Local government reform in the US - And why it differs so greatly from Britain

Local Government Studies

Volumn 23, Issue 3, 1997, Pages 113-130

  Norris, Donald F ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0001290937     PISSN: 03003930     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/03003939708433880     Document Type: Article

References (50)

1. This era began roughly with Andrew Jackson's election to the presidency in 1828 and continued at least through the years immediately following the Civil War.
2. Charles R. Adrian and Charles Press, Governing Urban America (4th edn., New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972), p.68.
3. Ibid., p.68; and Anwar Syed, The Political Theory of American Local Government (New York: Random House, 1966), pp.38-48.
4. Ibid., p.68; and Anwar Syed, The Political Theory of American Local Government (New York: Random House, 1966), pp.38-48.
5. Adrian and Press, op. cit., p.69.
6. Ibid., pp.69-70.
7. Ibid., p.71
8. Ibid., pp.70-72.
9. Jon C. Teaford, The Unheralded Triumphs (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984).
10. Merton has argued that the weaknesses of the cities in the late nineteenth century, which were produced partly by the application of the principles of Jacksonian democracy to city governments, enabled urban machines to develop and thrive. (See, Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (New York: Free Press, 1957). This view, however, is not without it critics. See, for example, Alan DiGaetano, 'The Rise and Development of Urban Political Machines: An Alternative to Merton's Functional Analysis', Urban Affairs Quarterly. Vol.24, No.4 (1988).
11. Merton has argued that the weaknesses of the cities in the late nineteenth century, which were produced partly by the application of the principles of Jacksonian democracy to city governments, enabled urban machines to develop and thrive. (See, Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure (New York: Free Press, 1957). This view, however, is not without it critics. See, for example, Alan DiGaetano, 'The Rise and Development of Urban Political Machines: An Alternative to Merton's Functional Analysis', Urban Affairs Quarterly. Vol.24, No.4 (1988).
12. Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (New York: Vintage Books, 1955).
13. The municipal reformers of this era can be divided into 'structural' and 'social' reformers. The former, who strove to reform local government structure, were far more numerous and successful than the latter, who sought to address such issues as poverty, disenfranchisement, big business influence on municipal affairs, and inequity in service delivery. In this paper, my focus is on structural reform.
14. Hofstadter, op. cit., pp.174-86.
15. See, for example, ibid.; and Adrian and Press, op. cit.
16. See, for example, ibid.; and Adrian and Press, op. cit.
17. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
18. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
19. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
20. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
21. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
22. See, for example, Robert Wood, Suburbia: Its People and their Politics (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1958); Scott Greer, The Emerging City (New York: Free Press, 1962); Luther Gulick, The Metropolitan Problem and American Ideas (New York: Knopf, 1962); US Advisory Council on Intergovernmental Relations, Urban America and the Federal System (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1969); Amos H. Hawley and Basil G. Zimmer, The Metropolitan Community: Its People and Government (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1970); and Drew Dolan, 'Local Government Fragmentation: Does It Drive Up The Cost of Government?' Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.26, No.1 (Sept. 1990).
23. US Bureau of the Census, Governmental Finances (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1993). The average can be misleading. Larger central cities tend to rely more heavily on federal and state funds, while the newer, more affluent suburbs rely more on ownsource revenue. County and township governments and school districts rely more heavily on the property tax than do municipalities.
24. See, for example, Harrigan, op. cit., pp.348-50; and Ross and Levine, op. cit., pp.364-8. For one view of the importance of annexation to American cities today, see David Rusk, Cities Without Suburbs (Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1993).
25. Ross and Levine, op. cit., p.324.
26. Out of over 3,000 counties and over 19,000 municipalities in the US.
27. See, Edward Sofen, The Miami Metropolitan Experiment (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1966); John J. Harrigan, and William C. Johnson, Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1978); Anthony White, 'Portland Merges Regional Agencies', National Civic Review, Vol.67, No.7 (1978); Carl Abbott, Planning Politics and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983); William C. Johnson, and John J. Harrigan, 'Political Stress and Metropolitan Governance: The Twin Cities Experience', State and Local Government Review, Vol.19, No.3 (1987); Harrigan, op. cit.; and Ross and Levine, op. cit.
28. See, Edward Sofen, The Miami Metropolitan Experiment (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1966); John J. Harrigan, and William C. Johnson, Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1978); Anthony White, 'Portland Merges Regional Agencies', National Civic Review, Vol.67, No.7 (1978); Carl Abbott, Planning Politics and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983); William C. Johnson, and John J. Harrigan, 'Political Stress and Metropolitan Governance: The Twin Cities Experience', State and Local Government Review, Vol.19, No.3 (1987); Harrigan, op. cit.; and Ross and Levine, op. cit.
