Now, with crime rates plummeting, quality of life is first. Citizens blame problems on local governments, even if the problems aren t a local responsibility. Recently, for example, Washington State repaved Aurora Avenue in Seattle, which is part of the state highway system. A week after they repaved it, a cable TV company started digging up the streets to put in a new cable, says Dwight Dively, Seattle s finance director. We can t do anything about it.
Mayors have an odd tendency to launch reforms late in their tenure.
Baltimore s Kurt L. Schmoke decided to put together a strategic plan in the 10th year of his 12 years in office. Mayor Greg Lashutka of Columbus decided to launch a citywide strategic plan and then announced that he would not seek a third term. It takes a long time for cities to overcome mistakes made in the past. As Kansas City reported, it is costing us too much to maintain bridges and roadways that we have deferred maintaining in the past. Finally, it was startling how many managers were brutally frank about their city s problems.