When Baltimore shire Executive C. A...

When Baltimore shire Executive C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger took office in January 1995 replacing the incumbent, he knew there was dissension in the ranks. shire employees had not received pay raises in four of the previous five years, breeding bitterness and a "Why should I?" attitude toward performance improvement. Moreover, layoffs in several departments had further damaged morale, while demand for services had increased.

Additionally, while the county's public safety and education departments had seen their head regards increase by a modest 12 to 14 percent across the previous 10 years, there had been a marked 21 percent decline in personnel allocated to health and human services, recreation and community services, public works and administration. Meanwhile, the county's population during the same 10 years had increased at more than 40,000 residents.

Ruppersberger's solution - and the platform on which he campaigned and won - could be summ