Municipal Government

On a sleepy summer day two weeks ago, Winnipeg’s City Council quietly instructed its staff to prepare a report on the “Indianapolis Model” of managed competition. Can our elected officials break out of the box of old thinking?

From top to bottom, Sunnyvale’s high-performance government has learned to evaluate every service its 750 employees perform. The results speak for themselves: high-quality services delivered at low cost to customers, financial stability and a satisfied electorate. All of this without cutting programs or eliminating staff.

After George Cuff reported on the operations of Winnipeg’s City Council, strategies are developed to improve the problems that Cuff laid out.

The Coca-Cola Company recently caused a minor uproar when it hinted it might vary its soft drink prices with weather conditions.

Angela Griffin recently spoke in Winnipeg of the recent transformations she has instilled in the government of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Griffin was hired to revive the legislation of Wellington, and has done so successfully. The government of Winnipeg has much to learn from her tactics.

Special Operating Agencies in Winnipeg give the city hope of re-inventing itself.

Since they are so complicated, big organizations tend to perform less effectively. Thus, the Harris government’s Megacity policy, which is based naively on an overly optimistic view of government, will turn out to be a massive mistake.