AN INTERACTIVE MODEL FOR RATIONAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

By Ralph Bauer

BY: RALPH BAUER- 11/18/93

In the process of governing ourselves, the citizens at large often perceive their government as tending to lurch from crisis to crisis, without any plan or rationale. On occasion this is true. It is the objective of this brief essay to present an outline of a model whereby the three major players in self- government can interact to develop problem solving strategies.

This interactive model for rational self government is shown in Figure 1. The placing of Citizens, Elected Representatives, and Staff at the comers of an equilateral triangle is done to emphasize the equality they each must have to make the enterprise successful. These entities must work as a team to accomplish goals. If any one, or two, of the entities dominate the relationship the process to obtain equity for all will fail. It is a cardinal rule of this team approach that one must give up some individual power to gain collective power. It should be noticed that the Citizens are placed at the top vertex. The implication here is that self-government is a citizen driven activity. In a representative government, the Elected Representatives and Staff must be responsive to the citizenry, they cannot be dictatorial. The citizens empower their Elected Representatives to take action, who in turn empower the Staff to provide services and functions which Citizens cannot conveniently carry out as individuals. In short, the community delegates to Elected Representatives the power to develop policy, which when implemented will meet stated community needs. The Elected Representatives hire a staff to form an infrastructure to carry out the functions which policy dictates. Each segment of this triumvirate must thus play its proper role. When it does not, chaos tends to result. Ultimately it is the elected leaders who must facilitate and, if necessary, act as a catalyst for the interaction of the three partners. As time goes on, the electorate may express their pleasure or displeasure with the effectiveness of their elected leaders in developing policy and seeing to it that it is carried out equitably. This pleasure or displeasure finds its ultimate resolution at election time.

The circular process within the triangle in Figure 1 (Unfortunately this format would not support the inclusion of Figure 1.) represents an on-going iterative process which is designed to seek, implement, and evaluate strategies on a continuing basis for carrying forward actions. The process must be of a continuing nature, since the environment external to government is dynamic, and is constantly changing. Thus a satisfactory solution to a problem at one point in time, may become quickly out of date as the world around government changes.

The various steps in this process are straightforward and can be relatively easy to execute. However, not all problems can be resolved. The benefit of this approach, even if problems are not solved, is that the issues or differences can be more clearly understood on the basis of some kind of rationality. This can then serve as a possible springboard for future resolution.

Interaction - This represents a physical meeting where agendas are decided, issues framed, and organizational housekeeping is taken care of. To be successful the process must have agendas, minutes, and assignments to participants. The participants must get acquainted, build rapport and develop respect for each other.

Build Consensus - This is an examination of the issues where differences are discussed and compromises, if necessary, are reached. The leader of the group should have demonstrated skill in this process as well as in conflict resolution. People gain this skill from experience, training, and self-education. A word of advice here is to work first on areas where agreement is likely and then build on this success to address more difficult issues. Avoiding negative comments is particularly important at this stage. Emphasis should be on issues not personalities.

Prioritize solutions. This is a process where the group may well decide, based on available resources, which actions are the most important. It is also the place to refine consensus into action plans and time lines.

Implement strategies. In this process the details of implementation must be defined, the assignments of responsibilities are made, and a methodology of evaluation is put in place.

Evaluate results - In this process one determines the level of success by evaluating the results of any solution, process, or function against objective standards. The suitability of the evaluation must also be evaluated. It is often found that in the process of evaluation, new parameters which were unanticipated are a better measure of success.

Iteration and re-iteration - The process briefly described above can continue around the loop as often as necessary to reach objectives which the participants deem satisfactory. For such a system to work the philosophy of hitting lots of "singles" is better than trying to hit a "home run" each time at bat.

Participants

The definition of the participants is fairly easy in two cases and more difficult in the third. A summary of the participants is found in Figure 2. Elected Representatives are legally defined and easily identified. They are not anonymous and are conveniently contacted. The Staff, the employees of the system, is relatively less easily identified. One must often investigate the system in more detail to determine who is responsible for what function and where the power for a certain activity lies. On occasion public access to staff people is hindered by the very nature of the bureaucracy. This is an unsatisfactory situation and must be corrected if government is to work well.

The third partner in the enterprise, the Citizen, is more broadly defined and is diffuse as shown by the numerous examples in Figure 2. A major failure of self-government comes from this greater complexity of "who the average citizen is" and the reluctance of Elected Representatives and Staff to spend the time required to interact with this myriad of individuals and groups.

Successful government endeavors to identify the appropriate groups and interact with them using the model described previously. This identification and interaction process can be tedious and time consuming, and is viewed by many as inefficient. That may be, however failure by Elected Representatives and Staff to go through this process results in a lack of appropriate input, loss of confidence in the system by the citizenry, and an increase in confrontation. We then have a government which indeed lurches from crisis to crisis in some unpredictable and irrational manner.

