Benchmarking the Consent Agreement. Show me the progress.

[Lowell]

Detroit is now under a State-mandated Consent Agreement and may even have an EMF. As I am a businessman, like Mr. Snyder, when someone pitches me, or I them, it is standard procedure to establish baseline benchmarks of how thing are performing now to be measured against in the future.

With that in mind what do you think should be the measurements to which the State should be held accountable, say one year from now?

For instance I read that there are some 80,000 streetlights of which 40 per cent don't work. Is it fair to expect to see that improved to a 20 per cent failure rate 12 months from now?

What do you think the benchmarks should be and how much should they improve to be considered a success?

[jt1]

Detroit is now under a State-mandated Consent Agreement and may even have an EMF. As I am a businessman, like Mr. Snyder, when someone pitches me, or I them, it is standard procedure to establish baseline benchmarks of how thing are performing now to be measured against in the future.

With that in mind what do you think should be the measurements to which the State should be held accountable, say one year from now?

For instance I read that there are some 80,000 streetlights of which 40 per cent don't work. Is it fair to expect to see that improved to a 20 per cent failure rate 12 months from now?

What do you think the benchmarks should be and how much should they improve to be considered a success?

Sadly, the consent agreement has no connection to supplying services, only restoring financial stability.

The only benchmark they are focused on is finances. Services to/for the residents are completely secondary and I am pretty confident will not be used as a barometer for success. Pretty sad but that is what it is.

[Wesley Mouch]

Detroit is now under a State-mandated Consent Agreement and may even have an EMF. As I am a businessman, like Mr. Snyder, when someone pitches me, or I them, it is standard procedure to establish baseline benchmarks of how thing are performing now to be measured against in the future.

With that in mind what do you think should be the measurements to which the State should be held accountable, say one year from now?

For instance I read that there are some 80,000 streetlights of which 40 per cent don't work. Is it fair to expect to see that improved to a 20 per cent failure rate 12 months from now?

What do you think the benchmarks should be and how much should they improve to be considered a success?

Benchmarks are crucial. But an Emergency FINANCIAL Manager should have FINANCIAL benchmarks.

I do not think an EFM or CA should address performance -- beyond financial matters.

The benchmarks ought to be more like 'at the end of fiscal 2012, the city shall have a total labor expense of $23 million, down from $33 million today'.

Streetlights, Firefighter productivity, etc. all remains the council and mayor's work. And freed from the financial burden, they can focus on these critical tasks.

[jt1]

Benchmarks are crucial. But an Emergency FINANCIAL Manager should have FINANCIAL benchmarks.

I do not think an EFM or CA should address performance -- beyond financial matters.

The benchmarks ought to be more like 'at the end of fiscal 2012, the city shall have a total labor expense of $23 million, down from $33 million today'.

Streetlights, Firefighter productivity, etc. all remains the council and mayor's work. And freed from the financial burden, they can focus on these critical tasks.

Agree and disagree. You can't call it a success if there is a massive degradation of all services. Perhaps having benchmarks of expected levels of service. I can get the financial ship in order tomorrow if I fire every cop and firefighter but I sure as hell wouldn't quantify that as a success.

I think there should be financial metrics and minimum service level metrics to ensure that the citizens are getting a reasonable level of service. But then again the Governor and those that will monitor the consent agreement and finances don't really care about any level of service as long as the finances are addressed.

[Wesley Mouch]

Agree and disagree. You can't call it a success if there is a massive degradation of all services. Perhaps having benchmarks of expected levels of service. I can get the financial ship in order tomorrow if I fire every cop and firefighter but I sure as hell wouldn't quantify that as a success.

I think there should be financial metrics and minimum service level metrics to ensure that the citizens are getting a reasonable level of service. But then again the Governor and those that will monitor the consent agreement and finances don't really care about any level of service as long as the finances are addressed.

If the Governor [[EFM, CA or bankruptcy) address the finances, that 'empowers' the local officials to improve service.

If you want the State to 'ensure that citizens ... a reasonable level of service', they would then need 100% control over the City. That's a great idea -- but its not what the EFM/CA laws are built to do. Too bad. Because this EFM/CA doesn't go nearly far enough.

