Local Government Management: Practices and Trends

409 Pages·2023·10.763 MB·English

by  Nicolas A. Valcik, Teodoro J. Benavides

Local Government Management
In a recent paradigm shift, local governments find themselves shouldering
more responsibility for day-to-day governance and crisis management, thanks
to regulations and federal spending cuts. While 20 years ago a book on local
government administration might have been considered complete with chapters
on budgeting, public personnel management, productivity and responsivity, and
community engagement, any discussion of local government must now also
include resilience, emergency management, climate change, smart cities, social
media, and infrastructure funding. Bringing together key voices from the academic
and public sectors, Local Government Management offers techniques and insight
into how local government can most effectively lead and manage their resources
in an evolving political—and environmental—landscape.
Featuring examples from expert contributors’ own decades of public service
and research, this forward-thinking book explores the rapid speed of change
in local communities and the need for local government to not only adapt but
also proactively plan for the future. Local Government Management is essential
reading for local government officials, public stakeholders, practitioners, and
students of public administration and management.
Nicolas A. Valcik works as the Director of Effectiveness Analytics for a college
based in Texas. Previously he worked for Texas Tech University as the Director
of Institutional Research, UT-Permian Basin as the Director of Institutional
Research and Business Intelligence, Central Washington University as the
Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, and the University of Texas at
Dallas as the Associate Director for the Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis.
He additionally held a faculty appointment for the Program of Public Affairs in
the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas
at Dallas. He is the editor/author of numerous books and chapters for Routledge/
Taylor & Francis.
Teodoro J. Benavides serves as a faculty member and the MPA Director for the
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in the School of Economic, Political, and
Policy Sciences’ Public and Nonprofit Management Program. He previously served
as a Senior Vice President for the Waters Consulting Group and served from 1998
to 2004 as City Manager of Dallas, Texas. He was responsible for administering
all programs and services for the city’s 1.2 million people, overseeing an annual
$1.9 billion municipal budget, and directing a workforce of 13,000 employees.
Benavides serves as a member of the City of Glenn Heights, Texas, Economic
Development Corporation. He is the co-author of City Planning for the Public
Manager (Routledge, 2018), Non-Profit Organizations (Routledge, 2015), and
Practical Human Resources Management for Public Managers (Routledge, 2011).
American Society for Public Administration
Series in Public Administration & Public Policy
David H. Rosenbloom, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Mission: Throughout its history, ASPA has sought to be true to its founding
principles of promoting scholarship and professionalism within the public
service. The ASPA Book Series on Public Administration and Public Policy
publishes books that increase national and international interest for public
administration and which discuss practical or cutting edge topics in engaging
ways of interest to practitioners, policy makers, and those concerned with
bringing scholarship to the practice of public administration.
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Effective Nonprofit Management
Context, Concepts, and Competencies
Shamima Ahmed
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Local Government Management
Edited by Nicolas A. Valcik and Teodoro J. Benavides
Local Government
Management
Edited by Nicolas A. Valcik and
Teodoro J. Benavides
Designed cover image: © dibrova (Getty Images)
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Nicolas A. Valcik and
Teodoro J. Benavides; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Nicolas A. Valcik and Teodoro J. Benavides to be
identified as the author[/s] of the editorial material, and of the
authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Valcik, Nicolas A., editor. | Benavides, Teodoro J., editor.
Title: Local government management: promises and perils/edited
by Nicolas A. Valcik and Teodoro J. Benavides.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022048990 (print) | LCCN 2022048991 (ebook)
| ISBN 9780367029036 (Hardback) | ISBN 9780429001086 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Local government–Management. |
Local government–Study and teaching–United States.
Classification: LCC JS78 .L6544 2023 (print) | LCC JS78 (ebook) |
DDC 320.8068–dc23/eng/20230113
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022048990
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022048991
ISBN: 9780367029036 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032459851 (pbk)
ISBN: 9780429001086 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429001086
Typeset in Sabon
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Nicolas A. Valcik and Teodoro J. Benavides would like to
dedicate this book to our practitioner colleague, Paul Erik
Frederiksen, who passed this March 12, 2021. Paul had an
unbelievable impact on his family, friends, and all his public
sector colleagues. Whatever we said about Paul’s legacy
would only provide a hint of the mark that he left on those
that knew him. Nick and I miss every day his wit, humor, and
pugnacious personality.

