Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.
Frank Fairbanks

Frank Fairbanks

Contributor

Frank Fairbanks was a GOVERNING contributor. He has served as city manager of Phoenix since 1990 and was named one of GOVERNING's Public Officials of the Year in 1994.

How one city is smoothing the way for adaptive reuse.
How do you keep public employees optimistic and productive when budget surgery brings staff reductions? There are ways, writes Frank Fairbanks.
Citizens know that there is a connection between public services and taxes, writes Frank Fairbanks, but the connection is not clear or direct.
When city resources are tight, Frank Fairbanks writes, sometimes all you need is community participation to make progress.
Downtown universities, writes Frank Fairbanks, create quality jobs, improve the quality of life in the broader central city, provide new cultural venues and create a positive street environment.
When crime blights a community, the police are just part of the solution. The key to turning things around is to engage the community itself.
Slashing spending offers opportunities for positive change. But a government's workers need to be part of the process, and they need to know they are being treated fairly.
What can we do to enhance the public's ability to understand what government is doing and why? Invite them into the budget process, writes Frank Fairbanks.