Public Administration

1. Public Administration and the Invention of American Local Government Florida Government Finance Officers Association - 2013

2. Fear of too much power The Founding Fathers sought to prevent the concentration of power in a strong national (centralized) government. States are used as a counterweight to that power. “A fondness for power is implanted, in most men, and it is natural to abuse it, when acquired.” Alexander Hamilton, The Farmer Refuted, 1775

3. Anti-government… According to former Vice President Al Gore: “America was born angry at government” in reference to fears of strong, centralized government -- “we were so sick of the English Crown we quit colonialism before we had something else lined up.” States “laboratories” of democracy

4. laboratories of experimentation • States are great laboratories of experimentation. Much of what is in the U.S. Constitution was first tried by states. • States originally had constitutions after the American Revolution and the federal government - the federal constitution copied them with bicameralism, three branches of government, independent judiciary. • The Bill of Rights was an idea borrowed from state constitutions. • States had eliminated slavery one by one and then the U.S. Constitution did. • States had given women suffrage, some of them, and then the U.S. Constitution did. Akhil Reed Amar Law professor, Yale University Diane Rehm Show, NPR September 13, 2012

5. James Madison Federalist No. 58, 1788 “An elective despotism was not the government we fought for; but one in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among the several bodies of magistracy as that no one could transcend their legal limits without being effectually checked and restrained by the others. “

6. Federalism is a widely recognized feature of American government • It features the national government with state governments existing independently of each other in the same territory while commanding loyalties of the same individuals as citizens of both the state and nation. • Local governments are creations of states.

7. Woodrow Wilson “The Study of Administration” Political Science Quarterly 1887

8. Professional administrators • Wilson sought relief from spoils system and politicians’ abuse of government. • Coincides with enactment of merit hiring and civil service reforms – Pendleton Act of 1883 requires federal hiring be based on merit rather than political ties. • His essay is considered a landmark feature of the study and practice of public administration.

9. Trained bureaucracy • A trained bureaucracy would bring expertise to the job and have the will to oppose popular opinion when necessary. • He argued that “the field of administration is a field of business. It is removed from the hurry and strife of politics.” • Wilson links civil service reforms as only the beginning to a “fuller administrative reform.”

10. Tammany Hall • New York City’s Tammany Hall is the poster child for corruption and poor governance. • William “Boss” Tweed ran the political system and thus, ran New York City and New York State – ward boss and patronage supplier • Power surged in mid-1800s with immigrant arrivals until early to mid 1900s - FDR stripped federal patronage from the “machine” thus ending the corruption. “The way to have power is to take it.”

11. Reform movement • The reform model embraces council-manager government, non-partisan ballots, at-large elections, separation of municipal elections from state and national elections, merit systems and the democratic ballot processes of initiative, referendum and recall petition.

12. 3 main goals • Behind these three goals – elimination of corruption, greater efficiency and more democracy – lay a basic presupposition regarding the nature of city government. • Reformers hoped the concern for the greater good would outweigh competition with partial and private interests. • Thus, governance of cities is increasingly influenced by bureaucratic independence and expertise. • “Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy after an agreement among elected officials and investors to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds fell apart…”

13. Types of local government Council-manager Strong mayor

14. Council-manager form Basically 2 types of local government in the United States: • Council-manager • Strong mayor Florida examples: • Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando have strong mayors • Zephyrhills, Temple Terrace, Sarasota have city manager form

15. Larger the city, more likely to have strong mayor form – New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles are prominent examples. • Dallas and Phoenix are two anomalies with council-manager forms. • Who decides the type of local government?

16. Manager as leader • City Council members are elected and appoint (and terminate) city managers. • Managers are the administrative leaders; council members dominate the policy arenas. • Managers were meant to be ”neutral competents.” • Over time, these two roles have blurred.

17. Significant figures • Local government managers are positioned to be significant figures in their cities or counties and not only within governments. • Some prefer a more visible role than others, but by virtue of their position they are at the center of efforts to identify and address the needs of the community.

