Angst-filled cities look for budget cuts, new ways to do things | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ

This is a good article on how a municipality and its residents are evaluating the services offered.

"If you're trying to balance a budget in a rural Minnesota city, chances are you have run through all the options. Lay off personnel, check. Increase fees, check. Raise property taxes, check and perhaps re-think.

"Where that leaves you is at the threshold of redefining how your community governs itself and redesigning how you deliver services. The issue is being driven this fall by turmoil surrounding financial aid from the state, but structural economic and political forces are also making officials and residents alike do a lot of re-examination."

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/09/14/ground-level-cities-in-crisis-budget-cuts/

New Urban Mechanics

"What is New Urban Mechanics?
http://www.newurbanmechanics.org/about/

"New Urban Mechanics is an approach to civic innovation focused on delivering transformative City services to Boston's residents.

"While the language may sound new, the principles of New Urban Mechanics - collaborating with constituents, focusing on the basics of government, and pushing for bolder ideas - are not.

"In fact, our Mayor, Thomas M. Menino, who is known as the Urban Mechanic, has been preaching this mantra for years. Through the pairing of big ideas and the knowledge of constituents' specific interests, Menino has become Boston's longest serving mayor and this city has become one of the most envied in the country.

"To speed the rate of municipal innovation and to increase its scope, the Mayor, in 2010, created the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics. This office serves as the City's own research and development lab, partnering with outside institutions and entrepreneurs to pilot projects in Boston that address resident and business needs.

"From increasing civic participation, to improving City streets, to boosting educational outcomes, the office focuses on a broad range of areas. The specific projects are diverse as well – from better designed signs and trash cans to high tech apps for smart phones and super-sensitive sensors for vehicles.

"Across all these projects, the office strives to engage constituents and institutions in developing and piloting projects that will re-shape City government and improve the services we provide.

"If you have an idea on how to make Boston better or want to know more about what we are doing, we would love to hear from you."