POLS 207 Chapter 8
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The First Active Government: That at the Local Level
Local gov'ts provide a broad range of services on which we depend.
Approx 895,000 local governments. (remember from chapter 1 that there were approx. 90,000)
County Government
oldest local government
Limited services (property records, public health care, rural roads)
Referred to as "county commission"
Local gov't expenditures: vast majority is on Education
Municipal Government
Adopted from English municipal governments
Mayor/Council Form
Used by 38% of cities, usually with pop >250,000
- strong mayor
- substantial formal powers (e.g. budget-making, veto)
- employs checks-and-balances
- weak
- lack substantial powers
- may have only a tie-breaking vote in council
policy-making by competition: The best policy is the one that meets the approval of both the executive and legislative branches.
Council/Manager Form
Copied from US school district governance
Used by 58% of cities, 250,000 > pop > 25,000
Believes administration should be professional rather than partisan:
- Some decisions should not be made democratically
Elected city council appoints a well-paid manager
May also have "ceremonial" mayor to sign proclamations and greet visitors
[Representative] Town Meeting
Used by <4% of cities, almost all of which are very small and/or in New England.
Town Meeting: Citizens who attend meetings form the "council"/legislature, and mayor acts as moderator.
Representative Town Meeting: Citizens are welcome to attend, but council is comprised of elected officials.
Commission
Identical to county commission
Used by only 1% of cities
Best policy is result of cooperation (not competition of checks and balances)
Commissioner acts as a representative and as "department head"
School Government
Move toward Independent School Districts: self-governing municipalities
Special Districts
Provide limited (usually focused) services
Usually treated as comfederacy: 2+ cities working together to provide a special service.
Urban Machine & Reform Movement
Reform to reduce corruption, but happened to overturn Urban Machines.
- Dillon's rule: local gov'ts are subject to the state.
- secret ballot: (a.k.a. Australian Ballot) Machines can't be certain that supporters actually vote for the "correct" candidates
- nonpartison elections: candidates not known by party label; added literacy requirement
- 80% are nonpartisan; but Middle Atlantic region retains partisan elections
- merit system: public jobs have descriptions and competency tests; hired regardless of party
- strong-mayor: more appointed department heads and officials, fewer votes (short-ballot reform)
- at-large elections: city council chosen from votes cast by all people.
- denies minorities representation on city councils; district elections address this issue
- used by 66% of cities; 17% use districts, 17% use combination
- registration and citizenship: required citizens of US to register in order to vote
City Home Rule
Basically, state legislative act specifying Dillon's rule doesn't apply to a particular city: allows city to govern as it wills.
More ideal than reality.
Metropolitan Difficulties
Large movement of people after WWII.
- automobiles: live in newer suburbs, work in older city core
- long-term graduated repayment mortgage: more people can own homes
- incorporation of suburbs into a new municipality
- fragmented governments: numerous, but insufficiently large suburban governments.
Democracy in Local Politics
- Incumbency advantage present at local level
- 83% of elections held off of state and national elections :: low turnout (26%)
- volunteers don't feel obligated to constituents
- open gives public ample opportunity to shape decisions; closed communities allow select few to make decisions.
- Very little competition at local level
Stratificationists
Organize society into two levels of people
- representational method: ask informants which individuals influenced decisions or who had reputation for power and influence.
- hierarchy of power: elites have great wealth and influence, masses had little of either.
- little accountability
- governing elites are all businesspeople who care only about their own interests
- don't like it and think things should change
Pluralists
Perhaps non-elected people do influence government.
- decisional technique: study of decisions of importance → multiple strat. hierarchies—one for each issue
- competition among elites: each issue hierarchy has elites that compete with each other.
- Doesn't take into account non-decisions: if an influential person can keep an issue from arising, keeping the issue off an agenda for action, that person must have substantial influence.
- loss of stability would hurt city more than low accountability or competition
- maintain the status quo
Which of above views is correct? dunno.