A ROAD MAP FOR RENEWAL

The Dallas Morning News

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Page 17W

Observe Dallas City Hall long enough, and you may come to feel that there are 30,000 things that need xing. Not so. There are basically three things that need xing with 30,000 consequences. So here are the three things: strategy, structure and services.

the needs of business. Dallas isnt doing well enough on these quality of life measures. The intown housing boom, for example, is attracting mainly on singles, empty-nesters and gays, who like the conveniences of urban living and dont need the schools. Middle-class families with school-age children are surging in the other direction, taking their resources with them. A lot of people leaving Dallas are making $50,000 to $70,000, said Andres Ruzo, former chairman of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and those coming in are Hispanic [immigrants] with an average income of $25,000 to $30,000. Thats why we have a problem with eroding sales tax. There are no EZ Guides for solving these problems. They sometimes stump the best thinkers. Yet in Dallas, a new charter and a strategic plan can be important first steps in turning the corner,

the Booz Allen report suggests. An updated charter would align authority, responsibility and accountability in city government; a strategic plan would identify pragmatic civic goals as well as ways to achieve them. And making a strategic plan a requirement rather than an option under the charter would force the city to operate in new ways. A strategic plan is not the Bible, it doesnt fix all problems, said Grady Gammage, a Phoenix zoning lawyer who has written a history of that citys development. But having one in Phoenix has moved the discussion incrementally from, Can you buy off the nextdoor neighbors? to, Is it compatible with what the city wants? And thats a good thing. o o o THE 20TH CENTURY WAS THE ERA of the melting pot and the exploding metropolis. The 21st is shaping up as

the century of the city-state, political and economic entities with the size and the economic clout of countries. They are so powerful that some scholars are arguing that cities dont matter anymore that it is the metropolitan region and the global economy that really count. But cities still exist as political units, and they are responsible for providing vital services, from police protection to water to streets things that not only touch individual residents but also affect the economic viability of cities and regions. The Booz Allen Hamilton report confirmed the correlation between a healthy core and a healthy region. If a citys economy grows slower than the national average for cities, then its suburbs grow slower than the national average for suburbs. The two are inextricably linked, even if the rhetoric is too often them and us. Or put more concretely, when Detroit cratered, the aftershock hit Dear-

born and Birmingham as well. When downtown Cleveland became a nomans land, businesses werent flocking to Shaker Heights. Conversely, the vitality of Boston, San Jose and San Francisco has created a galaxy of flourishing suburbs around them. This relationship is imperfectly understood in North Texas. The health of the region has lulled Dallas into ignoring its internal problems, while the suburbs enjoy a false sense of security about their independence from the core. Many of the civic leaders interviewed for this report from business executives to city officials were alarmed by the divide between Dallas and its suburbs. Weve got to regionalize public housing, public health and other responsibilities, said former Mayor Ron Kirk. We cant just share economic development. If the suburbs think they can go their own way, thats foolish

thinking. The region needs a center, a magnet to hold the pieces together, added Frank Turner, executive director of development services for the city of Plano. Without that core, the whole regional identity suffers, which means that you cant compete with other cities for corporations and development. Booz Allen presented its report as a call to action as well as reflection, appealing for new structures and strategies, and a questioning of inherited traditions about how Dallas should run. And even though it called the study optimistic, it anchored it in the metaphor of Dallas at the tipping point, that moment of precarious balance, when things can still go either way up or down, San Jose or Detroit. The only thing Dallas cant do, as business consultants constantly remind their clients, is nothing.
E-mail ddillon@dallasnews.com

If the root cause of Dallas decline is, in large part, an artifact of the governments structure and practices, then it is here that we must begin if the city is to truly change course. We believe the city needs to embark upon a holistic transformation along three dimensions: strategy, structure, and services.

LESSONS: WHAT DALLAS MUST DO

STRUCTURE: We believe it is time to fix the City Charter.
o The executive mayor vs. city manager debate is a distraction. o The charter needs to be updated to define much clearer roles for the mayor, City Council and the manager. o A strategic plan must guide decision-making, including the citys budgeting and capital spending.

STRATEGY: Dallas needs a strategic plan that is realistic and actionable.

o Take a programmatic approach to boost Dallas quality of life, focusing on the three areas most important to residents reducing crime, improving education and stimulating economic development. o Create an environment that not only retains middle-class families but attracts more of them in the future. o Invest now in critical big-ticket items such as streets and water mains. Further delay will only imperil Dallas financial position.

SERVICES: The focus of city services needs to be directly linked to the citys strategy.

What should a new charter look like?

The Booz Allen report says Dallas should embed these nine principles in a revised City Charter: I Create a strategic plan and use it to guide decision-making. I Ensure that the chief executive is accountable for effective administration of the city. I Ensure that elected officials are responsible for setting strategy, objectives and goals. I Make performance assessments systematic. I Measure performance by results, as well as by what actions are taken. I Balance the budget and ensure that it reflects the strategic plans priorities. I Never compromise the citys long-term financial footing. I Ensure that capital improvements are linked to the strategic plan. I Represent stakeholders fairly.
SOURCE: Booz Allen Hamilton

o To improve effectiveness, each key service area should be guided by the citys overall strategic plan, more closely mimicking the business discipline used in private enterprise. o To improve efficiency, Dallas should compare how its services stack up against the best-in-class services provided by other cities; identify the causes of any shortcomings; and adopt practices to close the gap.
SOURCE: Booz Allen Hamilton