How Authentic is the Campaign Issue of Controlling Spending?

In every election, there are candidates who focus primarily on the issue of controlling government spending. These candidates often have backgrounds in business and tell us that their expertise is essential to curb the excesses of government.

This raises a few questions:

1) Given that government staff work with the uniqueness of municipal budgets constantly and that this is one of the key areas of governing that they study, do private sector business people generally contribute the knowledge that can make a major difference?

2) Given that government staff deal with budgetary issues every day and generally keep the Council informed on the state of the budget and how policies under consideration will affect the budget, does a business person have a substantial advantage over council members with other backgrounds when it comes to making policy decisions?

3) Many - certainly not all - of the candidates who tout their business credentials as the primary reason that they should be elected are typically  less well-versed in ecology and social justice issues than many of their counterparts. Some might say that those council members who have educated themselves on environmental and social policy may lack a thorough understanding of municipal financial management.  Which type of candidate will best augment the knowledge of the staff to provide the best overall policy direction for the town? 

Issues: 

Comments

In my opinion there's two major budget issues at work.  First, most people who distrust government believe the city payrolls are padded with lazy employees and useless jobs that only exist to be dolled out as patronage.  Candidates who run on a platform of reducing taxes appeal greatly to this constituency since the voters can imagine reducing taxes without cutting any services.  This can be soft-pedaled in a candidate's policy statements code-worded as "efficiency".Note that I'm not saying there aren't portions of the city budget that couldn't be more efficient; the difference is one of magnitude.  The background you need for this is experience in managing city departments efficiently, which is more of a factor in hiring department heads than something you can get in a council member.  The other perceived advantage of a business-person on budget issues is one of priorities.  Once the government is efficient, the only thing left to cut is based on priorities more in-line with the candidates perceived "business" values with little perceived value, i.e. cutting unnecessary spending such as on the arts or on poor people.In reality, controlling spending for a community is really difficult, because the council represents the entire community, and has to do what's best for the entire community.  Cutting spending is really hard, since the minute you cut spending for anything the affected constituency, even very small ones, can disrupt council meetings.  Since only a tiny percentage of the population votes, all you need is to rile up 3% of the population who'll show up at the polls and you'll get voted out of office.   

Point one: People with a interest or expertise in fiscal and ecological stewardship are not mutually exclusive, but even if they are, that's why we have a town council and not a town king.Point two: The difference between the business arena and government is like the difference between a small sailboat (where a slight adjustment in sail trim or ballast leads to immediate speed gain, loss or capsize), and a huge yacht (where ballast is built into the boat itself, a change in course isn't noticed for quite a while, and when disaster strikes, it is catastrophic). Dinghy sailors are scrappy, they are sensitive to wind shifts. If you want to race a yacht, you would do well to learn about wind, current, ballast and sail trim in a dinghy.There are plenty of examples of businesses that are streamlined, treat their employees well, provide quality client service, are positioned to adjust to new changes or needs in their markets, and whose investments are informed by social and ecological community goals. Chapel Hill can have that too, but we won't get there by abdicating council leadership. To say that town council members don't need to have expertise in fiscal management because Chapel Hill employs its own town manager and support staff is no different from saying that town council members don't need to have expertise in transportation, watershed management, social services, or town planning because the city employs people to do this for us too. We'll all be better off when "business" stops being a dirty word.    

Very well said.

"To say that town council members don't need to have expertise in fiscal management because Chapel Hill employs its own town manager and support staff is no different from saying that town council members don't need to have expertise in transportation, watershed management, social services, or town planning because the city employs people to do this for us too."I think we can all agree that town council members need some skills in finance; we're only quibbling over how much.  Is it enough to understand basics, or do they need to be a CPA?  "We'll all be better off when "business" stops being a dirty word."I run a small business, so I value the skill set required to run a successful business, especially in this economy. I just don't think this qualifies me to be on the town council any more than any other citizen. 

I agree that we need a varied skill set on the town council. In fact, I think you would have a lot to offer Chapel Hill should you ever decide to run for town council. Lots of people are qualified to be on the town council; most choose not to pursue it for a variety of reasons. I admire those that do.I don't think I invented the negative connotation given to candidates who at one time or now serve roles in the business community. Mark M. argued on another thread that because Matt Cz had once worked on "Wall Street" we should not vote for him. He said something to the effect that, and I apologize for paraphrasing, look what Wall Street did to our economy, do we really want to trust town government to a guy who used to work there? I have also seen Mark bemoan people (I think maybe me for one....) who couch conservative/business rhetoric in progressive vocabulary. (For the record, I consider myself a democrat. I am registered as such and my voting record demonstrates that.) So yes, I think the word "business" is a pejorative in Chapel Hill politics and is often opposed to "progressive" which is not. I hear you and Mark say that you don't mean to be perceived as anti-business. Maybe the twain can meet! 

