For several years dating back to 2019, I have written about what it will take to transform Trenton: higher standards, operational excellence, moral leadership, and accountability rooted in compassion. Recent conversations with current and former City Council members—alongside the growing field of candidates entering this year’s Council races—have sharpened an important realization. Transformation does not fail for lack of concern or good intentions. It fails when governance roles are misunderstood and accountability is blurred. Trenton operates under a Mayor – Council form of government. That distinction matters. The Mayor is responsible for setting the city’s strategic direction and managing execution — aligning departments, designing processes, establishing procedures, and ensuring work gets done. City Council’s role is different, but just as consequential. Council governs through law, the budget, and oversight. When these roles are clear and aligned, transformation becomes possible. When they are not, even well-intended efforts stall. In Trenton’s form of government, transformation depends on disciplined governance. The Mayor owns strategy and execution—designing operational procedures and aligning employee performance to deliver results. City Council establishes service performance expectations through ordinances and the budget, requires transparency through metrics and reporting, and holds systems—not individual employees—accountable for outcomes. When standards are written into policy, performance is measured publicly, and funding is tied to results, excellence stops being optional. This is how quality improves, waste is reduced, and trust begins to return. Effective City Councils understand the difference between oversight and micromanagement. Council does not run departments, but it does decide whether departments are required to meet clear service standards. Council does not write procedures, but it does require that procedures exist, that they work, and that failure triggers improvement. Oversight grounded in data—not politics—creates the conditions for sustainable change and protects both workers and residents. Where performance management is loose, inconsistent, or unclear, it fails everyone. Residents experience uneven service, missed deadlines, and growing frustration. Employees are left without clear expectations, fair standards, or consistent feedback—creating uncertainty, low morale, and burnout. This is not simply an operational problem; it is a governance failure. When City Council does not legislate clear service performance expectations, require measurable outcomes, and insist on regular reporting, performance management becomes personality-driven instead of system-driven. In that vacuum, accountability feels arbitrary, excellence goes unrewarded, and both residents and employees pay the price. Quality governance also requires confronting a hard truth: in a city where one in four residents lives at or below the poverty level, service quality and fiscal stability are inseparable from human capital. Chronic poverty increases demand on city services, weakens the tax base, and forces government into constant crisis response. A serious City Council does not treat workforce development, adult literacy, and skill-building as side programs. Through its core policy tools—passing ordinances that prioritize workforce development, allocating dedicated funding in the budget, authorizing partnerships with community colleges, workforce boards, and employers, and requiring measurable outcomes such as job placement and wage growth—Council can ensure that investment in residents is treated as infrastructure. Done well, this approach reduces long-term costs, improves service delivery, and strengthens the city’s overall performance. Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank those who have stepped forward to run for City Council. Public service is not easy, and transformation is a heavy lift—especially in a city carrying deep historical, economic, and emotional weight. The willingness to serve deserves respect. My hope is that this moment inspires candidates and voters alike to rise above politics as usual and commit to governance rooted in clarity, competence, and compassion. Trenton’s future depends not on good intentions alone, but on leaders willing to do the hard work of governing well. Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of OpEds from Brother Gene Bouie discussing what leadership in Trenton needs in order to build a better future for the city. Bouie is also publishing a book of his OpEds called “A City Worth Fighting For: Strategies to Lift Trenton and Its People,” available for sale on Amazon. Read more here: The Power of Strategic Thinking Fiscal Responsibility Economic Growth Quality Government Operational Excellence People-Centered Development Public Safety Community Wellness – an Integrated Approach A Call to Higher Standards The Courage to Confront Trenton’s Truths The next mayor of Trenton must reduce the poverty rate Reclaiming Our Identity: How Trenton Can Make Again and Revive Its Economy Trenton cannot rise above its operations ...read more read less