A total dismantling of Detroit government with an 'Emergency Administrator' with 100% power over everything is appropriate given the operational mismangement of the City. But for now that remains on my 'wish list'. It is so clearly what is needed.

If you want to 'ensure that citizens

[jt1]

If the Governor [[EFM, CA or bankruptcy) address the finances, that 'empowers' the local officials to improve service.

If you want the State to 'ensure that citizens ... a reasonable level of service', they would then need 100% control over the City. That's a great idea -- but its not what the EFM/CA laws are built to do. Too bad. Because this EFM/CA doesn't go nearly far enough.

A total dismantling of Detroit government with an 'Emergency Administrator' with 100% power over everything is appropriate given the operational mismangement of the City. But for now that remains on my 'wish list'. It is so clearly what is needed.

If you want to 'ensure that citizens

Agreed, however we can't ignore the citizens or the citizen's needs to get to the point that the finances 'empowers' local officials improve service.

I think we agree that the role of the consent agreement/EFM is to get the finances in order but that can't be done in a vacuum with no consideration of minimum funding/levels of services for citizens.

If everything is cut and no services are delivered [[or they are even worse than now) then this will cause a significant number of residents/businesses to continue to leave. Once they're gone it is difficult to get them back.

Straight out cutting is just going to result in a city just as bad off but with a slightly better financial situation. Some consideration must be given to existing residents and businesses or this is nothing more than an exercise in futility.

I fear that Snyder, Dillon and those in Lansing have no concern for the short term impact on the residents as long as it gets us to the end goal. There is a way to do it fast and a way to do it right. I think they just want to do it fast.

When you try to lose weight do you exercise and lose it over time or just cut off your leg?

[Detroitnerd]

To my mind, this EFM thing is a way to impose an austerity program, sort of like the IMF and World Bank do on the Third World. The banks get their money, the people in the city suffer further degraded services, and victory is declared.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Austerity is needed in Detroit. There is no scenario under the sun in which Detroit will not have massive cutbacks of our already shitty services. Unless everyone is willing to work for free, there is no more money. The state isn't going to send us a billion. Nor will the feds. All talk of avoiding austerity is the equivalent of making plans to buy furniture for your house on the moon.

And as jt1 said above, the manager is only about creating budgetary stability. When there is stability, then Detroiters can have a powerful council & mayor again, who can attempt to implement programs that will improve the city. But the size of the pie we will eat will be smaller for a generation to come, due to the horrendously irresponsible policies of the city government in the past. It is the fault of bad councils and mayors, yes. But it is also the fault of voters who kept the idiots in office, despite their actions. The passengers of the Titanic may never have passed a vote of confidence in the policies of the White Star Line, but Detroiters willingly voted for the team that aimed the ship for the iceberg. The consequence? We're gonna be wet and cold for awhile.

[Wesley Mouch]

Agreed, however we can't ignore the citizens or the citizen's needs to get to the point that the finances 'empowers' local officials improve service.

I think we agree that the role of the consent agreement/EFM is to get the finances in order but that can't be done in a vacuum with no consideration of minimum funding/levels of services for citizens.

If everything is cut and no services are delivered [[or they are even worse than now) then this will cause a significant number of residents/businesses to continue to leave. Once they're gone it is difficult to get them back.

Straight out cutting is just going to result in a city just as bad off but with a slightly better financial situation. Some consideration must be given to existing residents and businesses or this is nothing more than an exercise in futility.

I fear that Snyder, Dillon and those in Lansing have no concern for the short term impact on the residents as long as it gets us to the end goal. There is a way to do it fast and a way to do it right. I think they just want to do it fast.

When you try to lose weight do you exercise and lose it over time or just cut off your leg?

Right now, Detroit is obscenely fat and is telling the Doctor [[Snyder, et. al) that they just need another chocolate brownie.

When Detroit actually decides to start exercising, they will get help. Until then, all you can do is cut off the supply of sweets.

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Right now, Detroit is obscenely fat and is telling the Doctor [[Snyder, et. al) that they just need another chocolate brownie.

When Detroit actually decides to start exercising, they will get help. Until then, all you can do is cut off the supply of sweets.

