New Orleans City Business reporter Jennifer Larino wrote an excellent article a couple of weeks ago on the reforms Mayor Landrieu will need to tackle… »
Why NolaStat?
Times-Picayune opinion: Better data will build a better city
A NolaStat opinion piece published in The Times-Picayune calls on incoming Mayor Mitch Landrieu to commit to an open government policy on his first day in office.
The city needs to get out of the business of attempting to build flashy applications, and instead focus on making good, timely, reliable data easily available online. Once that… »
Neighborhood leaders learn how NolaStat supports citizen participation
A presentation delivered to Neighborhoods Partnership Network members on April 21st. The handout can be downloaded here… »
Mitch sounding like a NolaStat supporter
Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu, on Tavis Smiley (PBS, 4/26/2010):
New Orleans is going to be a laboratory for innovation and change. I think a lot of how it goes in the future depends on the work that we’re going to do in the next 12 to 18 months. If we can restore confidence, if we can restore… »
Ensuring that task force recommendations are implemented
Mitch’s task forces align well with the NolaStat model for engaging departments in collaborative initiatives.
Stat-driven accountability processes work better if they’re focused on the outcomes that can be achieved when various government entities are assembled and engaged in issue areas such as crime, blight, health, economic development, and youth opportunities.
Progress is achieved when… »
Case Study: How NolaStat can improve constituent relations in City Hall
A list of the most common complaints submitted to City Council Members:
1) Street lights.
2) Water Leaks—which go to S&WB, a state run and controlled entity.
3) Potholes.
4) Drainage Problems, i.e. drains not working.
5) Billing complaints concerning S&WB, Entergy, and taxes, e.g., overcharging, late charges, etc.
6) Illegal dumping —- e.g. tires, trash.
7) Zoning complaints, i.e., businesses or… »
Case Study: How NolaStat can improve citizen satisfaction with City Hall
Last week’s customer satisfaction task force hearing offered some excellent boilerplate complaints about how New Orleans City Hall functions, and provided some examples that merit examination as case studies for how problems could be fixed within a NolaStat framework.
Problem: People need a response from city workers right away. They can’t wait until tomorrow for an… »
The manipulation of statistics denies victims their right to justice
The next New Orleans police chief should allow for independent audits of crime statistics. That will be a recommendation delivered on behalf of NolaStat at this evening’s New Orleans Police Department Task Force forum hosted by Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu at the Superdome.
Accurate crime statistics aren’t just vital to restore credibility to a police department suffering… »
“To help and defend”
New Orleans citizens didn’t need any confirmation of their fear that rogue behavior was metastasizing throughout the NOPD when the Department of Justice announced investigations into civil rights violations, including a conspiracy to cover up police shootings of unarmed citizens on the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina.
The public already feared the… »
Management by hunches hurts those who most need help
In a city with a low-wage economy, those most hurt by government mismanagement and inefficiency are the working poor.
Now, HUD provides evidence of yet another government failure that hurts the poor.
Among its many findings, the report shows that HANO is understaffed in most departments, often with undertrained employees and relies too heavily on… »
Which candidates understand this central lesson of Katrina recovery?
Which candidates understand the lesson of Katrina recovery — that by their very nature, disasters overwhelm the capacity of government, but when government works as a partner with neighborhoods, the sum is greater than the parts?
The role of government should be to help stand up the capacity of neighborhood associations and civic efforts, and respond… »
