Our clients

We don’t write reports that just sit on a shelf.

Our reports not only have saved taxpayers billions of dollars—they’ve actually saved more than we said we would. When we completed a comprehensive efficiency review of the West Virginia state government, we projected five-year savings of $318 million. State officials afterward audited the actual results of our recommendations and estimated that they already had saved $201.7 million in just the first two years. “Officials initially estimated a first-year savings of $67 million, but got an additional $10 million.”

And we do more than save money:

We designed and helped shepherd through to enactment the California brownfields clean-up legislation called “precedent-setting,” “novel” and “unique” by the national environmental press.
Our renewable energy plan helped to make Iowa a national leader.
We helped one state attorney general develop a program to help schools prepare for shootings and other emergencies so successful it’s been copied by other states across the country.
Our report on reinventing the West Virginia school system has been called “the bible of education reform” in the state.
We designed and helped to implement and entirely new statewide workforce development system in New Mexico.
Our efforts led to the funding and construction of a state-of-the-art housing facility for seniors displaced by hurricanes in New Orleans.
And, in Arkansas, when a legislature of one party hired us to investigate the performance of an executive agency headed by the other party, it led to the agency head embracing our report – and asking us to stay on to implement it.

THAT’S WHY OUR CLIENTS SAY THINGS LIKE THIS:

“Their results were so well received by the districts and by the South Carolina legislature that the state is considering appropriations for additional school district reviews in the upcoming fiscal year.”—Melanie Barton, executive director, South Carolina Education Oversight Committee.

“The Performance Review you conducted of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has been an unexpected blessing. As a new Commissioner, the report has provided me with a thoughtful description of DEED’s strengths and weaknesses. The clarity of the recommendations facilitates reflective discussions within DEED and a clear pathway for improvement.” —Michael Johnson, Commissioner, Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

“Public Works’ report served as the strategic plan our state needed to move its education system forward into the 21st Century. It was able to do so because of the knowledgeable work of the firm’s personnel, and their ultimate output, which was timely, easy for the public at large as well as various constituencies to understand, and provided not just the end-points we needed to reach but the roadmap for how to reach them.”—Gayle Manchin, Chair, West Virginia State Board of Education

It should be unsurprising, then, that we have been rehired repeatedly by Administrations in West Virginia, Iowa, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oregon, and by individual agencies stretching from the Department of Labor & Industry in Pennsylvania to the Environmental Protection Agency in California, as well as both the city government and its unions in Chicago.

Client List

Governor’s Offices

Colorado Office of the Governor
Delaware Governor’s Office
Georgia Governor’s Office
Iowa Office of the Governor
Louisiana Office of the Governor
Mississippi Office of the Governor
New Mexico Governor’s Office
North Carolina Governor’s Office
Oregon Governor’s Office
West Virginia Governor’s Office

Other State Officials

California Department of Justice
California State Treasurer’s Office
Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State
Delaware State Insurance Commissioner’s Office
Delaware State Treasurer’s Office
Florida Department of Financial Services (Chief Financial Officer)
New York Office of the State Comptroller
West Virginia Securities Commissioner
West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office

Local Governments

Auburn, Washington, Mayor’s Office
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County Public Schools
Binghamton, New York, Mayor’s Office
Broward County, Florida
Chula Vista, California, Mayor’s Office
Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Treasurer’s Office
Des Moines, Iowa
Dubuque, Iowa
Eagle County, Colorado, Commissioners
Glendale, California, City Manager
Lexington, Kentucky, Mayor’s Office
Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky, Metro Mayor’s Office
New Castle County, Delaware
New Orleans Recovery School District
New York City Council Finance Division
Portland, Oregon, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
Seattle Office of Economic Development
Travis County, Texas, Commissioners Court

Nonprofit

Center for National Policy
Center on Digital Strategies
Center On Wisconsin Strategies
Chicago Federation of Labor
Dogwood Alliance
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Louisiana
New Jersey Coalition for Affordable Housing & the Environment
Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund
New Jersey Policy Perspective
Philadelphia Child Care Coalition
Philadelphia Safe & Sound
Progressive Policy Institute
Share Our Strength
Smart Growth America
Southern University Office of Research & Strategic Initiatives
Union of Concerned Scientists
United Way Suncoast
1199SEIU Training & Employment Funds

State Agencies

Alaska Commission on Post-Secondary Education
Alaska Department of Education & Early Development
Alaska Department of Health & Social Services
Arizona Department of Commerce
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Arkansas Department of Health
California Commission on Families & Children
California Department of Corporations
California Department of Corrections
California Department of Education
California Department of Forestry & Fire Prevention
California Department of Industrial Relations
California Department of Social Services
California Environmental Protection Agency
California Office of Planning & Research
California State & Consumer Services Agency
California State University, Office of the Chancellor
California Student Aid Commission
Connecticut Office of Policy & Management
Connecticut Office of Workforce Competitiveness
Delaware Department of Labor
Delaware Information Technology Initiative
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
Georgia Department of Community Health
Georgia Department of Corrections
Georgia Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Substance Abuse
Illinois Department of Central Management Services
Indiana Family & Social Services Agency
Louisiana Department of Social Services
Louisiana Department of Labor
Louisiana Recovery Authority
Louisiana Workforce Commission
New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions
New Mexico Office of Workforce Training & Development
New Mexico Public Education Department
New Jersey Office of Information Technology
Oklahoma Department of Commerce
Oregon Department of Community Colleges & Workforce Development
Oregon Department of Human Services
Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry
Rhode Island Executive Office of Health & Human Services
Rhode Island Health Benefit Exchange
Washington State Department of Early Learning

Legislatures

Alaska Division of Legislative Audit
Arkansas Office of Legislative Counsel
Hopi Tribal Council
Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee
Puerto Rico Senate