Private companies and large public agencies across the United States and throughout the world are routinely subjected to independent outside management audits.

However in the Bay Area such operational and managements analyses are rare……independent analyses even more so. Here’s what an independent management audit can do for a struggling public agency.

Organizational Policy-making, Management and Operations:

– Evaluate the experience and qualifications of those who sit on boards and commissions. Recommend ways of improving their effectiveness.

– Identify and clearly describe instances where aggressive real estate developers and other narrowly-focused outside parties are unduly influencing public policy decisions.

– Set up a process for ensuring that part time policy makers have access to the information they need to make wise decisions and otherwise do their jobs effectively…without being overwhelmed in irrelevant detail.

– Examine the management structure of the organization from top to bottom. Carefully review all organization charts, budgets, policy directives, accountability procedures, work rules, coordination protocols, etc. Recommend specific ways of improving efficiency, productivity, internal communication and general effectiveness. Cite specific instances of where changes in supervision or management are warranted.

Capital Improvement:

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With the federal government poised to lavish $2 trillion or more on State and local governments, now might be a good time to take stock of how well equipped the receiving agencies are to use hundreds of billions of incoming new dollars in prudent and productive ways.

Given the Bay Area’s dismal recent record of managing large amounts of capital, the prognosis is not good. Before identifying causes it is necessary to provide a small sampling of the results. 

We’ve taken a hit. COVID is obviously no joke…not something to be taken lightly. While it’s too soon to predict exactly how COVID and its aftermath will affect society, there are a few observations that can safely be made.

The Problem:

Vaccine:  Yes, there could soon be a highly effective vaccine and/or other curative. If so, great….the sooner the better. But what if it takes longer than expected to make these curatives available? Or, what if there are troublesome side effects or if the vaccines and treatments aren’t fully effective? What if another vicious virus comes along, requiring us to go through the whole agonizing process all over again? Even if an effective, early vaccine does become available it will take many months to inoculate a large share of our population.

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Livable California is a Statewide group that has sprung up to counter a State Senate juggernaut intent upon jamming in high density housing virtually everywhere in total disregard of what neighborhoods want, affected towns and cities want and affected counties want. Thanks to a significant degree on the hard work and organizing of Livable California, last year’s SB50 went down to a well deserved defeat, in large part because of the State’s one-size-fits-all, meat ax approach to a problem that should be addressed with discretion and flexibility, taking varying locations, densities and neighborhood conditions into account.

The ever-active State Senator Scott Wiener has now, Phoenix-like, re-assembled the tenants of his defeated bill, as embodied in at least nine separate replacement measures, each taking its own bite of the apple. These replacements are not well coordinated. They feature overlapping and sometimes contradictory standards and varying ways of handling such critically important terms as “CEQA Exempt,” “transit-oriented,” “percent affordable housing,” “density bonuses,” and “Opportunity Area.”

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