Los Angeles leader earns an “F” for integrity and ethical values

Integrity smarts

By definition, the effectiveness of internal controls cannot rise above the integrity and ethical values of the City managers who create, administer, and monitor them.

Integrity and ethical values of the city are communicated to city employees and citizens in the actions and practices of City leaders and high level city managers. Too many examples of questionable behavior in the news degrades confidence in city leadership. Citizens know the difference between squeaking by minimal legal standards and the high standards of integrity and ethical behavior expected from city leaders.

City employees see first hand countless examples of failed city leadership and disregard for integrity and ethical behavior and it lowers confidence, self esteem and performance. Citizens see it in the media and their confidence wanes, too.

City leadership of late can’t even muster setting a good example. Mayor Hahn’s efforts to verbally defend his actions and claims that his appointments have met city values and ethical behavioral standards to the citizens has become a sorry spectacle.

Mayor Hahn’s Boards and blue ribbon committees might act to remove incentives and temptations that prompt personnel to engage in fraudulent, questionable or unethical behavior. But the fact remains that high integrity individuals and ethical leadership would not have required the additional levels of blue ribbon bureaucratic review. If citizens knew ahead of time that their mayoral candidate would need to appoint committees to assure ethical behavior they would not have given Hahn their vote in the first place.

Start at the top. The reason Los Angeles city leaders warrant an “F” for commitment to integrity and ethical values is because Hahn has set the example and his organization has fallen in line. He has created an atmosphere full of temptations for City employees to engage in improper acts. He has the power to appoint and remove commissioners. The Mayor used his considerable influence over the Commissioners to select and use Fleishman-Hillard for his personal gain. Do you think the Mayor should have been cognizant of the questionable propriety of these dealings? Hahn’s acts and the city administration’s support of them demonstrate that the checks and balances are nonexistent or ineffective. It also demonstrates a top management that is unaware or unconcerned with integrity and who most likely are unaware of actions taken at lower organizational levels. Further, it demonstrates an ineffective Board unable to exercise independent judgment within DWP, the enabling organization. And lastly, swapping general managers and rotating assistants demonstrates that Hahn has given tacit approval and insignificant penalties for improper behavior.

Integrity means benchmarking services with the best rather than the worst. How does Los Angeles Police compare with, say, Chicago rather than New York. Chicago had a significant decrease in the number of homicides. What caused it?

Chicago Police Superintendent Philip Cline said the key was changing the way officers police the city. http://www.macon.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/10803418.htm

"We're trying to prevent crime rather than just reacting to it," said Cline, who was appointed to the top job in 2003. "We're combining street intelligence with technology and flooding the neighborhoods - and at the same time, we're attacking the biggest cause for our violence, which is gangs, guns and drugs."

With a fixed budget, Chicago police officials had to work with what they had to attack the problem. Cline ordered administrative officers to leave their desks one day each week and to hit the streets, particularly open-air drug markets. The department created a deployment operations center - known as the DOC - where officers analyze crime trends and monitor inter-gang rivalries. The DOC then deploys a targeted response unit - three platoons of about 80 officers each - to areas where violence might occur.

The costs for those changes have been negligible, said David Bayless, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.

Chicago accomplishments reflect good leadership and resource management not less workdays for more money.