Good and Frugal Government
• We need a customer service attitude at city hall. It is bad public policy and sloppy operations implementation if citizens stand in lines for extended periods of time to access city services. The city’s website can provide complete and accurate information about accessing city services. City policies will be examined and where needed (and possible) adjusted to allow for doing business via the city’s website and/or by email or telephone.
• Rethinking subsidies. Oklahoma City hands out a lot of money, and I am not sure that all of its subsidies are going for prudent causes. We need to examine each and every subsidy in the City’s budget and determine if it is to be continued or handled in another way.
• Efficiency opportunities. The City has a lot of different functions, and it is important to review them and make sure the City’s goals and needs are being met by the City’s operations.
• Privatizing opportunities. (Airport, golf courses)
• The City needs to reconsider its participation in agencies like the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. I am not persuaded that these para-government organizations are competent and serve the best interests of Oklahoma City.
• I oppose the present configuration of the I-40 Crosstown Freeway. The present plan is a terrible waste of taxpayer money that is being demanded by special interests (highway construction and trucking companies), not the common good. A more cost effective solution would be to route truck traffic around the present Crosstown Freeway onto to Interstate 240, Interstate 44, and the Kirkpatrick Turnpike. Without the constant hammering from interstate truck traffic, the existing Crosstown Freeway could be repaired for a fraction of the cost of new construction. A second issue is that the present configuration of the I-40 Crosstown Freeway would cut the rail links of Union Station. I consider this rail yard to be a vital heritage transportation asset that could be the cornerstone of a cost-effective commuter rail system that uses existing infrastructure (Union Station, railroad lines) instead of requiring expensive new construction. If the present plan goes through, this will not be possible. This is a foolish waste of transportation assets that are of grave importance to central Oklahoma. Oklahoma City should immediately file a lawsuit to stop this project.
• Moratorium on travel and convention spending. One place to save money in the city budget is to place a moratorium on all spending for travel and convention/meeting expenses for city employees, except in the case of law enforcement officials who need to travel for law enforcement purposes (such as transporting prisoners). If city employees need to refresh skills, there are less expensive, more local ways than funding trips to conventions at expensive hotels.
• Control of code enforcement can be returned to neighborhoods. The City’s previous practice of coming into play in response to citizen and neighborhood complaints is a better method than dictating neighborhood needs from City Hall. Citizens who are not in compliance with the codes should receive a final warning before court action in the form of a summons served by a constable to the hearing on any court order relating to their properties.
• The City needs to respect the integrity of neighborhoods, but this doesn’t always happen. Oklahoma City permitted Walgreens to build an ugly store at the corner of Classen and NW 23rd that is completely out of character for the area. The sad thing about this particular problem is that by simply requiring that the store be situated close to the sidewalk, with the parking in back, it would have fit in with the traditional look of the area.. But to Oklahoma City government, the demands of this big corporation were more important than the integrity of the neighborhood. That speaks poorly of the attitudes at city hall.
• Use the city’s website intelligently to provide accurate information about city services to residents and to facilitate purchasing permits thus avoiding the need to drive downtown. This can also decrease the long lines which are too often typical of Oklahoma City services. (It is possible to stand in line for as long as 45 minutes to get a city permit.) The city’s website at present does not provide all the information that a resident needs to do business with the city and many required permits cannot be purchased through the website. .
• Review city building and electrical codes to ensure that the requirements relate to safety, security, and/or energy conservation, and are not there merely to increase the cost of construction to city residents. Code requirements must not be a hidden form of corporate welfare.