So true, and in so many fewer words than I would have needed!

[Lowell]

Sadly, the consent agreement has no connection to supplying services, only restoring financial stability.

The only benchmark they are focused on is finances. Services to/for the residents are completely secondary and I am pretty confident will not be used as a barometer for success. Pretty sad but that is what it is.

I understand that and I understand that administration of services is still a function of Bing and the Council. I wrote on another thread Lansing is ascared of Detroit when it came to actually taking responsibility in the form of an EMF. The Consent Agreement, IMO, is a big dodge and a way to spread blame for any failure. About the only benchmark that can be drawn from that is with the City's bond rating.

So I was/am asking you all to be hypothetical and ask you what important quality of life factors should be in place that will heal Detroit long term. Things like:

What is the rate of population loss and average household income now and then?

What is police response time now and after they work their magic?

What percentage of crimes, particularly violent crimes, are solved?

To what degree are code violations being issued and enforced?

How timely are the buses in arriving at the stops?

What is the quality of maintenance of parks and recreational facilities?

Everyday stuff like that. If they are not benchmarked and improved, any success at financial stability will be just kicking the can down the road to the next crisis.

[Hermod]

The problem is that you can't let the city managers cut the workforce. They will leave the bureaucracy unchanged and cut the streetworkers in DPW, DPD, and DFD. You need a #1 Asshole to go into the managers offices with a stack of non-recourse pink slips and ask what the hell the guy in the office does. Unless the answer uses any word like "work", the guy gets a pink slip. DPD and DFD probably have a hell of a lot higher drone-worker ratio now than they did in the 1950s. Kill the drones, not the workers.

[corktownyuppie]

I understand that and I understand that administration of services is still a function of Bing and the Council. I wrote on another thread Lansing is ascared of Detroit when it came to actually taking responsibility in the form of an EMF. The Consent Agreement, IMO, is a big dodge and a way to spread blame for any failure. About the only benchmark that can be drawn from that is with the City's bond rating.

So I was/am asking you all to be hypothetical and ask you what important quality of life factors should be in place that will heal Detroit long term. Things like:

What is the rate of population loss and average household income now and then?

What is police response time now and after they work their magic?

What percentage of crimes, particularly violent crimes, are solved?

To what degree are code violations being issued and enforced?

How timely are the buses in arriving at the stops?

What is the quality of maintenance of parks and recreational facilities?

Everyday stuff like that. If they are not benchmarked and improved, any success at financial stability will be just kicking the can down the road to the next crisis.

Lowell, I agree with what you're trying to do here...there needs to be quantitative criteria by which we can objectively evaluate the performance of this restructuring.

I generally like the questions you've come up with but caution that some of them need to be better defined and then categorized and distinguished so that there are clear short, intermediate, and long-term goals.

I will give you an example to illustrate this point. One benchmark might be the employment [[or unemployment rate) of the city. The problem with this being a benchmark without better definition is that it doesn't distinguish between productive/strategic employment vs. wasteful employment. [[i.e. The City could hire 400 people to paint re-paint fire hydrants, and technically that would boost employment in the short-term...but the output we get for the money spent is probably not a good long-term investment if we are to improve the both the quality of life as well as the financial stability of the city.)

In other words, in much of what's necessary, long-term gains will not follow until the painful process of re-tooling/re-structuring is complete.

I'm not a municipal turnaround specialist. And so I would prefer to defer these important questions to the people on the financial advisory board. But here the things that come to my mind:

[[1) I would like the board to list and prioritize the biggest components that are resulting in lost revenue for the city. [[Not saying that the city is a business...but since the primary problem is that we don't have the money to pay for services, let's start this way.

Lost revenue can come from many places...abysmal collection rates [[why increase taxes by 20% when you're only collecting half of the taxes you're owed...better to work on collection efforts instead?) or from population loss [[fewer citizens = fewer tax payers) or from tax base loss [[loss in home values is driving down the taxes owed)...or some net combination of these [[losing 20 wealthy taxpayers might be worse than losing 250 citizens who don't pay any taxes).

