When was the last time you stopped to consider the state of your city or county’s management system? By management system, we mean the processes, techniques, and programs your local government agency uses to plan, organize, monitor, and evaluate the overall work performed by the organization. It’s about how the work gets done.

You don’t have to be Apple, Disney, or Amazon to have a management system. All public agencies have management systems, whether or not they are identified as such and fully articulated and understood. But they are key to the overall performance of the local agency and thus the community served.

The Management System in Local Government

Common component parts of local government management system include:

1. Governing body goal setting.
2. Effective governing body meetings.
3. Governing body/chief executive communications.
4. Vision, mission, and values.
5. Staff meeting effectiveness.
6. Organization-wide and department goals.
7. Public engagement and satisfaction.
8. Budgeting.
9. Preparation for change and adaptation.
10. Learning organization and collaboration.
11. Expectations for employees.
12. Compensation and employee development.
13. Marketing the agency for talent.

If you are joining a new public agency as chief executive or assistant or moving up in your current one, it is a good idea to identify and analyze the organization’s management system for effectiveness. This goes equally for long-term chief executives who should periodically audit and tune up their management systems.

A well-conceived, integrated, and understood management system clarifies what is expected from the entry-level planner to the top executive. It provides information and feedback for course correction and learning for optimal results. Each component of the management system should have some tie to the rest of the system to be mutually reinforcing. For example, your management systems may be misaligned if the governing board’s strategic planning leads to too many priorities, an unrealistic work plan for departments, or employee distress

In many local government agencies, the overall management system is not spelled out. Instead, there is a series of legacy management system components that are not clearly linked together or evenly practiced throughout the city or county. Top managers adjust the components over time to suit their needs, and the systems grow like coral reefs by accretion.

Auditing Your Management System

When assessing the management system you have inherited or have been working within, here are some basic tests to get you started:

1. Governing Body Goal Setting. 

The governing body should have clear strategic goals and priorities, established in collaboration with the chief executive.

• Are they practical given organizational resources and constraints?
• If so, are they then reflected in the operating and capital budgets?
• Is there periodic reporting back to the policy makers and public about results?

2. Effective Governing Body Meetings. 

The chief executive plays a critical role in producing governing body meetings that get the agency’s business done in a professional and civil manner.

• What policies and protocols exist to guide those meetings?
• Are there agreed-upon norms of behaviors and a code of ethics?
• Is there a periodic check-in of the governing body and chief executive on meeting effectiveness and how the governing body and staff are working together?

3. Governing Body/Chief Executive Communications. 

An effective management system ensures that feedback loops and ongoing communications are priorities of the chief executive.

• What structured and unstructured communications does the chief executive have with each member of the governing body?
• How is the organization following up on information requests?

4. Vision, Mission, and Values. 

The foundation for an organization is a simple and clear vision for the future, agreed-upon purpose of why we are here as a public agency, and a set of values to guide behaviors.

• When was the last time you reviewed and updated your vision, mission, and values statements?
• How are you communicating those to agency staff?
• How are you demonstrating the vision, mission, and values in how you go about your work on a daily basis?
• How do you engage your elected officials in the agency’s vision, mission, and values?

5. Staff Meeting Effectiveness. 

Much time is spent in meetings, so they should be effective for all involved.

• Is there an expectation of providing an agenda, with a clear purpose statement for each meeting?
• Are the right people, but not more than those individuals, involved in meetings?
• Are there clear action items with assignments and timelines out of each meeting?

6. Organization-wide and Department Goals. 

The organization as a whole and each department should have clear goals, objectives, and performance measures (key performance indicators).

• How is performance tracked and measured?
• Do the department directors meet regularly with the city or county manager to discuss progress and challenges in meeting agreed-upon goals, objectives, and indicators?
• Does your agency have a technology strategic plan to aid in efficient purpose and use of technology? How does your organization use data and technology to improve services?
• How does your local government identify and address equity gaps in services and projects?

7. Public Engagement and Satisfaction. 

Staying close to the community is critical in setting goals and adjusting service levels.

• How is public satisfaction with the various services measured? What feedback opportunities does your agency have? What happens with that information?
• Beyond the typical committee and public hearings, how does the agency involve a broader cross section of the public in shaping policies and services?
• Are community engagement protocols in place and resources allocated to ensure that all voices are heard?

8. Performance-Based Budgeting. 

A performance-based budget that clearly delineates service levels can offer important information about how resources are being deployed and what benefits are accruing to the community.