29. See, Edward Sofen, The Miami Metropolitan Experiment (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1966); John J. Harrigan, and William C. Johnson, Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1978); Anthony White, 'Portland Merges Regional Agencies', National Civic Review, Vol.67, No.7 (1978); Carl Abbott, Planning Politics and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983); William C. Johnson, and John J. Harrigan, 'Political Stress and Metropolitan Governance: The Twin Cities Experience', State and Local Government Review, Vol.19, No.3 (1987); Harrigan, op. cit.; and Ross and Levine, op. cit.
30. See, Edward Sofen, The Miami Metropolitan Experiment (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1966); John J. Harrigan, and William C. Johnson, Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1978); Anthony White, 'Portland Merges Regional Agencies', National Civic Review, Vol.67, No.7 (1978); Carl Abbott, Planning Politics and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983); William C. Johnson, and John J. Harrigan, 'Political Stress and Metropolitan Governance: The Twin Cities Experience', State and Local Government Review, Vol.19, No.3 (1987); Harrigan, op. cit.; and Ross and Levine, op. cit.
31. See, Edward Sofen, The Miami Metropolitan Experiment (New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1966); John J. Harrigan, and William C. Johnson, Governing the Twin Cities Region: The Metropolitan Council in Comparative Perspective (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1978); Anthony White, 'Portland Merges Regional Agencies', National Civic Review, Vol.67, No.7 (1978); Carl Abbott, Planning Politics and Growth in a Twentieth-Century City (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1983); William C. Johnson, and John J. Harrigan, 'Political Stress and Metropolitan Governance: The Twin Cities Experience', State and Local Government Review, Vol.19, No.3 (1987); Harrigan, op. cit.; and Ross and Levine, op. cit.
32. This is true today in territories like Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Guam, and local government in the District of Columbia operates under a grant of authority from Congress.
33. David R. Berman, 'Takeovers of Local Governments: An Overview and Evaluation', Publius, 25 (Summer 1995), pp.55-6.
34. I can cite no empirical data or case studies to support my contention here. However, based on more than 25 years of observing and interviewing state and local government officials in several states in the US, I am confident that it is accurate.
35. Berman, op. cit., p.56.
36. Syed, op. cit., p.21.
37. Ibid., p.5.
38. Williams distinguishes between lifestyle and systems maintenance issues in which the author argues that 'lifestyle issues' (such as education, housing, zoning, police protection) are so important to the citizens of the autonomous local governments in metropolitan areas as to make it very difficult to achieve metropolitan governance. See, Oliver Williams, 'Lifestyle Values and Political Decentralization in Metropolitan Areas', Southwestern Social Science Quarterly, 48 (1967).
39. Danielson Michael N. Danielson, 'Suburban Autonomy', in Dennis Judd and Paul Kantor (eds.), Enduring Tensions in Urban Politics (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1992), p.372. (Originally published in Danielson, The Politics of Exclusion (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976).
40. Danielson Michael N. Danielson, 'Suburban Autonomy', in Dennis Judd and Paul Kantor (eds.), Enduring Tensions in Urban Politics (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1992), p.372. (Originally published in Danielson, The Politics of Exclusion (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976).
41. Ibid, p.383.
42. See, for example, David K. Hamilton, 'Political Officials and Areawide Government Reform', Urbanism Past and Present, 8 (Summer 1979).
43. In the heyday of metropolitan reform, several states appointed commissions to review and make recommendations about local government structure. The commissions released reports that were notable for the similarities in their diagnoses and prescriptions. See Vincent L. Marando, and Patricia S. Florestano, 'State Commissions on Local Government: A Mechanism for Reform', State and Local Government Review, 9 (1977). The commissions' reports also were similar in that they led to very little actual reform. This was largely because the commissions had no power to compel reform and because the forces of the status quo were strong enough to prevent reform.
44. Danielson, op. cit., p.383.
45. See, for example, Robert B. Parks, and Ronald J. Oakerson, 'Metropolitan Organization and Governance: A Local Public Economy Approach', Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.25, No.1 (1989); and Ronald J. Oakerson and Roger B. Parks, 'Metropolitan Organization: St. Louis and Allegheny County', Intergovernmental Perspective (Summer 1991).
46. See, for example, Robert B. Parks, and Ronald J. Oakerson, 'Metropolitan Organization and Governance: A Local Public Economy Approach', Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.25, No.1 (1989); and Ronald J. Oakerson and Roger B. Parks, 'Metropolitan Organization: St. Louis and Allegheny County', Intergovernmental Perspective (Summer 1991).
47. Donald F. Morris, 'Killing a Cog: The Death and Resurrection of the Baltimore Regional Council of Governments', Journal of Urban Affairs, 16 (1994), p.166.
48. Steve Leach and Chris Game, 'English Metropolitan Government Since Abolition: An Evaluation of the Abolition of the English Metropolitan County Councils', Public Administration, 69 (Summer 1991), p.170.
49. Howard Davis and Declan Hall, 'Matching Purpose and Task: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Single and Multi-Purpose Bodies' (Birmingham: Institute for Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham, 1996).
50. Donald F. Norris, 'The Governance of British Conurbations: Or How British Local Authorities Manage the Metropolitan Territory in the Absence of Metropolitan Governments' (A paper presented at the 1997 Annual Meeting of the Urban Affairs Association, Toronto Canada, April, 1997).