[[2) Once those components are prioritized... [[crime? tax rate? insurance rates? poor schools?) then I would like to see a holistic strategy set to attack them, listing specific short-term, mid-term, and long-term benchmarks. For example, if crime is the problem...is the solution more cops? less waste? better social services? geographic consolidation?

The good thing about the financial advisory board is that unlike the civic power structure that exists...they can have these strategic discussions without having to answer to 100 different political pressures.

Detroit's recovery is going to be a gigantic elephant. We can only take one bite at a time. Certain components will suffer more while other components are being improved. This is normal and is a natural part of the process.

Setting clear expectations about using the existing resources most efficiently and attacking the problems strategically and in a prioritized manner will go a long way to earning credibility. This isn't corporate speak. If 12 months from now the financial advisory board puts together a strategic plan and then attacks it in a NON-WASTEFUL manner, then even if the results should be disappointing, they will have MUCH more credibility at going back to the public and asking for an infusion of capital.

Before we can go back to the well and ask for more water [[which I think inevitably will happen), we must absolutely show that we made the best we could with what we had in the most tactical and strategic way possible by the experts in their field.

[mwilbert]

Detroit government is not so much like an obese person as a unskilled person with intestinal parasites and some kind of brain disease. You could potentially deal with an obese person by cutting down on how much food you give them, but this wouldn't be a good strategy with a parasitized person. And even if you cured the intestinal problem the person would still be confused and inept.

What an EFM-type management has to do is get rid of the parasites, provide some kind of brain treatment, preferably a transplant, and begin building up some capabilities. If all it does is cut down the food supply, it will probably kill some parasites, but nothing else will be accomplished.

[Wesley Mouch]

I understand that and I understand that administration of services is still a function of Bing and the Council. I wrote on another thread Lansing is ascared of Detroit when it came to actually taking responsibility in the form of an EMF. The Consent Agreement, IMO, is a big dodge and a way to spread blame for any failure. About the only benchmark that can be drawn from that is with the City's bond rating.

So I was/am asking you all to be hypothetical and ask you what important quality of life factors should be in place that will heal Detroit long term. Things like:
...
Everyday stuff like that. If they are not benchmarked and improved, any success at financial stability will be just kicking the can down the road to the next crisis.

Of course its a big dodge. Its a creation of politicians.

But like the saying, 'democracy is the worst system, except for all the others', I believe the CA is the worst choice, except for all the others.

[Wesley Mouch]

Detroit government is not so much like an obese person as a unskilled person with intestinal parasites and some kind of brain disease. You could potentially deal with an obese person by cutting down on how much food you give them, but this wouldn't be a good strategy with a parasitized person. And even if you cured the intestinal problem the person would still be confused and inept.

What an EFM-type management has to do is get rid of the parasites, provide some kind of brain treatment, preferably a transplant, and begin building up some capabilities. If all it does is cut down the food supply, it will probably kill some parasites, but nothing else will be accomplished.

OK. Less twinkies, more fruit and vegetables.

I

[Locke09]

It's perfectly legitimate to ask for benchmarks that include service improvement and quality of life issues. The consent agreement goes beyond seeking to control finances, which is why it also calls for the appointment of a Program Director who will function as a quasi-COO. And don't forget the state expanded the legislation from EFM to EM so that it could control more aspects of a local government or school district while trying to improve finances. That is what the lawsuits and ballot initiatives have been about.

Anyone who can add and subtract can cut a budget and eliminate a deficit. The trick is to do so while still maintaining an appropriate level of services - both in type and in quality.

[Locke09]

P.S.

Snyder, Dillon and the media all marketed this as something Detroiters should embrace because all they want is garbage picked up on time, streetlights to work, and the police to arrive when called. Now the first thing they will get is 40% of the lights eliminated permanently and it will only cost about 160 million in bonds to allow us to have 40% fewer lights.

[Wesley Mouch]

It's perfectly legitimate to ask for benchmarks that include service improvement and quality of life issues. The consent agreement goes beyond seeking to control finances, which is why it also calls for the appointment of a Program Director who will function as a quasi-COO. And don't forget the state expanded the legislation from EFM to EM so that it could control more aspects of a local government or school district while trying to improve finances. That is what the lawsuits and ballot initiatives have been about.

