CHAPTER 1

STEP ONE

Guide Users Prepare to Make Local Government ReformChoices in the Regional Governance Community

No mix of positive tangible factors—buildings, facilities, or other physicalassets—and no accumulation of financial assets and revenues are likely tosignificantly increase the chances of achieving local government reform. The mixand accumulation are unlikely to explain and channel successful choices of thestudy and reform of local governments in democracies. Instead, positive intangiblefactors are more likely to achieve these outcomes.

Elected local government officials are the political agents or instrumentsfor satisfying stakeholders' preferences. Local government reform is political/social reform. Individual and groups of local government stakeholders expresstheir preferences to officials in democracies. The collective effort of officials andstakeholders determines whether to study local governments and, if necessary,to reform them. They choose why, what, and how to study and reform localgovernments. In democracies, stakeholders usually initiate the study and reformof local governments. Elected local officials sometimes join them.

Guide Users, other Stakeholders, and Local Government Functions

Guide users are local government stakeholders. They begin to prepare to make localgovernment reform choices by identifying the local governments that perform thefunctions they use frequently or are significant to them. Exhibits are completedas follows:

• Each Guide user completes Exhibit 1-1 as a stakeholder.

• Civic-minded local government stakeholders complete the exhibit in steptwo.

• Stakeholder members of the regional community coalition complete theexhibit in step four.

• Stakeholder members of the local government reform commission reviewthe exhibit and, if helpful, complete it in step seven.

In passing, it is noted that Guide users suggest that other stakeholders mayfind it informative to complete Exhibit 1-1. They would have facts about thefunctions they use or have available to them and the local governments thatperform them. The facts would likely be useful to voting stakeholders as theymonitor the study and reform of local governments from step two through stepseventeen and prepare to vote on the reform in step eighteen.

Each major benefit or cost of a function is a major stake in the function.Guide users review their completed Exhibit 1-1, which summarizes their majorstakes in the functions of local governments. They reference it and revise it as theyemploy the Guide to study and reform the governments. Other stakeholders whoare not users may also complete Exhibit 1-1 as they monitor the study and reformof local governments.

Preparation also involves Guide users having a minimum shared knowledgeabout local governments and topics related to their study and reform. Guide usersdo this groundwork to prepare to make better reform choices than they wouldotherwise make. To begin, they prepare to participate in making numerouschoices.

Users improve their choices in studying and reforming their local governmentsand increase the chances of obtaining needed reform outcomes by possessing basicknowledge and skills before they begin the local government reform process. Thatbasic knowledge and skills include basic characteristics of local governments, basiclocal government reform politics, and basic local government reform practices.

Users who have the above basic knowledge and skills have supports they useas they climb the steps to reform. They may not always need the supports, butthey will have them if they unexpectedly need them to make study and reformchoices.

Basic Characteristics of Local Governments

The study and reform of local governments can affect these governments infundamental ways. A review of the sources in Appendix F indicates that localgovernments have basic characteristics. Reform affects these characteristics, andthey are the context within which Guide users make choices during their studyand reform of local governments. Knowledge of the characteristics providesusers with a uniform and stable foundation for their study and reform of localgovernments.

The basic characteristics of local governments are provided in the nextsubsections.

Governing, Democracy, and Stakeholders

Governing, democracy, and stakeholders are the underpinnings of localgovernments. They are sometimes overlooked or taken for granted. Guide usersbecome aware of the underpinnings because they can use them as benchmarks orpoints of reference during their study and reform of local governments.

Generally, governing means to rule, steer, direct, control, and exercise authority.It implies the exercise of authority in controlling the actions of stakeholders anddirecting their public affairs. Governing generally connotes the maintenance ofpublic order and the promotion of the common welfare as its purpose.

Basically, democracy is a type of governing in which its stakeholders holdthe ruling power. It is the ruling of stakeholders by the ruled stakeholders. It isgoverning of the stakeholders by the governed stakeholders. It is stakeholdersgoverning themselves either directly through petitions, initiatives, and referralsor indirectly through their elected officials. In this way, stakeholders steerthemselves.

