What Have We Learned about the Performance of Council‐Manager Government? A Review and Synthesis of the Research

Abstract

Editor's note: Th e International City/County Management Association (ICMA) celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2014. Th is is the fourth and fi nal article in a series over the past year about the council-manager plan to commemorate ICMA's 100th anniversary. JLP Abstract: Th e 100th anniversary of the International City/County Management Association provides an excellent point to review and assess research on the performance of the council-manager form of government. Th e development of the council-manager form arguably has been the most important innovation in American local government over the last century, yet its impact on the performance of municipal governments is not well understood. Th is article reviews and assesses the empirical evidence for 10 propositions that council-manager governments perform better than mayorcouncil governments. Th is evidence indicates that although progress has been made on demonstrating diff erences in representation and functionality, the proposition that council-manager governments are better managed than mayorcouncil governments has yet to be seriously engaged in this literature. Filling this critical gap requires progress in two areas: the development of theory to explain why council-manager governments are better-managed organizations and the production of evidence assessing the major propositions of this theory.

Pragmatic Municipalism: Local Government Service Delivery After the Great Recession

“…For organizational capacity, we use a dummy variable that indicates whether the local government has a council‐manager form. Based on previous studies that link council‐manager forms with more innovation (Lobao and Adua ; Nelson and Svara ; Hefetz et al ; Lobao et al ; Carr ), we expect them to be associated with higher use of alternative delivery methods.…”

Home Rule Be Damned: Exploring Policy Conflicts between the Statehouse and City Hall

“…In addition, form of government might be important as organized minority interests appear to be more influential in unreformed city governments compared to those with council-manager systems (Taylor et al 2014). The reformed systems may be less responsive to minority concerns (e.g., Lineberry and Fowler 1967) and tend to engage in less symbolic policy making (Carr 2015).…”

Influence of Local Political Institutions on Policy Punctuation in Three Policy Areas

“…Local political institutions have been considered critical explanatory factors for local policy processes. Municipal‐level political institutions, especially form of government, have been widely studied (see Carr ; Modlin ; Tekniepe and Stream ), but with various outcomes. As counties continue to transition from mere record‐keeping units of the states to formidable entities responsible for providing municipal‐type services, county political institutions are increasingly important in examining policies, politics, budgets, elections, and public services.…”