David Young Miller University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

1. Governance and decision-making: expanding the notion of local community to include regional community David Young Miller University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs 2010 Presentation to National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration dymiller@pitt.edu

2. Rethinking the discussion about structure • In the end, the discussion about the number of governments is political, not economic in nature. • Having a large number of local governments is not inherently bad, it is the inability to deal with the unintended consequences of that political decision that is the problem • Minneapolis/St Paul and Boston are as fragmented as Pittsburgh and St Louis

3. The unintended consequences of the political decision to have many governments • Economic growth will be uneven • Gap between rich and poor communities will be high • Fiscal mercantilism more easily dominates tax policy • Segregation by race and class is apt to higher • Coordinated land use planning will be much more difficult • Professionally managed communities may work in sophisticated ways to protect local self-interests • Poorly managed communities will act as a drain on the region’s ability to deal with a wide array of policy issues

4. Old Way of Thinking • Think in federal terms and try to allocate responsibilities between levels of governments • Create regional special districts (Siloed regionalism) • Create regional institutions in spite of local governments • Create regional institutions that are mere extensions of local governments

5. New Way of Thinking • Maintain core values of equity, efficiency, and effectiveness • Mitigate the unintended consequences of a system built on a large number of local governments • Embrace the values of community by creating a sense of regional community with real institutions, real constituencies and real citizens. • Turn regional decision-making into a form of inter-local decision-making (If France and Germany can ……)

6. Strategies • Tax-base sharing (as both tax and governance policy) • Consistency of local land-use planning to regional plans • Creation or reformation of regional governance institutions that build around local governments but not simple extensions of local governments (the EU) • Qualified majority voting rules • Place and Principle (party, ideology) accountability • Cultural responsibility of professional local government management to include regional interests in policy development • The State(s) has (have) to be enablers

7. Chart 1. The Three Dimensions of the Structure of Regional Governance State Government • Vertical • Intergovernmental • Inter-sectoral 1 Local Governments Private & Non-Profit Sector 3 2

8. CONgress of NEighboring CommuniTies (CONNECT) • The metro area is not made up of just cities and suburbs. • AlsoUrbs: communities immediately adjacent to the center city that share the urban issues with the core city and suburban issues with the suburb on the other side. • For a metro area the AlsoUrbs become the “glue” that holds it together. • They can translate urban issues to the true suburbs better than the city can. • They can explain suburban issues to the city better than the true suburbs can. • In partnership with the city, they represent a truer picture of the urban.

9. The Governing of CONNECT • The Congress is comprised of all participating municipalities and Allegheny County • Each municipality has three representatives, 2 elected and 1 appointed who attend and vote at the annual Congress • Each municipality and the County has one seat on the Executive Committee. In addition, Pittsburgh has 2 additional non-voting members, a representative from Pittsburgh City Council and a representative from the City Controller’s office • Four officer positions are elected every year at the Congress (Chair, 1st Vice Chair, 2nd Vice Chair and Secretary/Treasurer). One of the 4 officers is a representative from the City of Pittsburgh • Additional non-voting members on the Executive Committee include PA DCED and SPC (MPO)

10. CONNECT and the University’s Role • CONNECT is an initiative of the Innovation Clinic, a center of Excellence at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh • CONNECT is currently staffed by a full time Associate Director and part time Project Coordinator • MPA students at GSPIA intern with CONNECT to gain real-life experience dealing with local government and public policy issues. The students serve as policy researchers and staff CONNECT’s policy working groups

11. Miller’s Power Factoid Sheet • 56% of Allegheny County population; 67% of jobs in Allegheny County • Nearly 80% of Allegheny County’s African-American population • Almost 75% of transit-dependent citizens in Allegheny County live in CONNECT • Lies within all 3 of the county’s US House Districts • Both gubernatorial candidates hail from CONNECT • Holds 4 of 6 State Senate Districts; 17 of 23 House Districts • Represented by 14 of 15 County Council Seats

12. CONNECT is… • Forging a new direction in intergovernmental cooperation • Complementing existing intergovernmental institutions • Building on cutting-edge research from around the country • Leveraging the strength of the core of the region • Creating a way to discuss and resolve common policy issues

13. The “Old” Intergovernmental Structure

14. The “New” Intergovernmental Structure

15. The Also-Urbs