GOOD IDEAS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

Over the course of the last few years, we’ve found ourselves writing increasingly about the challenges and accomplishments of towns, small cities and counties. In the past, it’s been a real temptation to focus on the work of large cities, as they tend to wind up in the news – and are more inclined than smaller places to publicize their accomplishments.

But about one out of three incorporated communities in the United States has a population of under 50,000. We were inspired to write this B&G Report by a LinkedIn post by Brooks Williams, who is city manager of Ferris, Texas, with a population of a little over 5,000.

As he wrote, “Many smaller cities are dealing with the same infrastructure pressures, public safety needs, development demands, water and wastewater realities, employee issues, legal constraints, financial tradeoffs, public expectations, and political dynamics.”

Ithaca, New York, for example, may only have a population of about 35,000 but  take a look at its website and you’ll see some of the exciting things leaders there have been promoting. Two years after the city council adopted its Green New Deal resolution aiming at carbon neutrality by 2030,

 “Ithaca established itself as a world-leader in climate mitigation planning and continues to pave the path forward as a blueprint for other cities across the U.S. and the globe,” according to its website.

Then there’s Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Last year it was awarded a Local Government Excellence Award in the “program excellence” category by ICMA (the International City/County Management Association).

Elk Grove’s approach to drug problems has moved away from “the traditional criminal justice system and into treatment and support services,” according to  a late 2025 press release, which goes on to explain that “Under the program, anyone seeking to enter an addiction recovery program can contact the Elk Grove Village Police Department, which will then connect them to one of several partner organizations that provide substance abuse recovery services.”

The program, dubbed Elk Grove Village Cares, which is largely funded by state and local grants, is accessible to anyone who comes forward, even if they have no resources to pay for treatment. As Elk Groves Mayor Craig Johnson was quoted as saying, “we’re hopeful that as awareness of Elk Grove Village Cares increases, more local governments will take on this very stubborn challenge in the name of helping people and making communities safer and healthier.”

Several weeks ago, the Village of Peck, Michigan, with a population of nearly 600, announced that its improved procurement operations have “helped reduce infrastructure project costs significantly below available funding levels,” according to a fact sheet from the Partners for Public Good, which supported the community’s efforts to effectively use an EPA grant.

The fact sheet explained that the village has expanded vendor outreach and engaged with vendors earlier in the process; made participation clearer and more appealing for new entrants and created a more competitive procurement process. The tangible results of this work, thus far: Peck delivered infrastructure upgrades without passing additional costs onto households. As a result, the Village is saving each household approximately $240 annually. 

Of course, as with Elk Grove and Peck, many smaller communities need to rely on outside funding, whether from other levels of government or from philanthropic organizations and external consulting assistance, in order to advance initiatives to the point where they can make a difference. Ultimately, budgets in small places – especially in rural America – are often stretched and don’t leave capacity for significant undertakings.

But towns, small cities and counties can make up for the lack of their own resources with excited innovative leadership.  As Brooks wrote, “Some of the most transferable skills in public administration are developed in places where there is little margin, the staff is stretched, the resources are limited, and the public still expects the work to get done.

“That experience teaches range and it teaches consequence. It teaches how policy becomes payroll, how infrastructure becomes trust, how one staffing vacancy becomes a service problem, how one delayed project becomes a political issue, and how one financial decision can shape the next several years of a community’s future.”

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