The corruption scandal that engulfed Bell's municipal government in July 2010 illustrates the worst in human nature. The city rebuilt to become today's best in the local government management profession.

San Pablo Avenue, the main commercial corridor in El Cerrito, was an unattractive, auto-dominated roadway that was dangerous for pedestrians. Through some creative partnerships between the city the State of California, the non-profit community, and several funding agencies, El Cerrito was able to revitalize its section of the street.

In 2009, the city of Beverly Hills embarked on a strategic effort to strengthen its economic base by developing a five-year Economic Sustainability Plan.

Anticipating a severe water shortage in late summer 2009, the city of Sonoma urged residents to cut their water use by 30 percent. The city's plan replaced more than 91,800 square feet of grass during 2009 and 2010, saving the city nearly 58,000 gallons of water.

An outstanding example of this kind of commitment became a reality recently in Fort Smith, Arkansas (pop. 87,500), the second-largest city in the state, where residents celebrated the completion of a six-year plan to bring a municipal-owned aquatics center/waterpark to the city.

The city of Little Rock, AR, was inundated with complaints from residents about nuisance problems. In 2004, under the leadership of City Manager Bruce Moore, the city responded to this problem with the Criminal Abatement Program. The program significantly improved the quality of life for many residents in Little Rock. In the first three years of the program by...

In Fort Smith, Arkansas, plant closings and an increasing number of layoffs caused the Fort Smith Board of Directors decided to adopt minimum property maintenance codes. The community rally around, helping to improve properties and make Fort Smith have healthy and safe neighborhoods.

The vision of innovative elected officials and a can-do city manager have made Mesa a college town like none other in the U.S.

Imagine a city that, since its founding, has had no major street lighting through its main corridor and has had to confront the fact that pedestrian fatalities have occurred because of it.