADE NYC (well they have to come from somewhere).

So the 2004 Republican Convention will be in New York City. Now if you were trying to remind America about terrorism and how "great" a job the Bush Administration is doing to fight it, would you hold your party in New York City or some other place? Yes, you hold it in NYC. The defense and terrorism card played well in the mid-term elections, and as you can see, the Bush Administration is using a New York City convention as a subtle reminder for 2004, especially if the economy is still in the toilet bowl. I am beginning to tire of everyone (Democrats, Republicans, police unions, etc…) playing the terrorism card at our city's expense. Will my rage do anything? No. And, I can already see the media stories covering the convention in 2004 with the terrorism motifs. The networks are so predictable, even eighteen months in advance.

AS I WRITE THIS…

I have just finished reading a "reflective" article in the NY Times (dateline: January 6th) about the proposals for the World Trade Center. It repeated many of the same points I repeated in an earlier article (GROUND LESS THAN ZERO). I do believe the Times really needs to move a little quicker on these things.

* James Eugene is the pseudonym of a veteran of NYC government affairs. Inside The Big Apple will appear exclusively on the Empire Page. If you want to send tips or column ideas to James Eugene, email them to jameseugene@empirepage.com.