Turnover among City Managers: The Role of Political and Economic Change

Abstract

City managers once were viewed as neutral technicians with limited roles in the policymaking process, but scholars increasingly came to appreciate that, for managers, the separation between politics and administration often was more symbolic than factual.

Examining Sustainable Development Policy in California Cities: 2011 Energy Sustainable California Communities Survey

“…Elected mayors are also interested in integrating sustainability programs into the city's economic development strategy. City managers and elected mayors enjoy selective incentives from the adoption of sustainable development policy (a strategic and realistic development), such as a career incentive for city managers and a reelection incentive for elected mayors (Feiock et al 2003;McCabe et al 2008;Kwon et al 2009). This study suggests that more support from political institutions, such as support from political and executive leaders, are needed to encourage more California cities to adopt sustainable development policy and to engage in efforts related to sustainable development.…”

“…These findings imply that political institutions play a major role in motivating cities to undertake sustainable development. Cities with the councilmanager form of government provide a career incentive for their city managers which may lead to a long-term, strategic, and realistic development orientation that is valued in their professional field (DiMaggio and Powell 1983;Feiock et al 2003;McCabe et al 2008;Kwon et al 2009). Elected mayors may attempt to integrate sustainability policies into their city's economic development strategy in order to attract political resources and electoral support from citizen groups which have pro-environmental protection attitudes (Kwon et al 2011).…”

Professionalism among Icelandic Mayors: Job Postings, Experience and Education as Determinants of Professionalism at the Icelandic Local Level

“…The local appointees are individuals that are selected mainly because of local ties, without any formal training. Recent findings show that although all types still exist within the American setting, the careerist is the most common type, and many American city managers change jobs frequently on their way to their dream position (Watson & Hassett 2004;McCabe et al 2008). Thus, as the number of Icelandic manager-mayors who move between positions increases, the level of professionalism increases as well.…”

“…Thus, as the number of Icelandic manager-mayors who move between positions increases, the level of professionalism increases as well. However, as turnover increases, the level of professionalism decreases; this is important, because tenure is vital for the local administration's overall stability and capacity (McCabe et al 2008).…”

The Economic Development Strategy Preferences of Community Leaders in Texas

“…Cities in Texas that reach the 5,000 population threshold can adopt a home rule charter that allows greater taxing flexibility, along with greater flexibility in areas such as government organization and annexation, by comparison to cities with a population below 5,000 that operate under a general charter. Regarding our set of surveyed city leaders, prior research points to the role played by city managers and mayors in city economic development (see, for example, French, 2003;Liu & Vanderleeuw, 2004;McCabe, Feiock, Clingermayer, & Stream, 2009;McGovern, 1997;Svara, 1987) as well as the involvement of city councils (Zemmering, 2008), chambers of commerce (Cox & Wood, 1994), and economic development corporations (EDCs; Jarmon, Vanderleeuw, Pennington, & Sowers, 2012 …”