Citizens deserve a growing economy and efficient, accountable government.
That’s a goal any government official would embrace, and new Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon presented essentially that to the County Council on Wednesday in his first state of the county address.
What makes it different is the forward-thinking plan Reardon, a Democrat, laid out to achieve it. It’s an ambitious but achievable plan, and one that was well-received by Council Chairman John Koster, a Republican.
"I’m open to every idea to get this economy going and make government work better," Koster said, adding that he likes what he has seen of Reardon’s plan so far.
Reardon outlined the steps his administration will take in its first year to overhaul the budget process, institute unprecedented levels of accountability and adopt a "business plan" to bolster the county economy.
As he promised during the election campaign, he will institute a "priorities of government" budget process. Rather than simply adding money to a department’s budget when times are good and cutting programs across the board when times are bad, the "POG" process starts at zero, then funds programs that have been identified by the executive and County Council as priorities. It creates benchmarks to measure performance, and includes mechanisms for regularly checking on whether services are being delivered effectively and cost-efficiently.
Citizens will be able to track how well county departments are doing through "SnoStat," a data-driven accountability system patterned after others around the country, including one run by the City of Baltimore (www.baltimorecity.gov/
news/citistat/reports.html).
What county government’s top funding priorities should be, of course, will be the subject of much debate. The tone of such debate tends to improve with the county’s economic fortunes, because a strong economy helps the county’s revenue picture. To that end, Reardon announced the formation of a Citizen’s Cabinet composed of leaders from business, education, agriculture, labor and other areas, which will help develop a county business plan to help attract and maintain good-paying jobs. Reardon proposed that the final plan be reflected in county codes as a way to continually measure the county’s regulatory climate. Government can’t do much to create jobs, Reardon said, but it can do plenty to create opportunity for job growth — a recognition Koster singled out for special praise.
If Reardon and the County Council make this work, their success can be used as a model for cities struggling to make ends meet. And it could go a long way toward restoring citizens’ faith in government.
Efficient, accountable, priority-based government. It’s worth a try.
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