Public servants should work to restore people’s faith in government.
It's vital that we begin restoring the public's trust in government. A recently published book amounts to a detailed manual for officials who want to take on that challenge.
From jails to factories to streets to schools, the winning programs in a foundation's competition stretch the boundaries of what we normally think of as public health.
In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, something interesting and unusual happened: People applauded their public employees.
Healthy reserve funds allow governments to be careful and smart.
Cities compete for residents and tax base. Nothing defines urban livability more than a city that's kid-friendly.
Countries that rely heavily on midwives and home births have lower infant and maternal death rates than we do, and our numbers are getting worse. Isn't it time to rethink our reliance on hospitals and surgical interventions?
We're going to see more cities like Stockton. We need better ways to deal with the downward fiscal spiral.
There are lots of problems with pay for performance, but one of the most salient is that it implies that employees are slackers.
Certainly spending must be cut and services must be restored, but it's essential that the voices of the loyal Detroiters who have stayed be heard.
The winners of this year's National Public Policy Challenge had a guiding principle: Think big, start small.
Stephen Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, S.C., has ambitious goals for his city. He's off to a strong start.
The Community Reinvestment Act doesn't always get at underlying economic issues. It's time to redesign it.
Clarence Anthony, the National League of Cities' new executive director, wants the NLC to be a strike force for cities at a time when our federal system is undergoing profound changes.
States are moving into the void left by Washington’s paralysis.
'Citizen-centric' financial reporting is a way for governments to improve transparency and accountability. It isn't hard, so why aren't more jurisdictions doing it?
Federal law gives the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board the authority to protect issuers, but it can't do that job until the SEC gives it a tool it needs.
California seems to be finding a way out of its prison-overcrowding problems. Have we decided that locking up so many people isn't the best way to keep the public safe?
Cracking down on corruption is critical to China's growth.
As one thoughtful city manager see it, in our focus on service delivery we're lost sight of a fundamental purpose of government.
There are signs that the pendulum is swinging away from the anti-public-employee rhetoric of recent years. That's good for governments and for the people they serve.
Mayor Kevin Johnson has big ideas for California's capital. Will the drive that made him an NBA star serve him as he tries to remake his city?
Appealing to rightness and reason is rarely enough to achieve big things. Politics requires dealing with human beings, and human beings are flawed.
Her rankings of states' education policies look at things from the wrong direction. It's a discussion we do need to have, but first we need to tone down the rhetoric.
People of color now account for most of the country's population growth. That has profound implications for the way elections are won and the nation is governed.
Things are beginning to look up for Fitchburg, Mass., under Lisa Wong's leadership. It hasn't been easy.
Tennessee's Arthur Hayes has had a major impact on the world of government auditing. Don't get him started on "gray areas."
We're beginning to turn this serious health problem around. That is very good news for efforts to get our health-care costs under control.
Community health is about more than quality of life. Increasingly, companies are basing their location decisions on the availability of a healthy workforce.
A city in California is working to move beyond the customer-service approach to government and engage citizens as problem-solvers.
For Annise Parker, competing globally is about a lot more than delivering services efficiently.
