LGM - Exam 2 - Ch. 9

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What are the oldest and most popular ways to work across boundaries?
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Terms in this set (73)
What are the oldest and most popular ways to work across boundaries?
Formal and informal interlocal contracts and service agreements
What are contracts?
Voluntary, usually involving two jurisdictions and a single service or activity. They often emerge from the informal conversations among managers about cooperative opportunities.
How many states authorize local governments to use contracts?
45
Why are contracts and agreements criticized?
Their voluntary nature, single-function focus, and potentially limited duration.
What are contracts and agreements' important contribution?
Contributes to regional collaboration by enabling public officials from participating jurisdictions to get better acquainted and begin to build trust
According to David Warm, what is the most important aim of local government managers?
Build trust with one another, with citizens, with community institutions.
Contracts and agreements are the ____ that could enable regional partners to eventually embark on more ambitious undertakings.
low-hanging fruit
The county structure is in place in all but what two states?
Connecticut and Rhode Island
What is the chief limitation of counties?
They act as arms of the state government responsible for performing a limited range of functions -- law enforcement, tax assessment and collection, road maintenance, and elections -- in unincorporated areas.

When the governing body of many counties head depts and chief admin is weak or nonexistent, may not be able to deal effectively with regional issues and wicked problems.
What states have authorized their counties to perform municipal-type functions and in some cases, given them home rule?
CA, GA, NY, FL, VA, MD
Local empowerment is a crucial condition for achieving _____.Effective collaborationIf local governments lack the authority to modernize and strengthen their form of government, manager their personnel, levy and adjust taxes and fees, and deliver a wide-range of services (directly or collaboratively) they are ___.Unable to meet the expectations of citizens and businesses.Empowerment can produce___,Strong local partners to regional collaborative arrangements that are key to competing successfully in a global marketplace.What is the only state-mandated municipal function?Building code enforcement.Three practical reasons for trend for county to expand to perform more services?1. Inefficiency of intracounty functional duplication 2. Capacity to achieve economies of scale in some services 3. Personnel and capital cost increasesWho was a pioneer in interlocal contracting ___.Lakewood, CA. When incorporated in 1954 chose to contract with Los Angeles county for most of its services. This arrangement has been replicated elsewhere, with cities selecting from a cafeteria plan the services they would like the county to perform for them and agreeing to reimburse the county. Win-win arrangement in which the county achieves scale economies and efficiency is increased by the reduction of service duplication, while cities save money by not having to invest in their own personnel, equipment, technology, and space.Also, public accountability.Many of the contracted-from-government services are clustered in ___.the health and human services areaFour top motivators of intergovernmental contracting?1. Saving money (80%) 2. Achieving economies of scale (77%) 3. Strengthening collaborative intergovt relations (64%) 4. Promoting regional service integration (59%)Top obstacles to intergovt contracting1. Loss of community control (64%) 2. Employee and elected official opposition (43%) 3. Monitoring difficulties (32%)What types of governments are more likely to engage in service contracting?council-manager government rather than municipalities operating under the mayor-council formReorganizing counties as full-service jurisdiction for planning, problem-solving, and functional performance requires ___.Adoption of home rule charters, broadening of functional and fiscal powers, and replacement of the commission form of government with elected county executives and/or appointed county managers or CAOsWhat are ASD methods?Services provided through arrangements other than in-house, such as government-to-government arrangements and public-private arrangements.What does it mean when a service is privatized?It is permanently transferred to the private sector. No contractual agreement for monitoring or an ongoing fee system that is established. The private sector agency takes over the service previously provided by govt.What does it mean when a service is contracted out?There is a contractual agreement that covers the arrangement. The private sector agency may be granted long-term control over the service. However, the public org does not relinquish ownership or responsibility for provision of that service.Examples of government facilities not commonly administered by private sector corporations?Prisons, public hospitals, sports facilities, construction centers.Examples of services commonly provided by the private sector?Trash collection, utilities maintenance, recreation services.Since the ____, there has been considerable interest in using the private sector.1980sWhat should local governments keep in mind when they decide to purchase rather than produce a service?A public obligation or responsibility regardless of the performing entity, which involves a trade-off between sovereignty and efficiency. If a local govt encounters a private vendor who is unable to, or will not comply with standards the govt must respect, then it cannot be allowed to win a contract.Two contributors to the surge in interest in private sector contracting____.Election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 Reinventing Government movement of the 1990sWhat did the election of Ronald Reagan do regarding downsizing govt?Put it high on the domestic agenda.Contractors have been called the ___."shadow of government" because they conceal the true size of government and raise accountability and transparency concerns.What is the most common service purchased from for-profit companies?Vehicle towing and storageHow many of ICMA's ASD survey respondents purchased gas utility operations and management, solid waste, collection, and day care facilities from the for-profit sector?Over 50%What are the common features of the services from for-profits?They are also offered to private customers and they are "packagable" in the sense that they can be purchased in measured units.The marketplace of services from for-profits should ___.Have a large number of providers, should be competitive, and should offer opportunities to benchmark or compare prices. Fairly easy to monitor performance.What is a newer trend in contracting out for services from for-profits?Hiring a private company to do most of the business of running the government.Most commonly purchased services from NPOs?Homeless shelters, museum operations, operation and management of hospitals, drug and alcohol treatment programs, and cultural and art programs. Less competition due to low profitability.Define a public-private partnership:A contractual agreement between a public agency and a private sector entity. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector (public and private) are shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of the general public. In addition to sharing resources, each party shares in the risks and rewards in the delivery of the service and/or facility. They may be informal or formal, long term or short term, and involve a variety of service-planning, coordination, sharing, and/or execution relationships. Sharing and risk arrangements not found in the other ASD approaches.What are the components of a successful PPP?1. Clarity of vision for the project 2. A governing board that focuses on the long-term public good 3. Trust, teamwork, communications, and transparency among the staff, governing board, and partners 4. Two-way sharing of expertise between the local staff and private partners 5. A flexible agreement that the partners can modify and fine-tune as they gain experience with the project and one another 6. A method for measuring outcomes and evaluating results.Three of the most common tools managers have available to use as nongovernmental alternatives to the in-house production?1. Grants to subsidize services 2. Franchises 3. Managed competitionLowering costs through competition only works if:there is adequate existing competition in the private sector.Where do the most substantial portion of the costs of providing local government services come from?PersonnelWhat usually accompanies ASD arrangements?Layoffs (because personnel to run a government is so expensive)What does ASD stand for?Alternative service deliveryWhen are grants to subsidize services particularly helpful?To assist the provider in achieving the public purpose. This could be particularly helpful if a nonprofit organization is responsible for the service and it has a limited budget or staff expertise.What do grants to subsidize services take the form of?An in-kind contribution from the local government, such as office space, staff support, and equipment or technology in addition to cash.Why can accountability problems result from grants?They are broader and less specific than purchasing transactions.What do franchise agreements do?Allow companies to sell their services using public property or rights-of-way in exchange for fees to the local government. The customers pay the private provider, not the locality, for the service. In some cases, the local govt will franchise a sole provider, or multiple companies will be allowed to compete with one another for customers. Usually competition is restricted.Why are franchises popular?They involve revenues instead of expenditures.What is a common example of franchising?Residential trash and solid waste collection. Customers (citizens) can choose among private providers based on cost, frequency of service, types of waste collected, etc. If the provider fails to meet expectations, the citizen can select a different vendor.Who pays for services with franchising?Only customers who consume a service.Services where franchising is common?Utilities, cable television, bus transportation, parking meters, and restaurants on turnpikes.Who spearheaded managed competition and what is it?Phoenix, AZ in 1979. Required local depts to compete against private bidders for certain services. Competition should be citywide or could focus on certain districts or neighborhoods.How was managed competition used in Indianapolis?Mayor Stephen Goldsmith used managed competition in some 80 services, such as street resurfacing and pothole filling. Applied activity-based costing methodolofy to determine delivery costs and establish a level-playing field for all bidders, and strategies were employed to reduce expenditures.How much money was saved by Phoenix in the first decade of using managed competition?About $20MHow much money did Indianpolis save by using managed competition between 1992 and 1995About $100MWhat is the Yellow Pages test?If an in-house provided service is advertised in the yellow-pages as a private service, managed competition was possible.Managed competition can be an effective way to ____.Encourage or pressure public agencies to review and revamp their rules, procedures and productivityWhile competing with private sector providers can threaten job security and undermine staff morale,It can also boost confidence if the public agency prevails. But, if the govt constantly ins the competition, private companies might believe the bidding is tilted toward the local agency or rigged in favor of public personnel, leading to fewer potential private providers.What are the key questions LMs need to ask before deciding on a service delivery alternative?1. What potential producers are available? 2. Whether a service can be divided into distribution units for the citizens who use them (packageability) 3. Access and equity; if equal access to a service regardless of a customer's ability to pay is sought, then franchises are a less desirable option. 4. How much control over the production, delivery, quality, and cost of the service the local government desires. - Is there mutual accountability - Devotion of enough time to provide effective oversight to make sure contractors are doing a good job?The use of one or more alternative approaches assumes that ___.LGs are willing to relinquish direct control over service delivery, with franchises and grants allowing the greatest flexibility to providers.In view of the disconcerting fiscal and intergovt trends that lie ahead for local govts:Innovation will be critical to success and possibly survival.It is clear that ____ has had a profound effect on how most LGs conduct business and will continue to have significant impacts.technologyInnovation has become a nearly ubiquitous term forHigh-performing organizations.What are the generally accepted characteristics of innovation?They are new to the organization and are intended to improve org performance.What is innovation vs invention?Innovation: The adoption of an existing idea by an org or the improvement of such idea; Invention: The creation of an original idea or breakthroughWhat is the biggest challenge unique to the public sector, making building innovation capacity difficult?Public orgs tend to be risk averse and public staff have fewer incentive opportunities than in the private sector.What forms of government tend to be more innovative?Council-manager govtsFactors related to innovation capacity that the manager can help affect?1. Quality of leadership, both elected and admin, is essential. 2. They must be able to handle some level of risk. 3. To handle risk, there must be a positive working relationship among elected officials and a supporting and trusting relationship between elected officials and staff.Evidence supports the idea that managers who are innovation-oriented:Lead organizations that are more likely to innovate.Government to government contractingInterlocal contracts Cafeteria approach to service provision Agreements to provide services Yields efficiency List of services provided are numerousContracting out with for-profit organizations examplessolid waste collection hospital operation tree trimming and planting street repairCities contracting out all of their operationsSandy Springs, GA Beaumont, CA