Local Government Management: Current Issues and Best Practices

Some of the very best writings on issues involving local government can be found in journals published by the American Society for Public Administration or journals with which ASPA is associated. This volume includes thirty of the most outstanding articles that have been published over the past sixty years in these journals. Local Government Management is an ideal supplement for any course in local management and administration, whether the audience is students or practicing professionals.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables, Figures, and Boxes, Part 1. Relations Between Elected Officials and Professional Staff, 1. The Manager Is a Politician, 2. The City Manager: Professional Helping Hand, or Political Hired Hand?, 3. The Mayor as a Policy Leader in the Council-Manager Form of Government: A View from the Field, 4. Dichotomy and Duality: Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between Policy and Administration in Council-Manager Cities, 5. City Managers: Will They Reject Policy Leadership?, 6. A Case for Reinterpreted Dichotomy of Politics and Administration as a Professional Standard in Council-Manager Government, 7. The Shifting Boundary Between Elected Officials and City Managers in Large Council-Manager Cities, Part 2. Using Tax Dollars Wisely: Budgeting and Financial Management, 8. Financial Management: A Balancing Act for Local Government Chief Financial Officers, 9. Budget Reform and Political Reform: Conclusions from Six Cities, 10. Budgetary Balance: The Norm, Concept, and Practice in Large U.S. Cities, 11. Analyzing How Local Governments Establish Service Priorities, 12. State and Local Governments as Borrowers: Strategic Choices and the Capital Market, 13. Litigation Costs, Budget Impacts, and Cost Containment Strategies: Evidence from California Cities, Part 3. The Changing World of Public Personnel Management, 14. Municipal Government Personnel Systems: A Test of Two Archetypical Models, 15. Affirmative Action in Municipal Government: Anatomy of a Failure, 16. Explaining the Tenure of Local Government Managers, 17. What Municipal Employees Want from Their Jobs Versus What They Are Getting, 18. Managerial Responses to an Aging Municipal Workforce, 19. Performance Appraisal Practices for Upper Management in City Governments, 20. Values Management in Local Government, Part 4. Making Local Governments More Productive and Responsive, 21. Issues in Productivity Measurement for Local Governments, 22. Improving the Goal-Setting Process in Local Government, 23. Strategies for Management of Decline and Productivity Improvement in Local Government, 24. Applying Strategic Decision Making in Local Government, 25. Implementing TQM in Local Government: The Leadership Challenge, 26. The Re-ing of Local Government: Understanding and Shaping Governmental Change, Part 5. Citizen Involvement: Opportunities for Participation, 27. Gender and Local Government: A Comparison of Women and Men City Managers, 28. The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur: The Case of City Managers, 29. Dealing with Cynical Citizens, 30. Standards of Excellence: U.S. Residents’ Evaluations of Local Government Services, Index

About the Author :

Douglas J. Watson is the city manager of the City of Auburn, Alabama, and a visiting professor at Auburn University. He has served as Auburn city manager since 1982 and holds a master of public administration from the University of Georgia and a doctorate from Auburn. He is the author or editor of five books and over thirty journal articles. Dr. Watson serves on the editorial boards of four journals, including the Public Administration Review and State and Local Government Review. He is the recipient of a number of honors for his work, including the National Public Service Award from the American Society for Public Administration and the L.P. Cookingham Award for Career Development and the Orin F. Nolting International Award from the International City/County Management Association.

Wendy L. Hassett has ten years of experience in local government management, currently as the assistant city manager of the City of Auburn, Alabama. She holds a master of public administration degree and a doctorate in public administration and public policy from Auburn University. She is co-author of articles in Public Administration Review, Public Works Management and Policy, and Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management. She has written a chapter in the forthcoming book, Gender and Work in Comparative Perspective and co-written a chapter in Innovative Governments: Creative Approaches to Local Problems.