[BITList] no - say it isn't so

[CT's]

    Mayor Nagin – yeah, the bald headed guy you saw during Katrina – you know, the “chocolate city” guy....................
    THE most useless bastard ever............................
    ct

      New Orleans City Hall dysfunction leaves specialist 'shocked' 
      Published: Thursday, March 03, 2011, 8:00 PM 
       By Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune 
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      Calling New Orleans city government the most dysfunctional he's ever seen, a leading turnaround specialist delivered a report to Mayor Mitch Landrieu this week identifying a long list of problems at City Hall, as well as a 10-point plan on how to right the ship.

      View full sizeGerald Herbert, The Associated Press archiveStaffing shortages and senseless red tape are among the problems at New Orleans City Hall identified by the consultant. 
      Since taking office in May, Landrieu has identified many of the problems outlined by consultant David Osborne, including decades-old computer systems, civil service rules that beget mediocrity, senseless red tape and staffing shortages dating to Hurricane Katrina.

      Osborne, who has advised dozens of cities on streamlining efforts, said Thursday that New Orleans faces myriad, deep-seated problems, the likes of which he has never encountered. 

      "I was kind of shocked," said Osborne, who served as a senior adviser to then-Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review initiative. "I think they inherited the least competent city government I'd ever seen in this country and the most corrupt -- a really tough experience. I just haven't run into this level of dysfunction before, and I've been doing this work for almost 25 years."

      Chief Administrative Officer Andy Kopplin said the administration concurs with the findings and has embraced the remedies advocated by the Massachsetts-based Public Strategies Group, where Osborne is a senior partner. The city's top managers have been assigned to working groups tied to all 10 recommendations, he said. Each is charged with developing proposals to change everyday operations at City Hall.

      Unlike the mayor's top policy priorities -- reducing crime, eliminating blight, improving education and creating jobs -- the actions proposed by PSG are designed to overhaul the way City Hall manages its employees, provides public services and spends money, Kopplin said. Among the fixes, which Osborne predicted will take three to five years to implement, are improving customer service, developing performance measures, reforming the contracting process, implementing a sophisticated data-tracking system and boosting revenue collection. 

      Osborne and his colleagues conducted dozens of interviews last year with veteran city employees, new hires, residents and others to understand City Hall's performance at the onset of Landrieu's tenure. Financed by several local nonprofit groups, the work is summarized in a 29-page report that was delivered Tuesday. 

      'No one was watching'

      The researchers included several anonymous comments in the summary. This one was offered as evidence of poor management, which Osborne says hit its peak under former Mayor Ray Nagin:

      "There were no staff meetings in the last two years. It was like 'The Lord of the Flies.' The kids took over the island and the big kids took over more of the island. ... It was all about money and contractors. No one was watching." 




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