The Failure Of Local Government

With Massachusetts State spending on affordable housing and open space at a historic low, when considered as a percentage of the total budget, the production of dwelling units and the conservation of land have become the responsibility of local government, but cities and towns do not build housing, except in rare circumstances. As well they do not routinely buy expensive tracts of open land,

Freedom of municipal law, when pertaining to the state government, has its pros and cons. One pro is the lack of necessary for the state to review every policy that the city makes. Another is that the cities could work on ways to solve their own problems and allow more of the community’s voices to be heard. A corresponding con is the lack of connection between the cities and states that could further lead to a misuse of power. Also, if the cities feel that there is little to no authority acting over them, they could become power hungry and try to push policies that their communities disagree with.

People of different classes are moving away from each other not just in how much income they make but in where they live. America is breaking down into economically homogeneous enclaves. (Dreier, Mollenkopf, & Swanstrom 12)

On Monday, April 13th, 2009, I visited the Culver City city council meeting, and found that they operate using a council-manager form of government. For a city with a population of about 38,000, this type of governmental structure is fairly common, and I was not surprised to see it in action in a community where the median household income is around $56,000 a year. Culver City is also a culturally rich community with a 60 percent Caucasian population, and a quarter of the residents are either of African American or Asian decent. The mayor, D. Scott Malsin, is one of five members on the council, and his term as mayor is on a rotating basis. Having been to a Hermosa Beach city council meeting with a similar council-manager structure, I knew

The City of Bend, Oregon Government consists of approximately 500 employees across thirteen different divisions. These divisions are Police, Fire, Community Development, Public Works, etc and are all coordinated under the City Manager’s office. Bend’s government style is called a “weak mayor” form of city government, in that the citizens elect a city council, which then elects a mayor from among the council members. The city council and mayor, then hire a City Manager to run the day to day operations of the city. In doing this form of government, the City Manager is not directly accountable to the citizens and can focus on the needs of the city and its employees. At the same time, the City Council can only provide direction to the city manager and is accountable to the citizens. The city employees in this case are led by the city manager as directed by city council. The community leadership environment in this case is established by council to provide direction to the city manager.

The Problems of Municipal Administration written by Jane Addams described the problems of public administration in targeted social publics that affected the community, specifically she mentioned the inequalities and injustices of municipal administration. The author stars by pointing out the failure of municipal administration to address the issues emerging in society. The social changes brought by the increased of industrialization in the 18th century failed to address the necessities of society. Addams emphasized, “…failure in municipal administration, the so-called “shame of American cities,” may be largely due to the inadequacy of those eighteen-century ideals, with the breakdown of the machinery which they provided, and further, to the weakness inherent in the historic and doctrinaire method when it attempts to deal with growing and human institutions” (p. 51). The lack of adjustment between democracy and the study of the external conditions affecting the communities was a problems that governmental officials failed to take into consideration.

According to the book “ The Meaning of Sociology”, “Having high rank means that one can influence the economic and political order r more regularly than can those who hold low rank or lives in poverty.” (Charon, Vigilant, 67) A neighborhood with wealthier income would be able access the resources that they need daily for food, versus a family of lower income who does not have the money to have access to the sane

We live in a society of competition driven by goals to meet financial economic standards. Regardless of where we live around the world each system consists of stratification and is supported by some acceptable legitimating rationales. In the textbooks, “The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology” and “The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology” by Lisa J. McIntyre provided great details of stratification and legitimating rationales grouped into three major systems: caste, estate, and class explored among rural and urbanized areas.