18. As community leaders, local government managers interact with three key sets of actors: • The local government manager works for and interacts directly with the governing boardand mayor. • The manager also handles a wide range of interactions with people and organizations within the city or county and outside it. • The city manager is the head of the administrative organization and as such shapes the way local government staff membersdeal with each other and with citizens.

20. Multiple contacts • Chamber of Commerce • Main Street members, organization leaders • Rotary and Kiwanis • Business leaders • Civic leaders • Economic development

21. Government interaction • County (or other city) officials, county administrator, county commissioners, county staff (attorneys, planners, transportation planners, elderly nutrition program, animal control, emergency management) • Elections office, clerk of court, • Property appraiser, tax collector • Neighboring city managers, • Sheriff • State employees – Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Protection, Southwest Florida Water Management District

22. Coordinate with… • Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council • Economic development council • State representative, state senator, governor • State historic preservation officer, state parks administration and grants, libraries • County school superintendent, school board and district

23. Work and partner with… • Residents • Health care community, hospitals, doctors • United Way, YMCA, Veterans groups • Federal Congressional and Senate offices/staff, FAA , EPA etc. • Church affiliated groups, • ministerial associations (faith based) • Stakeholders in minority communities, African American church ministers, farmworkers self-help organization • Other non-profits • Media groups

24. Facilitator • The objective becomes advancing the public interest, facilitating discussion, obtaining feedback from citizens, civic leaders and groups and contributing to strategic planning. • The manager can bring different groups together to get something accomplished.

25. Positive force According to C.A. Harrell, • the “ideal manager is a positive, vital force in the community.” • Managers should initiate policy proposals and submit them to council, • Managers should think about broad proposals to improve community life (the manager is often the one with the time to do the task).

26. Trends The role of city manager is grounded in the relationship with the council, yet two trends affect the work of local government professionals: • “building and maintaining a sense of community” • “modernizing the organization.” includes new ways to communicate – IT, e-government

27. Strong Mayor • Strong mayors are elected independently of city councils • They are the chief executive officer of their city • Typically hire a CAO to run day to day activities • City councils are weak – have little actual authority outside budget approval and zoning/land use issues • Still impact local government – representative role

28. Strong mayor, continued Strong mayors are the public face of their community. They look at the big picture, work on image, attract new businesses, serve on variety of authorities and boards (port and airport for example) • Who negotiates with unions in a strong mayor city?

29. Strong mayor form… • Mayor has almost total administrative authority, appoints all department heads and other staff. • Mayor prepares and administers budget. Policymaking is joint role of mayor and council but mayor has the edge. • Mayor has to be a good political leader and competent administrator. Can be difficult combination to find. Some recent examples: Guiliani in New York, Pam Iorio, Bob Buckhorn, others…

30. County Government • In Florida, county governments are a subdivision of state government. The form is similar to council-manager with some significant differences. • County administrators serve as chief administrative officers for the elected Board of County Commissioners • They do not supervise the 5 constitutional officers: sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of election and clerk.

31. Limited power • The separation of government offices in county government results in limited and divided authority for the administrator and County Commission. • This form also hampers the constitutional officers – they are independent of the Board, yet rely on them for the majority of funding of their departmental operations.

32. Changing roles • Counties have witnessed spectacular population and developmental growth over the past 30 to 40 years. • Once rural counties now provide urban services to suburban residential populations.

33. County population changes 1970 populations 2010 populations Hillsborough 1,266,265 Pasco 464,697 Pinellas 916,542 Hillsborough • 490,265 Pasco • 75,955 Pinellas • 522,239

34. County services • In addition to responding to increasing serve demands from growth and urbanization, counties provide wider variety of services (than cities): • Medicaid • Health and aging services (nutrition) • Welfare • Housing and rental assistance • Major service provides (w/s, fire, roads)

35. New reforms Reinventing government, new public management, privatization and outsourcing

36. Operate like a business • Tighter budgets, less staff, fewer resources, citizen demands for the same services cause city managers, city councils and county leaders to rethink how they operate. • The ideals of New Public Management will impact local government out of necessity – privatize services, share services with other governments, work with nonprofits to provide for citizens.

