This text is aimed at the basic local government management course (upper division or graduate) that addresses the structural, political and management issues associated with regional and metropolitan government. It also can complement more specialized courses such as urban planning, urban government, state and local politics, and intergovernmental relations.
Preface1. Governing America’s New Frontier: The Metropolitan Region2. Creatures of Whom? The Intentionally Conflicted Nature of Local Government in America3. The Evolution of the Financial Relationship Among State and Local Governments4. The Primary Types and Roles of Local Governments5. Fifty States, Fifty Different Systems6. The New Kid on the Block: The Metropolitan Region7. The Urban Core as Outward Region Building: A City and Its Contiguous Municipalities8. Sharing Wealth and Responsibility: Fiscal Regionalism9. Reshaping Counties and Integrating Regional Special Districts: High Risk but Great Potential10. Representing the New Kid on the Block: Regional Governing Organizations11. State Government Versus Local Governments: Creative Tension or Inherent Conflict? 12. The Conflicted Role of Professional Municipal Managers: Help Build or Insulate from the Metropolitan Region? 13. Speculation on the Future