We all love the big projects. And by all, I mean elected officials, those with the responsibility to improve our municipalities, small towns, big cities and everything in between. Grand visions inspire us, and they often are quite necessary. And boy, do we look good when we pull them off!
When something, anything, has not been addressed for many years, or changes in circumstances require rethinking long-established policies, or the needs and desires of residents simply evolve, it is up to elected officials to act. When there has been a project just waiting to be done, begging to be done, then jump right in and do it!
Effective project management brings success. Initiate, plan, execute, monitor and ensure closure. Those five steps for any initiative seem straightforward enough. However, to succeed they require diligence and dedication. Set goals. Define success. Find the funding without hurting taxpayers. Get the proper management and professionals in place. Let them do their job, but never let them out of your sight! You don’t “do the job.” You make sure the job is done. And before you know it, you have landed a major success.
Time to find the next biggie. Right?
Wrong!
When the “big” project is done, the urge to find the next big project, the next success story, is overwhelming. The sense of accomplishment can be overpowering, leading to the need to tackle the next big thing out there. And if something isn’t out there, find something anyway!
Here’s the problem – not so much a “problem,” but something to be aware of before it becomes a problem: While you are starting the next showpiece in your list of accomplishments, the completed projects are ignored, and the day-to-day management of the municipality gets lost in the glow of the next big triumph.
Maintenance is not fun. Keeping the status quo has never gotten anyone high praise and glory. Though it should. And failure to keep the status quo when the status quo is begging to be kept should bring on well-deserved criticism.
So whether it is the state government, the county or a local municipality, it should be an utmost priority to maintain, dare I say it, the way things are. Especially when you have gotten the “way things are” to the way things ought to be.
How unexciting that can be. How incredibly necessary that is.
In my town, we spent the last few years tackling the “big things.” These included setting a mission and values, to overhauling key staff positions, to completely redoing our code book and zoning, to beautifying our park and commercial districts (without raising taxes any more than they have had to already), to addressing ongoing quality of life issues (think noise and parking, for example), to improving communication with our residents, and more.
And yet I fear that the rush to build on those successes could lead to actively searching for the next project to impress people with (of course, I am assuming everyone has already been impressed by what’s been done). The same urge seems to have overtaken the county and state.
This year’s Ocean County budget includes $93,076,806 for capital improvements to support infrastructure, public facilities and recreational assets. Much of that funding is for new projects, which are, to be fair, obviously needed with the county’s growing population. The five Ocean County commissioners are the most dedicated and forward-looking group the county has had in decades. They are to be applauded for their initiatives, such as allocating more than $13 million for improvements at Ocean County Vocational Technical School campuses and Ocean County College.
But we also have to recognize that as new road projects are announced, the existing county roads serve as a main source of income – for auto repair shops. I meet frequently with county officials, and my message is always the same: Maintain what there is as we plan for what will be.
The state budget has a whopping $58.4 billion in capital investment for the next two years, addressing issues such as infrastructure, transportation, utilities, education, healthcare, environmental protection and remediation. My fear is that a new governor is looking for some signature projects she can call her own (a billion dollars or so to widen portions of the Garden State Parkway while portions that do not need to be widened continue to warp and buckle. Maybe the auto repair business is the future profit center of New Jersey).
The state’s proposed REAL rules are another example. These new, cumbersome, costly, ill-thought-out regulations aim to address coastal flooding when beach replenishment and the numerous steps being taken now by municipalities are already tackling the very real (no pun intended) issue.
We should not try to deal with every problem that comes along with a new ordinance, or new zoning regulation, or an entirely new, costly program. Enforcement of what we already have and taking the time to consider the pros and cons of new initiatives would serve us better. And we must always consider: Just who wants this next big project? The citizens or the elected officials looking to attend the next big ribbon-cutting?
No one ever cut a ribbon to showcase how the grass was cut or the weeds were pulled, the pothole was fixed, the beach was raked, a parking ticket was given, a beach was guarded, a budget was passed, the trash was picked up, a phone call or email was returned promptly, a request for assistance was met with immediate assistance, the streets were swept, zoning applications were reviewed, permits were issued or denied, proper paperwork was filed. All the mundane aspects of government were simply completed with timely professionalism. Those and other tasks are too mundane to elicit applause, and far too easy to ignore if all you are looking for is applause.
The point is “maintenance mode” is boring. But good government can maintain as we gain.
John M. Imperiale is mayor of Harvey Cedars. He can be reached at johnmimperiale@gmail.com.
