In the wake of the Bell story, the City of Montebello faced its own political storm as whispers of corruption spread by local media fueled resident’s heighted sense of concern. The concerns in Montebello were further stoked when it was reported that two bank accounts had been “discovered” that were “off the books” and evidence pointed to inappropriate payments to developers and other parties. “It’s another Bell,” could be heard among the murmur of the council chamber audiences.

Fast forward to the end of summer 2011 and things have changed dramatically. At the August 10, 2011 council meeting, a lengthy staff report combined with a near fifteen minute explanation by interim city manager Larry Kosmont of the Kosmont Companies (See Video), refuted all concerns of corruption and provided detailed evidence that mere clerical errors and process oversights created the “mystery bank account” situation. On a 4-0 vote (one council member was absent); the council authorized staff to close the two bank accounts in question and, in doing so, also closed the door on an unfortunate chapter in Montebello’s rich history.

There are important lessons to learn from this story. Running city governments – particularly in California where the rules are complex and the regional and state demands significant – require professional staff led by a professional manager with years of experience can make all the difference. Montebello experienced significant turnover in its city manager position over the last five years and the net result was that the management structure of the city suffered. Just as a private company would suffer if it changed out the CEO and senior managers once a year, so, too, did Montebello suffer.

Montebello is turning a corner and working through tough decisions but with an eye on the future. They have been greatly assisted by the years of management and experience that Larry Kosmont and David Biggs have brought to the City. City staffs’ work to research, document and answer questions about the bank accounts in questions demonstrates the positive role that effective and consistent city management can have in even the direst of situations.

There is also an economic cost to not having consistent city management in Montebello. As the City looks to achieve financing to weather a financial crunch brought about my fiscal management issues and a terrible economy, they have had to enter the market for a loan. With the management issues and reputation challenges the City faces – warranted or not – lenders are placing a premium on the loan it will make to the City, resulting in higher interest rates and larger interest payments. The general fund and taxpayers will suffer.

While the story of Bell is that an alleged corrupt city manager can do a lot of damage, the story of Montebello is that the mere lack of a consistent and effective city manager can lead to the appearance of corruption and damage to a city’s financial health. The take away for council members and residents: Find a good city manager and hang on to them.

Author Disclosure: My father-in-law spent 28 years as a city manager in California, several of my friends are city managers and I do consulting work for the California City Management Foundation.

The fear and strong words used by government to convince the people to avoid the area and help prevent a massive traffic jam appeared to have worked. It was a non-event. The 50+ mile traffic jams did not form. The LA Galaxy soccer match did not create the mega-mess that every camera was searching for. Instead, a quiet weekend ensued, people kept to their local areas or had sleep overs or simply left town to avoid the mayhem.

Some are expressing frustration that the government was too forceful with their scare tactics or overplayed the event for the sake of media coverage and political ends. Indeed, I heard one DJ calling for people to get in their cars and drive to the area to create some activity and rebel against government requests.

These people are wrong and lack vision.

Something important has quietly taken place the weekend the 405 shutdown, and if enough voices of reason and power recognize it, Carmageddon could be a turning point for mass society. Those in power take heed.

Carmageddon was prevented because local leaders asked citizens to take action. They clearly outlined the issues and risks and explained the benefits. Teams of communications experts effectively got the word to the people, and the people responded.

Better, yet, something got done.  A major project took a step forward. A large public works project managed to survive the onslaught of interest groups and naysayers to move forward. How appropriate that the bridge was named Mulholland.

And even better still, those who stayed home or avoided the 405 by routing through San Dimas or East LA contributed in a small way to make this project happen. When that Mulholland bridge is rebuilt and they drive by it on the reopened 405 or experience the new HOV lane, they can think to themselves, “I remember that day when I arrived three hours early at LAX just in case Carmegeddon happened.” They will have a personal investment in a big public works project.

Only in Southern California could it take an issue related to traffic to so unite a community. Yet, having seen the benefits of individual citizen choices uniting for a bigger goal, everyone should start imagining bigger. What if construction projects were more efficient when accomplished over a major weekend like this, rather than piecemeal nighttime work that spreads the pain and increases costs? Could we declare monthly third weekends as “infrastructure events” that enable our builders to accomplish great works in short periods of time?

Efficiency and productivity are the killer tools we need to revive the US economy. Big infrastructure projects can deliver both, and to accomplish those projects with even more efficiency by asking citizens to alter their schedules occasionally would only yield better results.

