{"id":8345,"date":"2017-08-15T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=8345"},"modified":"2017-08-14T22:46:25","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T02:46:25","slug":"mocos-essential-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/?p=8345","title":{"rendered":"MoCo\u2019s Essential Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Adam Pagnucco.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever wonder why some politicians stay in office waaaaaay too long?\u00a0 One reason is that some of them believe they are truly essential and that government would collapse without them.\u00a0 We will give them this: some politicians really do leave a lasting mark, and even sometimes for the better!\u00a0 But the true operations of government depend on legions of competent, honest and experienced public servants who are almost totally unknown to the public.\u00a0 These are the essential men and women who keep the trains of government running on time.\u00a0 And in Montgomery County, the most essential man of all is unquestionably Steve Farber.<\/p>\n

Farber has one of the most mundane titles of all time: council administrator.\u00a0 At first glance, such a title connotes unglamorous tasks like emptying garbage pails, cleaning windows, wiping the dais and changing toilet paper rolls.\u00a0 But in fact, the position is crucial to the proper functioning of the County Council and Farber excels at it.\u00a0 Unfortunately for all of us, he is retiring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Part of Farber\u2019s job is to be the leader of the council\u2019s Fifth Floor staff.\u00a0 These employees are not part of the personal staff retained by Council Members in their offices but are rather central, merit system analysts who advise the institution as a whole.\u00a0 They are subject matter experts, each overseeing the operations of a few departments and\/or agencies on behalf of the council.\u00a0 When legislation is introduced, briefings are held or budget items are considered, the Fifth Floor analyst who covers the relevant subject areas gathers pertinent information and writes it up for the council to consider.\u00a0 Occasionally, the analyst will make recommendations with the understanding that Council Members have the final word.\u00a0 At its best, the Fifth Floor acts as a check and balance on the views of the departments and agencies overseen by the council.\u00a0 It is hugely important for Council Members to have their own independent sources of expertise; otherwise, they might tend to see primarily what the Executive Branch and the agencies want them to see.\u00a0 The Fifth Floor predated Farber\u2019s arrival, but he expanded their ranks, protects their independence and champions their contributions.<\/p>\n

But Farber is so much more than the merit staff\u2019s leader.\u00a0 He is the ultimate consigliere, the quiet adviser in the shadows who knows all and says little \u2013 at least in public.\u00a0 His immense and largely secret power derives from three sources.<\/p>\n

Institutional Knowledge<\/u><\/p>\n

Farber has been at the council since 1991 and has an incredible memory.\u00a0 No matter what the council deals with in the present, he has seen something like it in the past and recalls it like yesterday.\u00a0 Names, dates, policies, documents \u2013 whatever it is, Farber either knows it or knows how to get it.\u00a0 Few people in county government compare to him on this measure and no Council Member comes anywhere close.\u00a0 That gap in knowledge can put Farber in the driver\u2019s seat when no one can really see that he\u2019s driving.<\/p>\n

Cautious Use of Political Capital<\/u><\/p>\n

Another secret of Farber\u2019s success is that he spends his political capital very carefully.\u00a0 He is concerned with budgetary and fiscal issues, especially ones affecting long-term sustainability and the bond rating, but it is otherwise rare for him to weigh in directly on legislation or policy issues.\u00a0 By picking his spots carefully and not squandering his power, Farber maximizes his ability to influence the big picture events that he cares about most.<\/p>\n

Finding Money for the Reconciliation List<\/u><\/p>\n

Every year, the council proposes to add millions of dollars to the Executive\u2019s recommended budget.\u00a0 Their vehicle is the reconciliation list, which is a ledger of spending additions and reductions that must be balanced out at the end.\u00a0 One of Farber\u2019s tasks is to find a way to pay for this list.\u00a0 No one else in the building fully understands how he does this.\u00a0 His unique, encyclopedic knowledge of the county budget enables him to locate money under the couch cushions that few others know about.\u00a0 Try as they might, it is impossible for the Executive Branch to hide money from Farber.\u00a0 He never funds the entire reconciliation list \u2013 and constantly warns the Council Members (often futilely) not to overstock it \u2013 but he finances enough of it that the council is usually satisfied.\u00a0 It\u2019s an incredible and invisible source of power.<\/p>\n

How does he pull all of this off?\u00a0 It\u2019s a great mystery, but sometimes there are clues.\u00a0 First, he never gets involved in politics, NEVER.\u00a0 He never takes sides in spats between Council Members or tries to steer politically sensitive things like who gets selected as Council President.\u00a0 Second, he never takes credit for anything.\u00a0 If you listen to Farber, he has never had a good idea.\u00a0 Instead, it\u2019s Council Members from the past who have done great things \u2013 even if they really<\/em> originated with Farber.\u00a0 When he talks to current Council Members, he will remind them of these past accomplishments and suggest similar monumental undertakings.\u00a0 If a Council Member agrees, then the idea becomes his or hers \u2013 and not Farber\u2019s.\u00a0 The consigliere will then praise the enlightened ideas of the boss!\u00a0 Third, he never makes arguments based on personal or political concerns, only on facts \u2013 of which he is the undisputed master.\u00a0 And fourth, his discretion is second to none.\u00a0 The CIA could waterboard every person in the council building and Farber is the one who would never talk.\u00a0 Everyone knows this.\u00a0 That\u2019s why they talk to him.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why the consigliere knows more than the rest of them.<\/p>\n

For all his greatness, Farber has had ups and downs like everybody.\u00a0 For many years, he was a lonely voice calling for fiscal restraint, occasionally joined by Council Members Phil Andrews and Marilyn Praisner.\u00a0 That earned him the resentment of union leaders and agency heads who prefer loose purse strings.\u00a0 Farber got his way during the Great Recession, when the council had little choice but to cut spending and abrogate labor contracts, and he played a big role in saving the county\u2019s bond rating.\u00a0 But the subsequent easing of fiscal pressure allowed the council to start spending again, resulting in the Giant Tax Hike and the passage of term limits.\u00a0 If the council had listened to Farber all along and passed regular modest, restrained budgets, there\u2019s a chance those things may not have happened.<\/p>\n

County residents have benefited mightily from Farber\u2019s service even though the huge majority of them have no idea who he is.\u00a0 His dedication to facts over rhetoric, his devotion to sound fiscal management, his work to have the council act as a real check on the Executive Branch and above all his iron integrity have made county government more honest and efficient than it would otherwise be.<\/p>\n

Farewell to MoCo\u2019s Essential Man.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Adam Pagnucco. Ever wonder why some politicians stay in office waaaaaay too long?\u00a0 One reason is that some of them believe they are truly essential and that government would collapse without them.\u00a0 We will give them this: some politicians really do leave a lasting mark, and even sometimes for the better!\u00a0 But the true … Continue reading MoCo\u2019s Essential Man<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,15],"tags":[1545,1463,2000],"class_list":["post-8345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adam-pagnucco","category-montgomery-county-council","tag-adam-pagnucco","tag-montgomery-county-council","tag-steve-farber"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4mKJE-2aB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8345"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8347,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8345\/revisions\/8347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theseventhstate.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}