Bloomberg's Management Style Offers Some Surprises

http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/finance/20100825/8/3343


This is an interesting article I read, that reviews The NYC Mayor's offices yearly assessment reports. The reports put out by his administration surprisingly left room for improvement. The results essentially explain some of the ineffienciencies that exist in City agencies due to lack of centralization and oversight. This a huge surprise, becasue it was always assumed that Mayor Bloomberg lead a highly centralized administration where all the shots were called from Mayor Bloomberg and his close team of Commisioners.  Some of the strongest criticisms came from Mayor Bloomberg's own Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, who allegedly found 500 milliion dollars  per year in lost public funds that could be gained from cuts and consolidations in the social services and agencies.

I am on the fence with these new assessments and proposed administrative cuts, because of previous experiences with "consolidated agencies". I have come to realize that most administrative cuts that occur take away interaction with the public at hand. Citizens pay the price, in further delayed services, or worse, automated systems. For example, the 311 phone number that is is supposed to be the city's hot-line to all necessary agencies and services, but it  has done anything but better connect people to services and centralize control. Rather 311, has put a new barrier between citizens and public services. I feel that this is what will soon happen to more services under the advice of Stephen Goldsmith, the cold-hearted, numbers crunching public servant


There was also particular attention brought out about the Mayors management and reorganization of the City's school system. Bloomberg, fought long and hard to gain control of city schools and has achieved a great level of centralization  through smaller city zones and through more accountability and power given to principals. But the author brings up the problems of centralization, such as the loss of the community voice! I believe that  revamping and consolidating city bureaucracy through tools such as technology would be great, but I hope they don't go too far. Unfortunately, I have no say in the Mayor's Management style, your boy Stephen does.

Helga Nyanffor