Abstract:
The belief of Louisville, Kentucky, Mayor Jerry Abramson in improved service to citizen "customers" leads to the 1989 establishment of a centralized complaint/information system, a single phone number to which complaints or inquiries about any of the city's 25 departments can be made. But despite apparent success and a high public profile, managers of the "CityCALL" system become frustrated with what they view as inefficiencies in their relationships with other city agencies. Some are linked to CityCALL by computer; others show little apparent inclination to cooperate. The case calls for consideration of how CityCALL could be improved through the vehicle of Louisville's "CityWork" system, in which public employees, in a retreat-style setting, are called upon to offer specific suggestions for change. The case explores the evolution of an innovative program's unexpected side effects and the sorts of resistance it encounters. It highlights, as well, Mayor Abramson's contention that a system of cooperative program evaluation such as CityWork can lead to efficiencies which rival public/private competitive bidding and other "privatization" style strategies.