• Does each department’s budget clearly show established goals, objectives, and performance measures?
• Are operations aligned with the governing body’s strategic goals and desired community outcomes?
• Is the budgeting based on expected service outcomes rather than historical costs?
• Is the budget sustainable based on revenue and expenditure projections?
• Do department directors have authority to manage their budgets and make adjustments? Are they held accountable for managing within their budgets?

9. Preparation for Change and Adaptation. 

Change is constant and the organization must be resilient, plan for the future, and pivot when needed.

• How does your organization prepare for longer-term uncertainties like climate adaptation, economic shifts, or technological changes in the workforce like AI?
• How prepared is your agency for human-made and natural emergencies and disasters? How resilient is your city or county?

10. Learning Organization and Collaboration. 

No one department can make anything happen. It takes a team. Continual learning is essential to meet changing needs.

• What norms have you established for your management team regarding communicating and working together?
• Is your agency a learning organization? How do you measure that? Do you debrief major initiatives, acknowledge mistakes, and improve?
• How does your organization manage issues that cross departmental boundaries to avoid the silo effect?
• How does your organization continuously improve and innovate?
• Does your staff use work plans for effectively and efficiently managing projects (beyond capital projects)?

11. Expectations for Employees. 

Each employee should have a good understanding of what is expected in his or her position beyond the job description or classification statement.

• Do they understand how their work contributes to overall service to the community?
• Are they given adequate autonomy to do the work and a chance to master it?
• Are there regular, meaningful, and constructive performance evaluations/conversations between supervisors and employees at all levels of the agency?

12. Compensation and Employee Development. 

An agency’s compensation system and training and development resources should be robust enough to attract and retain talent.

• Does the agency consciously seek to “grow its own” supervisors and managers through skill development training?
• How do you handle the demand for hybrid/remote work flexibility and practice inclusive hiring?
• How does the agency recognize and incentivize excellence?
• Do you celebrate successes and strive to make the work as satisfying as possible?
• Is your city or county considered a good employer? How do you know?

13. Marketing the Agency for Talent. 

It takes intentional effort to proactively market your organization to attract talent.

• What are your agency’s efforts to create a “sticky” culture to retain talent?
• For instance, does your agency conduct stay interviews and make adjustments based on those conversations with employees?

A collaborative discussion with your executive team about these components will provide you with a good idea of the state of your management system.
 

How to Get Started

Local government agencies are typically overwhelmed. It is unrealistic to upgrade all components of your management system all at once. Therefore, to get started, here are some steps to consider:

• Engage your executive team in discussing which components of your management system need improvement.
• Select with the concurrence of your executive team one or two elements of your agency’s management system to tune up or enhance.
• Initiate changes pertaining to the governing body through the chief executive’s office.
• Form a cross-functional, multi-department team to address deficiencies (don’t leave it up to the finance, HR, or IT departments) where a variety of perspectives is needed, and ensure adequate resources and leadership support.
• Consider how input from other employees can be incorporated (depending on the management system component being focused on).
• Conduct a pilot project, debrief along the way, and identify what you learned.
• Share the results of the pilot project with all.
• Develop an improvement plan and execute the plan based on the pilot.
• Celebrate the launch of the improvement program.

Over time, you can use the same approach for additional tune-ups and improvement efforts. It’s like painting the Golden Gate Bridge—you start over as soon as you finish! 

As a chief executive or assistant, it is essential that you take stock of your actual system periodically and make changes or even overhauls as needed for better performance and outcomes. Much of that work is invisible to the public and even your elected officials because it is about managing the organization for effectiveness. Yet, it is key to your city’s or county’s success. It is part of the dividend of professional local government management.

ROD GOULD, ICMA-CM, is chairman of the board of HdL Companies, a former ICMA Executive Board member, retired city manager, consultant, and supporter of all those who toil in local government service. (rodgould17@gmail.com)
DR. FRANK BENEST, ICMA-CM, is a retired city manager and currently serves as a local government trainer and ICMA’s liaison for Next Generation Initiatives.
(frank@frankbenest.com).
JAN PERKINS, ICMA-CM, is vice president of Raftelis, a local government management consultant and facilitator, retired city manager, and a believer in good government and in the city management profession. (jperkins@raftelis.com)

The authors wish to thank Jerry Newfarmer, long-time ICMA member and founder of Management Partners, for originally linking the management system concept to cities and counties.