Making Policy is Job #1 for Legislators

MRSC, September 2000

Contents

• Introduction
• Focus on Strategic Policy-Making
• How to Recognize "Good Policy"
• Limits to Policy-Making
• External Factors & Considerations

Introduction

"The buck stops here."

Harry S. Truman

The key to avoiding conflicts is to recognize that the general public policy of the municipality is usually a matter for the legislative body to determine: the city or town council, the county council, and the board of county commissioners, though the latter also has an executive and administrative function. It is also important to recognize that it is not the role of the legislative body to administer city or county affairs, except in the case of the county commission. The council sets policy, but it is either the county executive, the mayor, or city manager that actually sees that the policies are implemented. Since the distinction between formulation and implementation is not always clear, open communications between legislators and administrators is absolutely necessary.

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Focus on Strategic Policy-Making

Legislative bodies are most effective and are most successful when they focus on strategic activities that guide the future of their communities. Whether it is called goal setting, strategic planning or futures planning, the process of assessing need and establishing priorities is a necessary function of local government. It is a process that can be used to build citizen support, encourage efficiency, and improve productivity. [Goal Setting in Local Government, ICMA MIS Report, vol. 27, no. 4, April 1995]

Some observers believe that governments are driven by past decisions and reaction to operational issues and limitations. There is a legacy of prior actions that limits the community's vision about future possibilities. Policy is about the future of your community, whether tomorrow, next week, or years from now. Policy-making is about visions, goals, choices, and possibilities. Alignment of vision and goals with the community and its local government structures builds trust and community confidence. Limited resources go further where there is alignment and trust.

Key policy-making activities include:

Creating a Community Vision. This is the "big picture" for your community. A vision captures the dreams, aspirations, and hopes of your community. It is a choice of one future out of many possibilities. Important community values shape this vision. Does your community see itself as a trader in a global village? A place where diversity is cherished? A place where there is peace and harmony between the built and the natural environment?

Sample community vision statements:

Redmond - Vision Statement

Mercer Island - City Council Vision Statement

Lynden - 2010: A Vision for the Community

Longview - 2015 Strategic Plan

Renton - Vision, Mission and Business Plan Goals

A "vision statement" could provide a benchmark against which all other local government actions are measured. If you don't know where you are going, any path will do. Communities with vision know who they are and where they are going. Some communities also develop value statements and strategic plans to help implement their vision statements. Those without vision spend considerable energy on wrong or irrelevant issues, bouncing reactively from one topic to another. In short, they cannot see where they are going.

Community Goals and Objectives. Community goals identify components of the community vision and provide direction for implementation. A goal statement may grow out of a difficult community problem, for example, a high crime rate. The goal is to find a satisfactory resolution to this problem by implementing policies designed to reduce crime. A goal may also be born of a desire to instill some quality that is not currently part of the community, such as economic growth. Or, a goal may grow from a desire to preserve a valued characteristic or quality that already exists, such as the preservation of small town qualities while accommodating growth. Goals are qualitative statements; objectives are quantitative and measurable.

Port Angeles - City Goals and Objectives

Comprehensive Plan. The comprehensive plan represents the community's policy for future growth. The plan assists in the management of the city or county by providing policies to guide decision-making [Small Communities Guide to Comprehensive Planning, Washington State Department of Community Development, June 1993]. A majority of Washington's counties and cities prepare comprehensive land use plans under the state's Growth Management Act.

Sample comprehensive plans:

Aberdeen Comprehensive Plan

Bellevue Comprehensive Plan

Benton County Comprehensive Plan (June 1998)

Clark County 20-Year Comprehensive Growth Management Plan

For more on comprehensive planning, see MRSC's Comprehensive Planning/Growth Management Web page.

Comprehensive planning usually starts with an inventory and analysis of land, followed by an analysis of population and demographics, economic conditions, amenities, physical conditions, and infrastructure to determine future needs and alternatives. Based upon an agreed amount of growth, the land-use element of the plan maps locations for future development. Zoning and development regulations limit the permitted size of these developments, and govern how various uses must relate to their neighbors. Transportation and public facilities elements of the plan address service levels, locations, and financing of infrastructure needed to support community development. These plans are powerful policy tools that address major pieces of your community's vision.

Local Services. Some local services are mandated by state statute. Other services, while not mandated by statute, are prudent to provide, while others are discretionary. General-purpose local governments make key decisions about which services to provide to residents, at what service level, the manner in which these services will be provided.

Counties provide a broad range of services, many of which are mandated by the state as its agent. Many regional services are provided by policy choice. Not all counties, for example, provide regional transit service. For cities, the statutes require the appointment of a chief law enforcement officer. Once such an officer is appointed, there is no further guidance as to the level of police services that must be provided.

Whatever level is selected is a question of policy to be deliberated and determined by the city council. Some cities contract with the county to provide police services rather than provide their own. This is a matter of policy choice, based upon desired levels of service and the costs of providing that service.

For more on local service delivery see:

Municipal Service Delivery in Washington Cities and Towns, MRSC Report No. 26, July 1993 - Reviews the service delivery methods used by Washington cities to deliver 76 municipal services within eight major service categories.

