Federal program to aid cities working in Fresno

By George Hostetter and Alex Tavlian - The Fresno Bee

Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011 | 11:10 PM Sending federal experts to help city halls across America deal with the federal government may sound odd -- like fighting bureaucracy with more bureaucracy. But if Fresno is any indication, the plan is working pretty much as advertised. Strong Cities, Strong Communities was rolled out by the Obama administration on July 11 with a simple idea: Help cities get the most out of federal services. In other words, put boots on the ground and help cities revive their economies. Fresno was selected along with Detroit, Cleveland, Memphis, New Orleans and Chester, Pa., for the one-year pilot project. If these cities -- each fighting their own financial and social ills -- show progress, the Obama administration could expand the program elsewhere. Fresno so far has just one pair of those boots here -- a staffer from Housing and Urban Development who has been in Fresno since mid-October. But others are helping from afar, and Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin is sold on the concept. "The federal government, best-case scenario, is impossible to communicate with," she said. "Worst-case scenario, there are all kinds of hurdles and it feels like they're working against you at the local level.

"Now we've got a team trying to help us deal with the bureaucracy. It feels like there's someone on our side." Derek Douglas, the White House's Director of Urban Affairs and a special assistant to Obama, said the feedback on Strong Cities is positive. "The early returns is it has been very well received by the cities," he said. "And it's a game-changer for agencies in the federal government who are finding new ways of doing business." Swearengin said Fresno's team of experts -- one at City Hall, one more on the way, the others stationed in offices elsewhere in the city and the nation -- is making a difference. Among the team's goals: Make it easier to get federal money to fix up houses in disadvantaged areas. Plan the kind of sewer system Fresno will need to grow its food-processing industry. Help get grant applications noticed. The Strong Cities program is an admission of sorts by Washington that big government is here to stay, no matter who sits in the White House or controls Congress. Shaun Donovan, U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, said as much during the July 11 roll-out of Strong Cities: "Too often, the federal government has been part of the problem, rather than part of the solution." The White House's Douglas said Strong Cities focuses on better coordination of federal resources and local aims. "It seems like common sense," Douglas said. "But this was a new thing for a lot of [federal] agencies."

Tom Holyoke, political science professor at California State University, Fresno, chuckled at what he sees as an ironic aspect of the Strong Cities program. "By making bureaucracy more manageable, you create more bureaucracy," he said. But this is almost inevitable, Holyoke said. "A bureaucracy, by nature, is inefficient," he said. "The larger an organization gets, the harder it is for the different pieces to interact." Jared Blumenfeld, who oversees Fresno's team, said Strong Cities is supposed to make federal officials more efficient. The idea is to get them out of their offices, discover in person the unique challenges of local governments, then get all sides working together, he said. Blumenfeld, who is the Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator based in San Francisco, said Strong Cities isn't about sweet talk. "Our goal is to make sure we have something to show," he said. Show what? And at what cost to the public? Those are key unanswered questions about Strong Cities, said Ali Ahmad, communications adviser for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The committee is chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa, RVista, a high-profile critic of many Obama administration policies. Ahmad said the committee has several concerns: Is Strong Cities transparent to public review? Who's in charge? In the struggle for scarce resources, do cities with teams get an unfair advantage over other cities? Most important of all, Ahmad said, Strong Cities "may, indeed, be a waste of taxpayer money." So far, optimism

With less than six months under its belt, the program obviously is a work in progress. But a shape and a routine are developing. Team members traveled to the six pilot cities in September. They met with mayors and other city officials to determine priorities. Each team is made up of about 20 experts representing 12 to 13 federal agencies. In Fresno, those agencies include the Department of Labor, Minority Business Development Agency, Economic Development Agency and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Only a handful of these experts are stationed in each city hall. Some Strong Cities teams are more developed than others. New Orleans, for example, has five team members in its city hall. In three months, they have partnered with the city to start two initiatives. The first -- Strategic Command to Reduce Murders -- was modeled on the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission. The Strategic Command "tracks murder trends, predicts crimes and dedicates resources to areas needing it," said New Orleans Director of Strategic Partnerships Brooke Smith. The second initiative focuses on the homeless. "The VA [hospital] is offering up some of its facilities to be used as a complete service and resource center for the homeless," Smith said. New Orleans officials said organization is a key to their early successes. More than two dozen Strong Cities experts are assigned to specific groups. Each deals with a policy area, such as criminal justice or work force development. Fresno's lone full-time, in-house expert is project manager Sarah Nusser from Housing and Urban Development. She occupies an office near Swearengin's.

However, Nusser said, another expert will soon be sent to City Hall and several other experts are located in offices elsewhere in Fresno. About two-thirds of Fresno's team is in Northern California, she said. Anyone who has been around City Hall recently knows that the rebirth of downtown's Fulton Corridor is a high priority for Swearengin. She didn't waste time enlisting the Strong Cities team in pushing her agenda. Team members are helping find money and with planning. Other priorities for Swearengin include economic development, land-use planning, adult education and rejuvenation of older neighborhoods. For example, Swearengin hopes Strong Cities can add to the work her administration already has done in the Lowell neighborhood north of downtown. Barbara Fiske of the Lowell Neighborhood Association, a grass-roots group working to improve the area, said she and federal officials plan to meet soon. "I'm optimistic" about Strong Cities, Fiske said. Nusser sounds optimistic, too. "We can make a change," she said.