He knows full-well the rules of the road, but doesn’t want to hear them from you and takes every opportunity to bend them just because he can. At least that’s how it feels. And despite the fact that the drivers hold so many of our lives in the palm of their hands, all we ever really do is grab a hold of the “oh-crap” handle and brace ourselves for what may come. Such is life for so many of our public servants at the hands of a pseudo-prestigious few.
But, this is not a piece about looking in from the outside. Rather it’s about sitting in the driver’s seat, not just for the runaway Mac trucks mind you, but also for the little sedans driving along the same roads in the same traffic jams as everyone else — microcosms, if you will, of the bigger picture. Let’s call this a piece about the little cars that woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Metaphor-speak aside, this is to share a few real-life lessons (some of which were learned the hard-way) from a little known not-for-profit agency, the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems Inc., the state-designated agency for protection and advocacy services to individuals with disabilities. In support of its mission to protect the civil, legal, and human interests of individuals with disabilities, NMPASI successfully administers the influx of a sizable, yearly chunk of federal funds amidst the pile-up of annual funding in various other federal and local taxpayer programs for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Given the opportunity to sit at the helm of any type of taxpayer program, one would, could and should do well to be mindful of and commit to some standard rules of the road as follows (this is not an exhaustive list):
(1) Secret for Success. The simplest, most important, secret for success in managing and/or administering tax-payer funds is that there can’t be any secrets — an open, transparent government actually means open and transparent;
(2) Shh…show me the money. If you’re looking to do something with the money, but can only whisper it to a certain few or you’re afraid to talk about it openly with everyone and anyone, you probably shouldn’t do it. Avoid aligning your intent with lining your pockets;
(3) Position of Authority. Holding the wheel is not synonymous with owning it — get over yourself! You are no more important than the least important person on your crew and you are far more beholden to your stakeholders than they are to you;
(4) Purpose. When you receive money for one purpose don’t spend it on another. More particularly, don’t receive taxpayer money and dole it out to people like it’s something from the kindness of your heart…it’s not your money. If people wanted you to give out their money free-willy-nilly like then they’d pay taxes to fund charities. The money you receive is for a job that the people need done, not to campaign for “thy will be done”; and
(5) Self-Service. The main, often lost, point of public service is that it’s one of service to others, not a service for one’s self. We achieve that by putting our self-interests aside and keeping our sights focused on the interests of and benefits to others whether that be the people who work for you or the constituency of people for whom you work.
The thing of it is, each of us can operate our respective programs however we chose, but like any driver, all of our actions have a direct impact on everyone else’s use of the road. And like the blood running through our veins, we need to keep our island’s traffic flowing — slow down, buckle up and yield to the right of way.
For more tips on how to successfully manage taxpayer/grant funds or on the programs being administered by NMPASI, please feel free to call the office at (670) 235-7273/4 [voice] / 235-7275 [fax] / 235-7278 [tty] or contact us on-line via ww.nmpasi.com.
JIM RAYPHAND
Executive Director
NMPASI