Anyone who can add and subtract can cut a budget and eliminate a deficit. The trick is to do so while still maintaining an appropriate level of services - both in type and in quality.

Sure, its legitimate. But it has also been legitimate to ask for the same benchmarks from the current, elected leaders.

Why so hard on Snyder, et. al -- they're dealing with someone else's mess.

[[And please spare us comments about who created the crisis. All that matters now is that it exists -- and Detroit's leaders continue to fail to make necessary changes, letting it all fall into the hands of Lansing.)

[Detroitnerd]

I admire your optimism, Lowell, but this isn't about solving any actual problems that will help people. This is about making sure the banks get their interest first, and that the rest of the city economy gets put on a diet.

It's odd. Money is fictional. Banks know that. Banks create money out of thin air. The government prints more when it suits the banks' purposes. But we're going to solve the fictional problem first, by creating real pain for the people just as they're undergoing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

And some of you talk about the "reality" of budgets and the metaphorical "pain" of not having a "twinkie" ...

[corktownyuppie]

I admire your optimism, Lowell, but this isn't about solving any actual problems that will help people. This is about making sure the banks get their interest first, and that the rest of the city economy gets put on a diet.

It's odd. Money is fictional. Banks know that. Banks create money out of thin air. The government prints more when it suits the banks' purposes. But we're going to solve the fictional problem first, by creating real pain for the people just as they're undergoing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

And some of you talk about the "reality" of budgets and the metaphorical "pain" of not having a "twinkie" ...

Well, I believe that you are partially right. It's fictional in the grand scheme of things but it's crucial and real in the microcosm of things. For example, my employer can't just not pay me what they owe, citing that "money isn't actually real."

The other problem, too, is that even if both the government and the banks agreed to loosen the money supply even more than it already is [[1.5% on 10-year government loans?!?!), the problem is that Detroit wouldn't see any of it because no lender or investor sees it as a reasonable risk because of its historical mismanagement combined with daunting structural problems.

I think lenders will be willing to come to the table, but not until we clean our own house first.

[Detroitnerd]

I love how Detroit has been run into the ground by corrupt leaders elected by poor people and the solution is ... austerity, eliminate the democracy so that it can't happen again.

Meanwhile, the world economy has been run into the ground by corrupt bankers and the solution is ... do whatever possible to keep them solvent and put no more stringent rules upon them.

The U.S. government could have bought those banks for pennies on the dollar and given the $3 trillion to metro Detroit... but, no, we're going to give Detroit austerity so that the banks get their interest ...

[Hermod]

I love how Detroit has been run into the ground by corrupt leaders elected by poor people and the solution is ... austerity, eliminate the democracy so that it can't happen again.

Meanwhile, the world economy has been run into the ground by corrupt bankers and the solution is ... do whatever possible to keep them solvent and put no more stringent rules upon them.

The U.S. government could have bought those banks for pennies on the dollar and given the $3 trillion to metro Detroit... but, no, we're going to give Detroit austerity so that the banks get their interest ...

What per cent of the Detroit bonded debt is held by these "bloated" banks waiting for the interest and what per cent is held by:
Insurance Companies needing to pay claims?
Pension funds needing to pay monthly benefits?
Individuals living on the interest?

[Detroitnerd]

What per cent of the Detroit bonded debt is held by these "bloated" banks waiting for the interest and what per cent is held by:
Insurance Companies needing to pay claims?
Pension funds needing to pay monthly benefits?
Individuals living on the interest?

Probably about $1.8 billion, I think. Enough so that the banks can get their government custodians to impose a CA on the city so they get paid first.

[Jimaz]

I love how Detroit has been run into the ground by corrupt leaders elected by poor people and the solution is ... austerity, eliminate the democracy so that it can't happen again.

Meanwhile, the world economy has been run into the ground by corrupt bankers and the solution is ... do whatever possible to keep them solvent and put no more stringent rules upon them.

The U.S. government could have bought those banks for pennies on the dollar and given the $3 trillion to metro Detroit... but, no, we're going to give Detroit austerity so that the banks get their interest ...

I love that post.