By Kelly Girtz

• There is a sense that the Obama administration is doing some things right. They are eliminating cross-department barriers and encouraging communication (i.e. HUD and DOE) to eliminate “silo-ing” (a trend that has been on tongues in industry and government for roughly 10 years, to varying degrees of success). The administration also seems to have its ears to mayors and other city leaders in an effort to make departments functional as they interact with those under their purview across the country. In addition, they are hiring uber-smart people like Xavier de Souza Briggs (from the Office of Management and Budget – who basically run the federal government), who “get” the connections between poverty, federal expenditures, transportation planning, environment, etc.
• Some limitations of the administration were widely voiced. The stimulus package was probably not large enough to create sufficient downward pressure on joblessness. Funding and lending mechanisms to cities have so-far not been flexible enough to allow for more expansive transportation/stormwater management/pension payment options for cash strapped cities. There have been too many programs that have provided funds to states when more should have gone directly to localities (this is especially true with DOT money, which has resulted in some rural and suburban roads-to-nowhere when it could have been well spent on better and more widely useful urban projects. There is still some unclaimed/unspent money that might be grabbed by savvy towns if they continue to pursue funds.
• There are some towns that have done a great job with energy creation and environmental activism that put Athens-Clarke County to shame. Portland and Annapolis, Mary., were particularly notable in this regard. 
• The use of funds to finance both public and private infrastructure projects that will reduce future operating expenses was repeated throughout the weekend – a trend that has become more urgent during the economic downturn. Examples include energy generation by cities, residential, business, and governmental energy audits and weatherization, transit projects, and better waste reduction efforts. 
• A related theme is that a dollar-saved is a dollar-earned. This is especially true when the dollar could have left the community and gone to buy fuel or energy or goods from an out of town supplier. Portland and Berkeley have made efforts in this area. Portland has tried to encourage businesses startups in sectors that are underdeveloped locally, and Berkeley has led the movement toward more energy efficient businesses and homes.      

Also related to keeping dollars at home: if U.S. cities and states want a real piece of the green energy market, we can’t just emphasize creation of power production facilities, the smart grid or more efficient vehicles. We really need some locally manufactured parts, or we will be relying on China for every component of our wind turbines, solar technology and electric trains.

Kelly Girtz is the District Nine Commissioner for Athens-Clarke County. He recently attended the Mayor's Innovation Conference in Washington, D.C., with Athens-Clarke County Mayor Heidi Davison and District Four Commissioner Alice Kinman. He shared some general observations from the conference.