Public Safety Insights Newsletter: April 9, 2014

How to Make a Persuasive Case to Politicians
Public Safety Insight:	You can persuade politicians of the merits of your request by transferring ownership of the issue to stakeholders and putting the need in the appropriate context.

In April 2013, City leaders in Lake Havasu City (AZ) agreed to replace half of their fire department’s apparatus at once, and the other half in seven years. Five new rigs will be delivered this month. How did Fire Chief Dennis Mueller persuade City leaders to support this request? By transferring ownership of the issue to the stakeholders, and by framing the need in the context of risk and cost effectiveness.

It was clear to Chief Mueller that his fleet needed to be replaced: in 2013, half of the apparatus were well over their recommended 15-year life. Yet he knew that an expense of this magnitude would be a hard sell, given the backlog of unmet needs across city departments as a result of the recession. So he came up with a plan that had two components:

1. Transferring ownership of the proposed project to the stakeholders

• In November 2012 Chief Mueller started working from the ground up. He talked to the city mechanics about the need for replacement apparatus. He then spoke to the mechanic supervisor, then the lead mechanic, then the city’s shop manager. Together with the shop manager, he went to talk with the city finance director, who took the issue to the deputy city manager. Those three individuals (shop manager, finance director, and deputy city manager) presented the Fire Chief’s proposed program to the city manager, with the Fire Chief there to answer questions as needed. In April 2013, the city manager took the request to the mayor and city council.

• During the presentation, Chief Mueller spoke of “your” fleet to emphasize that the request was being made on behalf of all the City’s stakeholders. He also had a credible source speak to the need by having the City’s maintenance manager address the cost effectiveness issue.

2. Framing the need for the new apparatus in the context of risk and cost effectiveness

• To demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the request, Chief Mueller used a series of easily understandable charts to illustrate clearly two sets of facts:

1. According to national standards, the age of half the current fleet was well beyond the point at which the apparatus should have been replaced.

2. The positive correlation between the age of the apparatus and average labor and maintenance costs.

• Chief Mueller addressed the relevant risk factors by giving examples of how some apparatus had failed during training and while on emergency calls. Although so far no one has been injured, those failures put fire department personnel and citizens in jeopardy. In addition, delays caused by unreliable apparatus could cause harm or even death to those expecting an expedient and safe response. In short, he made it clear that a decision against replacing old, failing, and unreliable apparatus realistically would put the City at risk of possible legal actions.

Other factors that contributed to a successful outcome included providing multiple options, speaking the language of each audience (e.g., service needs to the maintenance staff, cost effectiveness to the finance director, risk to city leaders), educating stakeholders about what the fire department does, and not becoming defensive.

To read about a decision-making tool that can help you make your case for resources or other needs in an objective and compelling way, especially when there are many legitimate and competing needs, take a look at our article How to Prioritize Competing Needs.

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To find other articles and resources that may be of value to you, I invite you to visit my web site at www.PublicSafetyInsights.net.

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©2014 Pat Lynch | Public Safety Insights