The New York State Civil Service Commission began with the enactment of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883. The law was passed after the assassination of President James Garfield, who was shot by a disgruntled seeker of a government job. The theory behind creating civil service was that competitive examinations and requiring theRead… Read more »
Leadership is about somehow getting people with different views to come together and execute on goals and plans they would never agree to on their own. Clearly, that’s not happening in many local governments. Polarizing leadership and divisive management are real and entirely common issues that destroy organizational effectiveness and ultimately lead to operating failureRead… Read more »
According to a study by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Chicago is the most corrupt city in the nation and New York State is the most corrupt state. Since 1976, 2,522 people have been convicted of federal public corruption charges in New York State (70 per year). SinceRead… Read more »
Very few town board or city councils actually set goals or involve the community in goal setting and reviewing the accomplishment of goals. Bay City Michigan (population 35,000), does all of the above. As reported in the Bay City News , the City Commission invited the public to participate in a Saturday meeting to setRead… Read more »
The City of Reno Nevada (population 220,000) has created an Open Government Team, which on their web site is described below as: Open Government Team We are currently forming an internal Open Government Team led by our Web Services Manager. Team members will come from all departments and all levels, with the intention of supportingRead… Read more »
The office of the New York City Comptroller has a great web site that provides a comprehensive look, updated daily, at nearly every check issued by the city. The current Comptroller web site is being updated to provide detailed information about the contracts related to each individual payment, city vendors and the contracts they’re workingRead… Read more »
Patricia A. Gabow, M.D., CEO of Denver Health and Hospital Authority, has spectacularly improved Denver’s public hospital and busiest trauma center by asking the right questions and implementing Lean. In a blog post by Matthew Weinstock at Hospitals and Health Network Gabow says, “I was really becoming frustrated that we were doing things pretty muchRead… Read more »
Affording health insurance is tough for many people. Lincoln Hospital located in Bronx, New York lets uninsured New York City artists exchange their art for medical services. Under the program, artists will earn “health credits” for every creative service they perform. In exchange they’ll be able to obtain doctor’s visits, laboratory tests, hospitalization, emergency care,Read… Read more »
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation was created by Congress to help transform the Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP programs to deliver better healthcare, better health and reduced costs through improvement. The Center has created an interesting Innovation Advisors Program with the goal of creating a network of experts in improving the delivery system forRead… Read more »
The City of Philadelphia wants to hire an efficiency expert. The Nutter administration issued a request for proposals soliciting qualified firms to submit credentials to become an “Overhead Cost and Revenue Collection Consultant” to deal with multiple city agencies. Philly.com News reports: “On the cost side, the city is looking for an outside analysis ofRead… Read more »