In a local government democracy, just as local governing of stakeholders isby the locally governed stakeholders, so is reforming of local governments bythe stakeholders of these local governments. Local government stakeholdersreform their stakes in local governments. Their stakes are their benefits and costsof functions of local governments. The benefit and cost stakes apply, directly orindirectly, to all functions of local governments, such as those in Exhibit 1-1. Ina democracy, stakeholders in local governments cannot escape their responsibilityand authority, directly and/or indirectly, for reforming their local governments.

When stakeholders believe their preferences for the benefits and costs offunctions are not satisfied by local governments, they express their dissatisfactions.When stakeholder dissatisfactions are widespread, they become vital issues.Satisfaction of preferences and resolution of issues enable more stakeholders tolive better lives.

Local governing in a democracy can be complex, contentious, disorganized,and/or difficult. Within the contexts of governing, democracy, and stakeholderdissatisfaction, the study and reform of local government occurs in order to satisfystakeholder preferences and resolve vital issues.

Guide users may not sense these contexts. But they are very real and happenfrequently. They are often abstract and perhaps difficult to understand. They arealso difficult to explain. Accuracy of explanations can be challenged. Yet, userscould gain significantly when their preparation for undertaking the study andreform of local government is based in part on an understanding of the contexts,which can make the basic operational characteristics of local governance in ademocracy more transparent to stakeholders. Stakeholders can better identifywhether or not the actual operations and functions of local governments aresatisfying the preferences of stakeholders and resolving vital issues. If they aredissatisfied and know the contexts, stakeholders are better prepared to study andreform their governments.

Types of Local Governments

Stakeholder governing in a democracy occurs within and among certain typesof local government. There are five general types of local government: county,municipal (city), township, school district, and special district or their counterpartsin democracies.

• County governments are organized local governments authorized in stateor federal constitutions and/or statutes and established to perform generalgovernment functions. These governments may include governmentsdesignated as boroughs, parishes, and counties.

• Municipal governments are organized local governments authorized in stateor federal constitutions and/or statutes and established to perform generalgovernment functions for a defined area. These governments may includegovernments designated as cities, boroughs, towns, and villages. Municipalgovernments are different from township governments primarily becauseof their incorporation.

• Township governments are organized local governments authorized in stateor federal constitutions and/or statutes and established to perform generalgovernment functions for a defined area within county jurisdictionalboundaries. These governments may include governments designated astowns. Township governments are different from municipal governmentsprimarily because they are not incorporated.

• School district governments are special district governments that performkindergarten, elementary, secondary, and/or higher education functions that,under state or federal statutes, have sufficient governance, administrative,and fiscal autonomy to qualify as separate governments. These governmentsexclude school systems that county, municipal, township, state, or federalgovernments operate.

• Special district governments are all organized local governments other thancounty, municipal, township, or school district governments. State or federalstatutes authorize special districts to perform only one or a limited numberof designated functions and have sufficient governance, administrative, andfiscal autonomy to qualify as separate governments. Special districts have avariety of titles, such as authorities, boards, commissions, and districts, asspecified in the statutes.

The names of local governments in other democracies may vary. Some namesare identified at local governments in Appendix A.

Overall Structure of Local Government

Facts from Exhibit 1-1 and the types of local governments, along with theirpowers, functions, and jurisdictions, compose the overall structure of localgovernment. Some local governments have the same jurisdictional boundaries,others border one another, others are within the boundaries of other governments,and still others extend across part or all the boundaries of other governments.Countless different structures exist.

Regardless of the structure, stakeholders have different resident situations.Each stakeholder is a resident of one of the following: a county; a county and atownship; a county and a municipality; a county, township, and school district; acounty, municipality, and school district; a county, township, school district, andone or more special districts; or a county, municipality, school district, and oneor more special districts.

Which situation exists for a stakeholder depends on the structure of localgovernments and the stakeholder's legal residence(s) within the structure, whichdetermines the governments in which he or she votes. The structure of localgovernments affects the fundamental stakes of stakeholders in the functions oflocal governments.

In Exhibit 1-1, Guide users identified the functions they use frequently orare significant to them and the names of the local governments that perform thefunctions. By completing the exhibit, users have an idea of their legal residence(s)within the overall structure of local government. Other stakeholders may alsocomplete Exhibit 1-1 to ascertain their residence(s) within the structure. A mapshowing the jurisdictional boundaries of local governments can supplement thesefacts to show the overall structure geographically. Users and other stakeholderscan see their residence(s) in the structure.

