Stewart Nelson

The buzz word on the topic of governmental efficiency is “regionalization”.  Regionalization is what happens when two or more units of government on various levels unite to offer services to their common constituents.  A good example is the City of Ann Arbor Fire Department or Police Department combining with the Pittsfield Police and Fire to offer safety services.   The cost savings obviously comes from not having to duplicate service and overhead expenses to produce the service.    Virtually every department in the City has a counterpart at the County  except for one department.  OCD, the Office of Community Development for the City and their counterpart at the County combined to form Washtenaw Urban County with other cities in the county to cooperate on Federal Community Block Grants.

Today I also meet with the new Community Development Director, Mary Jo Callan.  Mary Jo is a delightful  young professional that has the Herculean  task of coordinating the services that the neediest residents of our our community need.  Mary Jo was formerly the Executive Director of Ozone House and bring a  wealth of experience and determination to the job.   As the combined department is still getting acquainted and working out the logistical problems of combining into one governmental agency, the jury is still out on determining the impact and cost savings on the delivery of services.  I applaud their effort and spirit of cooperation that they have all demonstrated to overcome the inevitable “turf wars” and “we don’t do it that way” mentality.  I am certain that all departments will look to the OCD as a template of the 21st Century model governmental agency.