I run a small business. It's a silly notion. I don't think anybody is anti-business.The reason I started this thread is to get beyond that and think about the real value of focusing primarily on business acumen and promises to make real fiscal changes that many candidates run on.

We were supposed to vote for Czajkowski because of his business experience, but it was unfair when some of us enquired into the legality, ethics and propriety of his business dealings.  Is that it?

I am asking you to treat someone like Matt Cz with as much fairness and respect as you would treat someone like Cam Hill, that's all. I'm going to give you an example here that is NOT meant to open up new debate, but just to make a point and then hopefully we can all get back on Mark's topic....Years ago, a few months after Cam Hill was elected to the town council based in part upon his get tough stance towards UNC, we learned that while he was still a candidate he had negotiated a trade: his house on Cameron Ave for a much more expensive house downtown (if one is to believe the papers at the time). The public was not privy to this information before the election. Let me repeat, I am not questioning Cam's ethics now nor did I then. You are questioning Matt's. At the time did you question Cam's? I'm all for accountability. Let's measure everyone with the same yardstick.

Where does that notion come from?

I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect that people with business management experience are more attuned to thinking through the consequences of actions (and inactions) in regards to the fiscal impact.  They will also ask better questions of the staff, which is what drives those conversations. 

the town had a committee to study whether the town was being operated in a sound fiscal manner. I was an instigating force behind this committee and served on it (as did Gene Peace). There was an outside consultant hired (which is government practice not often used in smaller business) who basically praised operations and made several minor recommendations. The committee's main recommendation, which I didn't agree with, was to sell several town properties including the old library and old town hall (where the shelter is now). They thought we could use the money to retire some debt. I never thought this was a good idea and still don't. While a business, with a short term focus, might have considered this idea worthwhile: the council felt that it was important for Chapel Hill to hold on to these properties.The difference between municipal accounting and private business accounting is significant. At one not too long ago budget discussion one of our current council people (with an MBA from Harvard) did not understand what a budget line item meant. Specifically, the parking fund was listed as having revenues of $xxxx and this number was zeroed out to the general fund  with costs of $xxxx, leaving a parking fund balance of $0. The council member said:"if it doesn't make us any money let's just stop charging for parking altogether." The town manager, to save the council member embarassment, suggested they discuss this offline. So, even people who should know things sometimes don't..... Cam

It's great your council sought to ensure best practice by hiring a consultant and it's good that the consultant had much to praise. It's also perfectly fine for you and the council, after having received the report and discussed the recommendations, to have decided DIFFERENTLY. The key here is that you sought advice and you followed it with deliberation. Since you left the council this has not always continued to be the case.I ran nonprofits for years. One of the recommendations we routinely received from consultants and accrediting agencies was that we should strive for a variety of skill sets on our board: have a lawyer (different from the paid lawyer), a financial expert (different from the paid accountant and auditors), have someone with expertise in our area of service, have some current stakeholders, have some former stakeholders, have someone from the community-at-large. It's hard to get this kind of balanced representation. Often, we did not have all of these categories represented, but we tried to do so. The town council is elected, but we should also try to do so there too.It doesn't bother me one little bit that at one business meeting Matt Cz asked an simple accounting question that someone more familiar with nonprofit accounting would know the answer to. This goes to the heart of the issue: I don't expect council members to know everything. I DO expect them to ask questions when they don't. Matt does that. My qualms with the current council is that their prejudice against business-interests-Matt made them deaf and dumb to some bona fide issues (only one of which was financial) that they refused to even discuss. With Gene Pease on the new council, it's possible that some of Matt's issues will at least get a second for discussion. Now that the election is over, it's possible other council members will feel less pressure to toe the line (if they felt that before, I don't really know, but it looked like it). It doesn't mean that the council will stoop to discuss the issues, mind you, but it is a tiny step closer towards deliberation, the council's job.I don't think anyone expects to win all the time, to always be right or to always get their way. But everyone does want a seat at the table and to be heard. 

"One of the recommendations we routinely received from consultants and accrediting agencies was that we should strive for a variety of skill sets on our board: have a lawyer (different from the paid lawyer), a financial expert (different from the paid accountant and auditors), have someone with expertise in our area of service, have some current stakeholders, have some former stakeholders, have someone from the community-at-large. It's hard to get this kind of balanced representation. Often, we did not have all of these categories represented, but we tried to do so. The town council is elected, but we should also try to do so there too."Yes, that is good advice.  A legal background is helpful in running government, but it is over-represented. 

Let us not forgot our mayor elect is a lawyer. It doesn't define him.

 

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