Fundamental Stakes of Stakeholders

Stakeholders hold stakes in local government functions. Guide users and otherstakeholders refer to their completed Exhibit 1-1 to obtain facts about whichlocal governments perform functions for them. Users and other stakeholders holdstakes in these functions.

As discussed in the introduction, all stakeholders hold two fundamentalshared stakes or shares in the functions of local governments. Stakeholders wantsatisfaction of their shared preferences for:

• the shared benefits (well-being, good effects, and so forth) they receive fromthe multiple functions (goods, services, facilities, and so forth) of multiplelocal governments. Benefits are the elements of the stakeholder-governmentrelationship that have positive value to stakeholders.

• the shared costs (taxes, user charges, and so forth) they pay for the multiplefunctions of multiple local governments that aim to satisfy their sharedpreferences for benefits. Costs are the elements of the stakeholder-governmentrelationship that have negative value to stakeholders.

Stakeholders have shared use or access to numerous functions of localgovernments in which they reside legally and vote. To obtain the shared benefits offunctions, stakeholders pay the shared costs of the functions. Because of spillovers,they also hold fundamental stakes in the functions of nearby local governmentsin which they do not reside legally and do not vote. Exhibit 1-1 contains manyof these functions.

Regional Governance Community

Local governments perform functions individually and jointly in the above localgovernment structure to satisfy the stakeholders' preferences. Stakeholders havethe two above fundamental stakes in their local governments to satisfy theirshared preferences. They hold stakes in the governments in which they reside andin nearby local governments in which they do not reside.

Completed Exhibit 1-1 and the shared stakes held by stakeholders revealthe shared preferences among stakeholders, the shared functions among localgovernments, and the shared relations between stakeholders and their localgovernments. The shared characteristics mean that stakeholders live in a regionalgovernance community and local governments operate in that community. It hasthree basic characteristics: community, governance, and regional.

• A community is a group of people who live in the same geographical areaand have a common background or shared interest. There are numerouscommunities. An individual is often a member of numerous communitiesat one time. For example, an individual may be a member of a local businessassociation, a local country club, a regional professional organization, anational automobile insurance organization, and an international charity.Each group is a community because members of each group have a commonbackground or shared interest.

• Governance is the act of governing. It is residents making shared choices,directly and indirectly, regarding the benefits they receive from and thecosts they pay for the shared functions of their local, state, and federalgovernments in order to live better lives. For example, an individual, actingalone or with others in a community, makes these choices when voting oncandidates for elective office and proposed governmental policies petitioned,initiated by, or referred to voters for approval. In a democracy, the majorityvote determines the officeholders and policies.

• Regional relates to or is characteristic of a region. It pertains to a wholeregion, not just a locality. A region has definable or particular characteristicsthat are limited to a geographical area and distinguish it from otherregions. Along with shared interests, one set of characteristics is that majorinteractions occur among stakeholders and their local governments withinthe region, as compared to their minor or no interactions with stakeholdersand local governments outside the region. Whether a region has fixedor changing boundaries depends on whether the interactions amongstakeholders and with their local governments remain fixed or change overtime. Interactions among stakeholders and their interactions with the localgovernments determine the region's size and shape. The number and incomeof stakeholders, localities, places, districts, or neighborhoods included in aregion affect the number, size, wealth, functionality, and structure of localgovernments. In addition to including multiple local governments, a regionusually exists within the jurisdictional boundaries of one state or country butmay cross those boundaries of two or more states or countries.

On the basis of the above discussion, the regional governance community ina democracy contains two interacting parts:

• Multiple stakeholders with shared preferences pay the shared costs (taxes,user charges, and so forth) to elected local officials for multiple sharedfunctions of multiple local governments in exchange for receiving the sharedbenefits from the shared functions of the governments.

• Elected local officials of multiple local governments expend the revenues(taxes, user charges, and so forth) received from multiple stakeholdersto perform multiple functions that satisfy the shared preferences ofstakeholders in exchange for obtaining majority votes from satisfied votingstakeholders.