Solutions vs. “Scapegoating”

By Maria Ortiz Perez
March 8th, 2010

I applaud the initiative of state officials and the city manager in Lowell to investigate the alleged lack of integrity and professionalism displayed by DPW and Parks and Recreation workers in Lowell.

In a time of scarcity and aid cuts, municipal government should really exercise a “zero-tolerance” policy for the misuse of funds. And this issue also points to a bigger problem in local government, one of nepotism and corruption.

However, I would invite both state and local officials, and particularly  DPW and Parks and Recreation bosses T.J. McCarthy and Thomas Bellegarde, not to focus their efforts on finding scapegoats.  Yes, people who abused their authority should be held accountable.  But looking at a bigger picture and from a managerial standpoint: what processes and systems can be put in place in order to avoid these issues in the future?

Data analysis, combined with some basic performance management tools such as measuring  workers’ daily productivity could solve this issue. I – government- measure what my employees are accomplishing, I benchmark their results with my productivity goals, and I look for solutions that make them more efficient as workers and get me the best bang for my buck. And if someone wants to take a city owned vehicle for their purposes, I know right away, and can take action immediately.

Isn’t government (even local) a multi-million dollar operation? Why aren’t we demanding from our government to keep track of the outcomes municipal employees are producing like stakeholders demand reports from companies? It is OUR tax money, isn’t it?