Tough Choices

All public managers are aware of the Washington Monument ploy--where the agency faced with a deficit threatens to close an iconic or critical public activity for purposes of facing down the budget cutters. Yet the less celebrated successes--the hard daily work of thinning staffs, finding better ways to provide services, adopting new technologies - is now occurring weekly in states. This series (AZ, MN, MA) is a terrific way to highlight and create a better market place for those ideas.