Contents
About the editors ix
List of contributors xi
Foreword xv
Preface xviii
Acknowledgments xx
1 Introduction 1
PAUL G. GRIMES
2 Elected Officials and City Managers 32
ARETHA R. FERRELL-BENAVIDES
3 The City Manager’s Perspective 46
JAMES FISHER, JEFFREY H. MOSHIER, AND TEODORO J. BENAVIDES
4 Civic Engagement, Policy, and Management through
Digital Strategy and Communication Networks 62
SANA SALMA SYED
5 Budgeting and Financial Management 82
TEODORO J. BENAVIDES
6 Human Resources 96
SAMANTHA DEAN
7 Economic Development, Land Use, and Resilience
Impact on Growth Policy 109
TRENT O. PETTY
8 E-Government, Privacy, Technology, and Innovation 130
JOE BEAUCHAMP
viii Contents
9 The Sharing Economy: A Disruptive Innovator for City
Government 144
JEFFREY H. MOSHIER
10 Business Stakeholders in Local Government and the
Community 167
JOHN JACOBS
11 Local Government Management and Paramedicine 181
KRISTI L. VALCIK
12 Municipal Government Relations 195
BRETT WILKINSON
13 School Districts 217
TEODORO J. BENAVIDES
14 Local Government and Nonprofit Relationships 233
TODD JORDAN
15 Urban Planning and Affordable Housing 247
PAUL FREDERIKSEN
16 Homelessness and Affordable Housing in the Urban Areas 264
CELESTE HAIDUK COX AND ALMA HERNANDEZ
17 Immigration and the American City 295
JESUS NAVA
18 Green Movement: Environmental Concerns 316
JILL JORDAN
19 Accountability 336
TARRON J. RICHARDSON
20 Strategic Planning and Non-Routine Management
Challenges: Homeland Security and Emergency
Management, e.g. COVID-19 350
NICOLAS A. VALCIK
21 Epilogue: Trends and Current Issues 363
NICOLAS A. VALCIK AND TED J. BENAVIDES
Index 375
About the Editors
Teodoro J. Benavides currently serves as an Associate Professor of Practice
for the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in the School of Economic,
Political, and Policy Sciences’ Public and Nonprofit Management Program.
In addition, he serves as the Director of the Master of Public Affairs Program
and the department’s Internship Coordinator.
Benavides has co-authored a textbook on human resources titled
Practical Human Resources for Public Managers with Nicolas A. Valcik,
a textbook on nonprofits titled Non-Profit Organizations: Real Issues for
Public Administrators with Nicolas A. Valcik and Kimberly Scruton, and
a textbook on urban planning titled City Planning for the Public Manager
with Nicolas A. Valcik, Todd Jordan, and Andrea Stigdon. Benavides
just recently completed co-authoring with Nicolas A. Valcik and Meghna
Sabharwal the book Human Resource Information Systems: A Guide for
Public Administrators.
Benavides served from 1998 to 2004 as the City Manager of Dallas,
Texas. From 1996 to 1998, Benavides was the City Manager of Denton,
Texas. Previously, he held several other positions with the City of Dallas,
including Assistant City Manager, Director of Budget and Research,
Assistant Director of Human Services, Assistant Director of Capital Budget
Programs, Capital Budget Administrator, and Budget Analyst.
Benavides earned a bachelor’s degree in education, political science, and
history from Texas A&M University-Kingsville and a master’s degree in
public administration from Southern Methodist University. Benavides is a
fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).
Nicolas A. Valcik currently works as the Managing Director for Institutional
Research at Texas Tech University. Previously Valcik was the Director for
Institutional Research and Business Intelligence at the University of Texas of
the Permian Basin, the Executive Director for Institutional Effectiveness at
Central Washington University, the Director for Institutional Research for
West Virginia University, and the Associate Director of Strategic Planning
and Analysis for the University of Texas at Dallas. In addition, Nicolas held
an academic appointment as a clinical Assistant Professor for Public Affairs