Carmageddon did not happen, but there is still a lot to learn from this weekend.

For a huge percentage of American’s (82% in 2008) it is the city or suburb that is the setting for their daily life. Interestingly, those living in cities also feel good about their city government. Indeed, survey after survey confirms that of all the layers of government, city government is the one Americans like and trust the most.

Local governments and those they govern benefit from proximity. Residents have more access to local elected officials and bureaucrats (that is not a pejorative term). Residents can see a council member at the local pizza joint or AYSO soccer game. Business owners can walk into city hall and talk to someone about a permit. There is no one hour hold on the phone or hour long flight to get to a state office to be held up at a massive reception desk. Meanwhile sales taxes and business fees turn into parks, streets, lights, police services, fire services, landscaping, libraries and more, all of which are experienced by nearly every resident of the city. The results of tax expenditures are evidenced throughout a city, and that makes taxpayers feel better about those taxes.

The opportunity to pay sales tax inside my city limits means I choose a particular gas station to use whenever I fill up my car. I always make a point to gas up in my city. Partly, this is an intellectual game I play, but it is also done out of a sense of obligation. Having used local police services previously, I appreciate my police department and want to pay for that service. As I go about my daily routine, if given a choice, I will choose to take an action that repays the city that employs the police officer.

Given this personal experience, it is clear why most people like their local government and do not place as much faith in their state or the federal government. For those who are at least aware of where their tax dollars flow, the feeling is you get more personal service and better return on your tax dollars with local government. Taxpayers can see the results of their taxes, talk to city workers if they are not happy with how the money is spent or show up on Tuesday night to talk to the Council if all else fails. It is a feeling of engagement and participation that no far-off capitol can replicate for the average resident and explains why voters continually show their support for local control.

I am also a Sprint customer. I have been for 13+ years. That makes me rare. Few could survive the horrible coverage and horrible customer service from the SprintPCS days, but I so badly wanted that Q phone from Qualcomm, I was prepared to accept the rough ride. Today, things are pretty darn good with Sprint, and I remain happy.

These two relationships are now culminating in Windows Phone 7 being released on Sprint at the end of this month (March 2011) in the form of the HTC Arrive. Sprint did a press event to discuss the release and Engadget was there to cover it. Indeed, Sprint has a bunch of information related to the release here. The device has a full keyboard (good), nice specs and is a great launch device for Sprint. I have played with its equivalent on TMobile on Thanksgiving weekend 2010 and found it to be a nice device with a good size screen and speedy response. These are all great signs. Certainly a huge step forward from my hated relationship with my Blackberry Tour. Sprint announced that they were taking pre-orders for the device with a $50 Spring gift card purchase. Today, 9 days after this announcement, I wandered into a Sprint Store to pre-order. I walked out without ordering here is why.

I spoke with a seemingly knowledgeable Sprint representative when I walked into the store. Indeed, two of them were initially answering my questions.

Do you have a phone on display, I asked. “No.”

Do you know what discount I could get when buying the phone. The representative looked me up and noted that I could buy it for a $75 discount. Great, I thought,

What is that price? “I don’t know.”

What? “We don’t have pricing information.”

Well the pricing on your website say 199.99? “The website and store information can differ.”

Will you be getting the phone on March 20th, I asked. “I don’t know that for certain. That is what we were told.”

Will it have tethering capability (I am pretty sure it won’t but at this point felt like asking just to be annoying and make a point)? “I don’t know.”

Oh. My. Goodness. This is not a great start.

My two existing relationships are failing me, or at least I feel they are failing me. I had already waited three months longer than I thought I had to for this phone, all the while suffering through rebooting and lockup on my Blackberry. Now, as the opportunity is within reach, the Sprint Store has no answers? (Note: This was an official Sprint Store, not some third-party franchise store.)

I moved over to the Android display and started playing with the numerous devices they had on display. The Epic was awfully nice. 720p video recording. snappy UI and gallery displays, slide out keyboard… so tempting. So attractive. So readily available.

For the sake of good marketing and a successful partnership (and for my MSFT shares), please get this partnership figured out and get the troops lined up to explain the new Windows Phone 7. Microsoft is running against the river in the mobile space, and you need people on the ground explaining and advocating for your device. What you don’t need is potential influencers and early adopters like me getting dismayed.