View/Download this publication in Adobe Acrobat 7,263kb)

Level of Service Standards - Measures for Maintaining the Quality of Community Life, MRSC Report No. 31, September 1994 - Offers help with developing innovative approaches to level of service standards which will deliver quality services in tight budgetary times.

View/Download this publication in Adobe Acrobat 15,839kb)

Budgets and Capital Facilities Plans. These address the allocation of scarce financial resources to achieve the community's vision, accomplish goals and objectives, implement the comprehensive plan, and provide services. The budget is considered one of the strongest policy-making tools. It defines the spending and service priorities for numerous other policy decisions. There is rarely enough money to do all the things that a community desires. Thus, budgets and capital facilities plans must prioritize. What gets funded? In what order? What does not get funded? How much will be spent to provide desired services? Long-term financial plan projections (5 to 6 years ahead) often help reveal some of the costs or consequences of seemingly "inexpensive" short-term policy decisions. The allocation of resources to competing needs is an important exercise of setting local policy. Deciding what not to do is also an important part of policy-making.

Sample Budgets:

Bellevue - 2005 - 2006 Budget in Brief ( 1.8 MB)

Federal Way - 2006-2007 Budget in Brief

Whatcom County - 2005-2006 Final Budget

For more on budgeting, see MRSC's Budgets Web page.

Sample capital facilities plans:

City of Grand Coulee - Capital Improvement Plan 1994 - 1999

Lynnwood - 2000-2005 Capital Facilities Plan

Snohomish County - 2000 - 2005 Capital Improvement Plan (308kb)

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How to Recognize "Good Policy"

Since there is usually not a "right or wrong" policy, how are good policy decisions recognized? The following qualities may assist in defining "good public policy:"

There Is Public Support. Usually policy adopted by a majority vote of a legislative body is "good" policy. A supermajority vote makes "great" policy. The council does not make policy in a vacuum. Councils rely on ideas from many sources, including staff, citizen's groups, citizen surveys, advisory committees, chambers of commerce, and others. Strong council support for a policy is more likely if there is strong support in the community.

Policies Are Just. Good policy is fair and equitable; it does not impose disproportional impacts on interest groups. Policy decisions should be based upon due process that respects the constitutional rights of individuals. Policy-making is not always about what's popular. Sometimes it means protecting the legitimate interests of minority views too.

Sound Decisions Are Backed by Solid Analysis. Good policy analysis starts with clear goals and objectives, considers a range of alternatives, expresses evaluation criteria, and assesses the impacts of alternatives with respect to these criteria. Measure the consequences of policy decisions against the community's vision, values, and goals.

Polices Are Relevant. The decision addresses a problem or issue that is generally perceived as significant to the community.

Policy Can Be Implemented. The decisions are feasible for local government to implement. The adopted policy has a reasonable chance of working. There are clear assignments of responsibilities for implementation.

Results Are Monitored. There is always a risk that policy decisions have unintended consequences, or simply do not accomplish their goals. During the analysis phase it is useful to think about how a policy choice may fail. Good monitoring systems may provide early warning about policy failures or unintended consequences. This would enable policy-makers to alter the policy to increase effectiveness, or abandon it completely.

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Limits to Policy-Making

No one said that effective policy-making is easy. It is easier to second guess how something might have been done, than to determine what needs to be done. There are many challenges and hazards along the way. Public policy-making involves multiple interests, complex analysis, conflicting information, and human personalities. Listed below are some factors that make public policy a fascinating, sometimes frustrating, but absolutely essential exercise. These are listed to alert the reader about circumstances where extra care is necessary.

Legitimate community interests have multiple and often conflicting goals. This is the essence of the policy-making challenge. For example, the business community may be motivated primarily by a profit goal in presenting its position on the comprehensive plan. Other community interests may place a higher priority on a goal of preserving as much of the natural environment as possible. These goals may conflict.

With multiple interest groups and centers of power, there is a tendency to "take a step in the right direction" rather than commit to significant change. Some participants are frustrated because they believe that the policy-making process should produce more dramatic changes than it usually does. On the other hand, seemingly minor changes in the short-term can have enormous long-term impacts.

Failure to have the right information can impede decision-making. Elected officials are often faced with information overload. Too much information can create uncertainty and weaken decisiveness. When this occurs, all information becomes diluted in its persuasiveness. Decision-makers may then resort to less rationally defensive but more personally satisfying methods of decision-making. Concise, well-organized data and analyses can facilitate the decision-making process.

Some interest groups may use analysis to rationalize choices they have already made. Research can be politicized. Some people are skilled in using statistics to prove anything. Close inspection of their analysis, however, may reveal serious flaws.

Many forces that impact local communities are beyond local control. Local governments are subject to federal and state mandates. Income levels of individual jurisdictions depend upon job creation and retention throughout the region. Traffic congestion and air pollution transcend local community borders. Local decision-makers may have limited ability to influence an important community issue.

It is not always clear or obvious how to implement good policy, even when there is a high level of agreement about a desired direction.

Related Resources
MRSC Index – Vision statements
MRSC Index – Administrative planning and policy development, policy analysis, decision making, work programs