Community Newspapers has extended an invitation to Miami-Dade County Manager Merrett R. Stierheim to write a series of articles regarding county government. This is the first article by the county manager.

I want to thank Community Newspapers for granting me the opportunity to provide our citizens with periodic articles on our efforts to make county government more responsive and accountable. After more than forty years in public management, I firmly believe that the most effective and efficient governments are those where citizens are informed about their government. The problem we face in today's highly competitive post-Watergate media environment is that the latest controversy or scandal in many cases dominates the news and overshadows stories about effective government programs.

A recent grand jury report echoed those same sentiments when it strongly recommended to the county manager to increase the level of community awareness about county government and its employees. Grand Jury members wrote in their report that they "were amazed at the sheer number of initiatives that are currently underway to improve our county government and that we were unaware of until our grand jury service." The report also recommended that the local media donate either space or time for government to present information. That is why I commend Community Newspapers for taking this step.

RESTORING STRONG
PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT
This is my second time serving our community as county manager. In addition to the support I received from Mayor Alex Penelas and the Board of County Commissioners, my decision to return to county government was strongly influenced by the message I heard from hundreds of employees and private citizens who wanted strong, professional management. Since returning to county hall, this has been my consistent objective. I have told all employees that the restoration of public confidence requires teamwork with everyone shouldering responsibility, individually and collectively.

Since returning, I have appointed highly qualified senior managers frequently by competitive recruitment to raise the caliber of your government management. I have encouraged department directors to innovate, to energize, lead by example and to communicate effectively with their employees at all levels. I told them that if we were to have a high quality government, we must all work to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of our services. That meant, as professionals, we are not here to manage the status quo because, at the end of the day, we will be judged by what we would accomplish together on behalf of the residents of our county.

THE CLIMATE FOR
"BUSINESS AS USUAL" IS OVER
The climate for "business as usual" is over at the county. Since arriving at the county, the Mayor, the County Commissioners and I have strengthened the investigative capabilities to detect wrongdoing and mismanagement. We are adding 15 additional internal auditors to enhance fiscal accountability and better detect fraudulent or criminal conduct. We have instituted stricter checks and balances in all departments and have strengthened internal accountability and control. I directed our police department to leave no stone unturned anywhere in county government, where illegal or fraudulent activity was reported or suspected. Two years ago, the Miami-Dade Police Public Corruption Unit consisted of four part-time officers. Today, that unit is a bureau with 32 full time detectives and eight auditors or technical staff. In addition, we also have an independent Inspector General with strong staff support who also investigates any county office or transaction he deems appropriate. We have also debarred several companies doing business with the County for fraudulent or poor performance. There are more debarments in progress.

Parallel with law enforcement initiatives and the strengthening of internal controls, I also asked senior managers to lead a process to insure that employees have a voice and contribute to organizational reform, accountability and promoting better service to our citizens. Employees who violate the public trust are being removed and all 28,000 County employees completed half-day ethics training initiated by Mayor Penelas and supported by the Board of County Commissioners. We have terminated a number of wasteful contracts. Our seaport is, once again, operating in the black and turning a profit. The deficit of our transit system has been reduced from $25 million to $5 million in the last two years and we expect to erase that deficit by the end of this year. Our financial position is strong and, as an example, the rating of our solid waste system bonds was recently upgraded. We have created a new Department of Procurement to replace out-dated, cumbersome procurement regulations, which hinder effective service delivery to our citizens. And, we are reforming the County's permitting process.

RESTORING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE
County government today is not the same as that of two years ago. We have made significant progress in weeding out corruption, restoring accountability and improving ethical conduct and morale among employees. Two years ago, I asked department directors to get the skeletons out of the closet and they did. It's not pleasant to air dirty linen in public, but it is a necessary and healthy process in order to restore public confidence. There are still more investigations and the inevitable media stories about "yet another scandal at county hall." I ask you to view those as a positive and not a negative. While they are disturbing, they occurred in the past and are part of our ongoing effort to improve your government. The good news is that we are exposing what is wrong, removing wrong doers and establishing proper controls so it won't happen again. Today, your county government is definitely headed in the right direction. I will be telling you more about our programs and initiatives in future articles.

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to MDNews@co.miami-dade.fl.us or you can write to the county manager C/O Miami-Dade County News, Miami-Dade Communications Department, Suite 2510, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First Street, Miami, Florida, 33128-1900.