37. Outsourcing/privatization • Outsourcing and privatizing are examples of transformational actions for the delivery of government work. • Outsourcing relies on contracts with an outside vendor or supplier for a specific service. • Privatizing transfers the program or service to another agency creating a partnership situation. • Collaboration too – partnerships to achieve goals

38. Diminished authority • In the delivery of services, contributions by nonprofits, community groups and businesses have increased and functions transferred to the private sector. • Authority of the local manager is diminished in this new governance operation and managers find themselves working with others, coordinating services and losing control over quality.

39. Aventura to Weston • Some of South Florida's newest cities, 1990s era, created by residents demanding more for their money, are finding that it pays to hire private firms to run city departments. • Weston, Aventura and Wellington all are boasting the lowest tax rates in their counties and less red tape in getting things done.

40. They have structured bare-bones governments that keep costs and taxes low by hiring others to run police, fire, emergency rescue, water, parks and recreation, zoning and other department. • Weston has about 9 full time employees and 60,000 residents.

41. Local Government Responsibilities • Health • Safety • Welfare of public • Regulations, permits, inspections are a part of protecting the public – physically and financially. • Public safety, building regulations, utilities – services private industry typically cannot do.

42. Varieties of Issues in local governments • Land use/zoning • Narcotic services and prevention • Affordable housing • Privatization of sanitation services • Domestic partnership issues • Funding new Rays stadium • HART and mass transit • Pedestrian safety issues • Foreclosures/code enforcement • Homeless concerns

43. Regulations Latest building collapse kills three in Cairo (23/01/2013) Three people were killed and four injured when a three-story building collapsed in Masr al-Qadeema neighborhood, south of downtown Cairo. Seven killed in Cairo building collapse (12 Sep 2012) At least seven people were killed and five remain missing after a four-story building collapsed . Egypt has seen a number of construction disasters over the past few decades, partly owing to building violations or bad maintenance.

44. Closer to home… Shoddy construction Some Willowbrook residents have issues of sinking floors, separating window frames, loose hand rails on the balcony, wall moisture and mold due to water intrusion (in Bradenton).

45. Mandates • A mandate is “a constitutional provision, a statute, an administrative regulation or a judicial ruling that places an expenditure requirement on a government. That requirement comes from outside the government forced to take the action.” • Examples: transportation, Americans with Disability Act, new educational program requirements (NSLB), even gun laws.

46. New challenges • Fend for yourself federalism – less revenue sharing/grant funds • Find ways to do more with less • Emphasis on results, performance and accountability • And… in 1978, cities received 16% of revenues from federal sources; by 1990s, it was 3.5%.

47. Changes, or are they? • In the 1960s – how different is it? Dealt with anti-war protestors, labor unions, changes in minority rights and access, drugs, urban renewal • Today: Occupy Wall Street, labor unions, minority and diversity issues, drugs, urban redevelopment and foreclosures. • Changes in city roles transferred from focus on building infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, WWTP, parks) to developing procedures for local governments, e-government. • In addition, today the shift is from physical aspects to human focused aspects of community (school lunches too).

48. Some trends in metropolitan growth • Suburbs growing faster than cities. • Racial and ethnic group shares of suburban populations increased. • Absolute numbers of people living in poverty in U.S. metropolitan areas increased from 19 million in 1980 to 25 million in 2000. • Poverty rates changing between inner cities and suburbs

49. Use of special districts • Special districts deliver separate array of services, govern different aspects of a public entity, such as a fire district, water district, water management district, housing, urban renewal, CRA, mosquito control, soil conservation, utilities, electric power, drainage. • 42% of local governments are “special districts;” most deal with one area of expertise. • Generally more difficult for citizens to grasp and to be aware of who governs the district, levies taxes, develops policies.

50. Councils of Government (COG) and MPOs • Metropolitan Planning Organizations are local governments united to administer federal funds on particular policy areas, such as transportation. • Member governments have representation and work to divide up the funding for joint projects that cross jurisdictional lines or are state funds (for a state road for example). • Regional planning councils – Tampa Bay RPC – are voluntary and lack taxing or legislative power. They provide planning assistance, grant writing, technical assistance. Oversee or coordinate portions of local government comprehensive plans and developments of regional impacts.