The Bottom Line

In recent years confidence in government by the Citizens has declined drastically. This comes in part from the fact that government has lied to them and mislead them to such an extent that the trust in government is no longer there. This cynicism and disdain, although often generated by the actions of State and Federal government, tends to be leveled primarily at local government because local government is close by and is convenient to criticize. The irony of this is that local government probably operates more effectively when compared to State and Federal government.

The task may be difficult however to be effective government must work to gain the confidence of the citizenry by exemplary behavior and a proactive posture.

Local government must, if necessary, divorce itself from the negative actions of State and Federal governments. Local government must build a sense of community and personalize itself to the citizenry by sharing its power and responding to the citizenry in meaningful ways. In addition to the model outlined above, we have listed below some behavior characteristics which will enhance local government's ability to improve public confidence in it.

It must be remembered that government is a monopoly. If its actions towards the citizenry are inappropriate or unsatisfactory, the citizen becomes frustrated and tends to lose faith in the system, in part because the citizen cannot take his or her business elsewhere. Government is the only game in town for certain services. Since government services, in contrast to private business, tends not to be economically self-correcting, it is doubly important that local government present a courteous, responsive, cost-effective, helpful, and highly competent face to its customers, the citizens of the community.

Some Helpful Hints To All

In the practice of effective self-government ethical, open, and moral behavior is highly important.. Below are some hints about behavior which experience shows can be very helpful in making the system work well. These hints apply to all three segments of the enterprise. The Citizens, the Elected Representatives, and the Staff.

1. The Elected Representatives are empowered to develop policy and the staff is empowered to carry it out. This difference must be clearly understood and each of the entities ought not to tread on each other's turf.

2. Never imply to a citizen that the government knows more about what is good for him or her than the citizen does for him or herself

3. Open government is the best government. Never hide items which are legitimately in the public domain. Avoid hiding behind the rule book to suit your purposes. Sometimes a little curb stone justice is the best solution.

4. Follow the chain of command. Leave a paper trail. Confirm what you understand to be the case in writing. Do not violate the chain of command in important matters without the appropriate person being aware of it.

5. Have the courage to be honest or to be unpopular Tell all the facts good and bad. Do not tell people what you think they want to hear. Be honest but also be diplomatic as the situation requires. If you know the whole story give it all at once, not in chapters.

6. Volunteer for more responsibility. Evaluate yourself critically. Improve your own skills. Learn to speak and write well.

7. Avoid judging others too harshly. Be quick to forgive.

8. Lead by example. Remember building consensus gives the individuals in the group ownership of some proposed action, thus giving greater likelihood of success.

9. If you do not know say "I don't know but I'll find out and let you know." Respond in a timely fashion.

10. Never lie or knowingly mislead. One lie will destroy your credibility forever.

11. Return all phone calls promptly.

12. Avoid being defensive.

13 . Get in the habit of repeating back what you heard so there is confirmation of your understanding. Communicate often so there is no misunderstanding which could lead to unnecessary conflict.

14. Avoid being dogmatic, be a pragmatist. However, decide which basic principals you are unwilling to compromise. For example, it is unwise to be situational where ethics are concerned.

15. There may be many legitimate viewpoints, thus some compromises could be appropriate for progress to be made. Decisions which polarize the community should be avoided if possible.

16. When in doubt consult with others having knowledge and good judgment. Make sure the facts and data support your position.

17. If a serious mistake is made let those who need to know, know early. Those impacted will likely discover the error anyway and your inaction will cause an even greater loss in their confidence in you. Sometimes confession is good for the soul.

18. Treat people with courtesy and dignity do not hold grudges or be vindictive. Avoid ultimatums. Be aware that the cost of winning a battle may be the loss of the war.

19. Avoid dominating a relationship. Personal relationships ought to be symbiotic. Well run government itself is a symbiotic relationship between the Citizens, the Elected Representatives, and the Staff. None can be successful without the other two.

RB:paj

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Figure 1 is not reproducible for this presentation (sorry)

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Figure 2

PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERACTIVE MODEL
FOR RATIONAL SELF-GOVERNMENT

I. CITIZENS

Residents
Voters
Boards, Committees, Commissions
Task Forces
Business Groups, Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Interests
School Boards
Land Owners
Homeowner Groups
Citizen and Environmental Groups
Advisory Committees
Lobbyists
Good Government Groups
PARTICIPANTS IN:
Public Comments at Council Meetings
Political Campaigns and Elections
Qualifying Ballot Measures
Circulating Petitions
Community Outreach Programs
Business Forums

City Council
City Attorney
City Treasurer
City Clerk

City Employees and Consultants