General-Law Cities are usually under a population of 5,000 or cities that have not adopted the home-rule style of government. With the state limiting the size of council, they also specify duties of the mayor, municipal officials, and emplacing additional boundaries on matters that home-rule can determine themselves. A downfall to this style of leadership is that with the small size getting someone with knowledge to come in and effectively manage the city and its

With regard to a mayor-council form, the system itself is based upon the presence of numerous factors which lead to the creation of a range of types which share one basic foundation. As suggested by the premise of this form of local government, the primary actors which come together to continue the sustenance of this framework include the mayor and the council, both of which must be elected (Center for Governmental Research 1). Consequently, the presence of these two parties within the wider framework entails the extent to which each actor holds a certain degree or extent of authority in managing the affairs of the city, this notion implies that the distribution of power and authority maybe classified as relative or absolute wherein it may favor the elected mayor or the elected council in terms of possession of power on the basis of the chosen variation of the mayor-council form of government.

The 150 residents of Babcock Place are senior citizens who have gone to the city council to request that a crosswalk of Constitution Avenue. Constitution Avenue is a four lane thoroughfare that leads to the downtown district. The council asked the city planning department to send out an engineer to determine if there was truly a need for a crosswalk. The engineer determined that there was no need for a crosswalk, which upset the residents of Babcock Place along with the Neighborhood Association that supported the residents. The council members were left to determine what measures should be taken next, if any. This paper will look at how the residents of Babcock Place and the city planning department can have influence over the city council’s decision. Also, the paper will address how a public manager’s morals and values can have a direct influence over their decision making process.

(27) There is a demarcation between the classes beginning with the rich elite, the upper upper class and the lower upper class. Those with inherited wealth are placed above those with self-earned wealth while those with great wealth are distinguished from those with a moderate amount of wealth. They are stable within their ranks, not dependent upon the economic climate of the country to sustain their positions. The upper middle class belongs to those people who are doing well and whose position also is not likely to change with the economic climate of the country. The middle class is comprised of people who are relatively comfortable and can afford a minimal number of luxuries. The working class can afford very few luxuries and are just getting by. Their position, like the middle class is subject to change with socio-economic changes in the country. The working poor cannot actually make ends meet and often become displaced workers with the ability to plummet down into the lowest class. They are not usually able to access the minimal comforts of the working class. The Underclass is a desperate position whose ranks lead substandard lives with no amenities and little chance for mobility.

According to Sieyes, the Third Estate undoubtedly take the most of the burdens of public administration for the following reasons. In the individual effort section, Sieyes emphasizes the importance of the Third Estate by claiming that they increase the value of resources and manage them so that people could utilize the resources. The Third Estate work as a connection between people and social sustainability. Then, Sieyes states that the Third Estate make a contribution to public services which is divided into four categories. However, the Third Estate take the most laborious work that the privileged classes are not willing to undertake, and they even don’t get credit for the effort and hardworking. The upper classes are intended to exclude

Wealth in relation to the upper class is defined not as income, but “the value of everything a person or family owns, minus any debts” (Domhoff 2005). Income according to Domhoff, “is what people earn from work, but also from dividends, interest, and any rents or royalties that are paid to them on properties they own” (Domhoff 2011). Those who own a great deal of wealth do not derive it from income, although they may have a high income resulting from the returns on their wealth. (Domhoff 2011) As for the power the upper class wields on politics, the economy and the government, it is indirectly carried out “through the activities of a wide variety of organizations and institutions. These organizations and institutions are financed and directed by those members of the upper class who have the interest and ability to involve themselves in protecting and enhancing the privileged social position of their class” (Domhoff 2005). This description of the upper class by Domhoff provides the basis for the argument that it institutionally exist - an organized, cohesive group set apart by its wealth and power.

Imagine a world ruled by mayors. Nation-states and federal governments become obsolete because cities are fully capable of running themselves. Benjamin Barber proposed that very idea in a Ted Talk he gave titled: “Why Mayors Should Rule the World”. However, his point of contention does not account for three potential dilemmas: It would be harder to solve global issues, ruralism would be eradicated, and laws would no longer be consistent. I disagree with the points made by Benjamin Barber in his TED Talk; mayors should not rule the world because it would lead to a plethora of conflicts and controversy.