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Does Government Need Public Relations?
By Daniel Muniz

Do governmental agencies really need a public relations firm to improve their overall image to the public?

Nearly all local, state, and federal agencies utilize the services of such firms from time to time to promote a new law, service, or something important for the common good which makes good business sense since the public needs to be informed especially when tax dollars are being used to facilitate them.

But many taxpayers draw the line when it comes to a governmental entity attempting to enhance its own image and reputation. Such an adverse reaction is understandable because if an agency was already doing the job that it is paid to do, then it really doesn’t need any slick advertiser telling us how good they are. After all, we would already know of its accomplishments because of the high regard from community leaders, the good press, and the overall positive impact it has had on the public.

A perfect example is in my hometown. Throughout the years, the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) has taken quite a beating from the community and from the press and deservedly so because of their dismal performance. This agency has vividly demonstrated to the city its incompetence at handling its affairs. Their management is inept and the priorities of this organization are out of touch with the true needs of the city. Furthermore, this agency also wastes an enormous sum of the public’s money and it doesn’t have much to show for it.

In one such glaring incident, SAHA constructed low income housing in which an entire neighborhood consisted of houses that did not have a back door or any windows that looked out into the back yard. Parents were appalled to discover that there was absolutely no way to keep an eye on their children playing in the back yard. The floor plans represented nothing more than sheer stupidity in their design yet they were accepted and signed off by managers and they were subsequently constructed according to their blueprints.

SAHA then presented a plan to add a door and a window to each house although the cost of the modifications would be outrageously expensive. In addition, that same neighborhood had shoddy workmanship in which many houses were always in need of costly repairs.

However, SAHA’s endless string of boondoggles recently led up to its masterpiece that culminated in the need to hire a public relations firm. The housing authority sought to purchase two upscale plush apartment complexes in an exclusive part of town. For one complex, the agency would change nothing by keeping about 500 units at its current pricey market rates while subsidizing a mere 60 units for low income families. The authority would even reimburse the school district for these 60 families.

So in other words, this agency would be plowing tens of millions of dollars into purchasing two expensive apartment complexes which would only provide housing for a miniscule number of needy families. Of course a number of community activists were elated about the idea because it was a way to stick some poor people inside an upscale part of town regardless of the fact that this initiative was not a cheap thrill. This plan would divert sorely needed taxpayer money away from vital housing projects instead of focusing on actually helping a lot of people in need.

As a result, SAHA needed to hire an advertising agency to spruce up its image.

Unfortunately, that is the same mentality exhibited by so many governmental entities across country. It is irrelevant how badly they mismanage taxpayer money or how they bungle up their projects, all they want to do is look good to the public and perhaps even dupe the community into thinking that things are not really as bad as they appear. The means to that end is a savvy but expensive marketer who can produce a warm and fuzzy advertising campaign to convince the community to overlook their incompetence.

But bureaucracies are so out of touch with reality.

The best way to improve one’s image to the public is to do an outstanding job.

That solution is plain and simple although it also means getting your head’s out of your duffle bags by exercising sound leadership, good judgment, and responsible stewardship of financial resources. The end result is nothing more than effectiveness and efficiency in accomplishing the mission of the organization that ultimately furthers the common good. That alone will win a governmental entity the kudos it deserves in recognition and praise from the community.

However, doing a sloppy job will earn an agency nothing more than the ire and ridicule from the taxpayers and deservedly so because after all, they are paying for it. People are simply unwilling to accept poor performance, mismanagement, and stupidity as the norm so all the marketing in the world is not going to dispel that perception.

It is time for these bureaucrats to forgo their impulse to hire a public relation firm and instead, solely focus on doing the best job possible for their organization that meets the public’s expectations. And it doesn’t cost a dime to do your job well but it will cost a governmental agency their reputation if they consistently screw up their projects. Because when that happens, no amount of slick advertising that can ever cover up incompetence. 

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