Efficiency is the buzzword of the hour. With a new City Council and recently reelected mayor, the city of Philadelphia is already looking to revamp City Hall with various initiatives. The latest proposal is to hire an “efficiency expert” to evaluate the city’s overhead costs and revenue collection practices.

According to the city government, the goal is for the consultant to identify ways for City Hall to “save money and improve collections.” Mayor Michael Nutter’s administration will then choose to follow through on selected suggestions.

The idea is not a new one. Just as privately held companies regularly hire management consultants to improve internal operations and projects, regional governments sometimes bring in efficiency experts to analyze areas for cutbacks and corrections. In a city (and state) beleaguered by budgetary woes, an independent review of the city’s governance practices could have real impact if the consultant’s advice is taken.

(The work of independent auditors and commissions should not go to waste, as it often does, as argued earlier. At a local level, it is even easier for government officials to ignore such recommendations, due to lower levels of oversight and accountability.)

The proposal to hire an efficiency expert is a signal of a more self-aware City Hall. The Nutter administration seems to be responding to months of Occupy Philadelphia protests that have called for a more transparent and accountable city government. Now, it is important that the administration continues to listen to the citizens of Philadelphia and does not recede into its Center City chambers following such announcements.

One of the key issues to come out of the Occupy movement is the public’s desire for greater accountability and political efficacy, both at a national and at a local level. The people of Philadelphia now have to keep an eye on the government to see if these public demonstrations of self-improvement are translated into action. The addition of an efficiency expert to the city’s payrolls should serve a tangible function of reducing inefficiencies and not of increasing them. Undoubtedly, City Hall does not want to see more aggrieved citizens on its steps in 2012.

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