City Government Structures: An Attempt at Clarification

DeSantis, Victor S.; Renner, Tari

doi:10.1177/0160323x0203400202

Cited by 46 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This institutionalism perspective 14 has largely focused on two aspects: local governmental institutional structures and institutional constraints from higher levels of governments. One approach points to local institutional structures such as form of government, methods of election, and city council size as critical factors in local policymaking (DeSantis & Renner, 2002;MacDonald, 2008;Nelson & Svara, 2010). Of them, the primary structural issue is choice of form of government, which determines administrative authority and functions of public officials in government (MacDonald, 2008;Nelson & Svara, 2010).…”

Section: Institutional Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difference between the two prominent forms of government is whether authority is allocated to a single branch or to separate branches (MacDonald, 2008;Nelson & Svara, 2010). Local policy outcomes and policy priorities vary within this overriding difference of differently assigned legal authorities (e.g., Clingermayer & Feiock, 2001;DeSantis & Renner, 2002;Feiock & Kim, 2001;Frederickson, Logan, & Wood, 2003;MacDonald, 2008).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Community Quality of Life on Local Policy Decisions

Choi²

2014

Applied Research Quality Life

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There have been extensive debates on the factors that influence local policy decisions.Although many researchers have contributed to uncovering various influences such as political, economic, institutional, and demographic factors on local policy decisions, however, the concept of QoL rarely has used in extant literature. Local government spending is likely to be affected by citizen demands for achieving community well-being. Additionally, given that different policy functions variably affect local circumstances, the impact of QoL on local policy decisions will depend on the policy area. Hence, this study examined the relationship between QoL and local budgetary decisions based on Peterson's (1981) policy scheme of, three distinct policy arenas (developmental, allocational, and redistributive policy). In examining the relationship of QoL and city spending across policy functions, I also considered economic, political, institutional, and demographic factors, derived from various theoretical perspectives on local policy decisions.The relative influences of community QoL as well as other factors on local policy decisions were estimated by two-stage least squares regression analysis (2SLS) for developmental spending and by ordinary least squares (OLS) for allocational and redistributive spending. To measure community QoL, this study used 89,066 completed surveys from 167 communities in the United States for 2002-2008 are used. QoL appeared as a critical factor influencing local government expenditures in the three policy areas. The impact of QoL on local spending in the three areas differed depending on city income levels; city income levels then moderated local policy decisions.iii These findings suggest that local policy priorities adjusted in accordance with economic growth. Allocational policy functions also should be thought to be functions of cities geared toward giving them a competitive edge over other cities by meeting evolved citizen preferences for city amenities. These findings also point to distinct patterns of political activities in each policy arena. Given that community QoL reflects adjusted citizens' demands, I contend that community QoL can contribute to performance management by providing additional public information and a complementary performance indicator.iv

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Section: Institutional Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Community Quality of Life on Local Policy Decisions

Choi²

2014

Applied Research Quality Life

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“…Although the International City / County Management Association (ICMA) recognizes the five most common forms of local government (including the mayor-council, council-manager, commission, town-meeting, and representative-town-meeting forms), most research on local government structure in the U.S. focuses on the two structural forms that dominate the American municipal landscape, namely the mayor-council (34% of municipalities) and council-manager (55% of municipalities) forms (DeSantis & Renner, 2002;MacManus & Bullock 2003;Moulder, 2008). Scholars often use this dichotomous classification system to analyze the effects of form of government on a number of variables including characteristic differences between mayors and city managers (Nolting, 1969;Stillman, 1974;Wikstrom, 1990;DeSantis and Newell, 1996); time allocation (Wright, 1969;Ammons & Newell, 1989;Newell & Ammons, 1987); and the influence of demographic and socio-demographic variables on form of government (Sherbenou, 1961;Kessel, 1962;Dye & MacManus, 1976;Sanders, 1979;Giles, Gabris, & Krane, 1980;Farnham, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent research has suggested that this traditional mayor-council (unreformed government) or council-manager (reformed government) classification scheme does not fully capture the variations in government form that have evolved over the past decades (DeSantis & Renner, 2002). Changes including an increased use of appointed chief administrative officers (CAOs) in mayor-council form cities, the direct election of mayors and an increased use of ward or district elections for city council members in council-manager municipalities have all been observed in recent years (Adrian, 1988;Moulder, 2008;MacManus & Bullock, 2003;Ebdon & Brucato, 2000;Frederickson, Logan, & Wood, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bill Hansell (1998a;1998b) suggested that council-manager cities be classified into four categories based upon the characteristics found within the mayoral position (Note 1). DeSantis and Renner (2002) expanded on Hansell's typology by adding mayor-council form cities with a weak or strong mayor and with or without an appointed chief administrative officer (cao). Nelson and Svara (2010) attempted to improve upon this system using a seven category system based primarily upon the allocation of authority, how executive responsibilities are assigned, and administrative accountability (to the mayor or the council).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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