Is The City a Business?
Public vs. Business Administration
Almost anywhere you look with the election just days away, you hear so much about politics at the national, state or even local level of government. I am not going to ask you to read an article reflecting on the election or what this election in 2024 is about, but I am going to ask you to read an article about history. What I really want to talk about is a President. No, not our current President or the next President even, but I want to talk about a President from nearly 100 years ago. That President was the 28th President Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson was a wartime President during the first Great War, World War I. But before Wilson became a Governor, then President, he was a scholar and most notably the President of Princeton University as he was promoted to the position after being an academic professor. During Wilson’s presidency he firmly believed that government should be operated like a “business.” He was famous for discussing his theory on what he coined the Science of Administration. Wilson once wrote, “The field of administration is the field of business.”
Later, many scholars would argue his theories citing some glaring differences in public vs business administration. One of these arguments is that in the business sector, performance is based on profit, whereas in the public sector, performance is based on the achievement of outcomes. The City of Eureka is simply trying to maintain services for the public body and not waste tax dollars. As a matter of fact, in many facets of the city, the City of Eureka is not making a profit or very little profit in many of its service areas. Second, efficiency is value number one in the private sector. In the public sector it is one of many values the government must confront.
Competing opinions and values are what drives public government. Third, compromise is fundamental in the success of local government. Meaning there is not one person who “owns” a public government as opposed to privately owned business. Compromise is an integral part for all those elected, appointed, or even volunteer in the public sector. So with all of that said, to answer the question of the heading of this article, yes and no; principles of business can be instituted in the operation of public government but one cannot operate a government solely like a business. This is because some programs and services wouldn’t be able to exist if you were using principles of just business. Some of the services and programs of this city survive only because other areas exist to help supplement their expenditures. If one or two of those other areas offset the cost of some other programs, those programs and services may eventually cease to exist solely due to the lack of funding. And, that leads me back to elections to wrap up this article. Our country has allowed us the right to vote in our elections and the right to share our opinions. So again, I invite you on Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. to join me at the library to learn about what the City of Eureka is trying to provide to its citizens, discussing our plans to help save and fix the city streets, roads, sidewalks, and bridges in an informational meeting, renewing the city’s sales tax. Please share with me your opinion and your “VOICE” to be heard on your Vision On Improving the City of Eureka.
