The Effects of Cash Management Assistance by States to Local Governments

In 1985 North Carolina's Local Government Commission (LGC) began a program to evaluate the percentage portfolios of the funds invested and the diversity of the investment governments and public authorities. The LGC established state's local five evaluation criteria and notified the governments and authorities of deviations from the five investment norms. This article discusses what was reported to the LGC and changes in invested funds occuring after LGC's evaluation. Principal findings include: cities over 10,000 population and counties in general are investing a high percentage of their funds; small-sized cities and public authorities tend to avoid the higher yielding, but more complex to purchase, instruments: and most governments and authorities experienced a considerable increase in the percentage of funds invested after review by the LGC. Based on the marked increases in funds invested, other states should consider helping local governments and public authorities with cash management.     

Would Bigger Councils Yield Scale Economies in the Greater Perth Metropolitan Region? A Critique of the Metropolitan Local Government Review for Perth Local Government

Forced amalgamation is a ubiquitous feature of Australian local government reform – compulsory council consolidation programs have occurred in all states and territories, with the sole exception of Western Australia. However, the Final Report of the Metropolitan Local Government – released in October 2012 – called for a reduction of about 60 per cent of the local authorities in the Greater Perth metropolitan area. The Western Australian Government responded by announcing that the number of Perth councils will fall from 30 to 14 from 1 July 2015. The Final Report recommended amalgamation on seven main counts, including scale economies. However, apart from citing work on Tasmania by commercial consultants Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) (2011), no econometric evidence was produced in support of claims on scale economies. This paper seeks to remedy this deficiency by estimating a number of econometric models on the impact of amalgamation on Perth local government. The results of our empirical modelling suggest that scale economies, cost savings and other pecuniary gains are largely illusory. Indeed, only two of the ten main local government functions provide evidence to suggest potential economies of scale.     

Introduction — Building Local Government

In this and the last issue, the Australian Journal of Public Administration has profiled issues of current importance to Australian local/regional government. Contributors to Building Local Government looked at organisational change, performance measurement, leadership and social–capital–building roles in local government. Future of Regionalism now focuses on local and subnational government generally, in the financial, administrative and constitutional context. A major trigger for this focus is the present inquiry of the Commonwealth House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration into the financial position of local government.     

BOOK NOTES

T. H. KEWLEY, Australian Social Security Today .
RUSSELL MATHEWS, Australian Federalism 1979 .
ALAN THOMAS, Broadcast and Be Damned .
RALPH PER VAN and CAMPBELL SHARMAN, Essays on Western Australian Politics .
DAVID DONNISON with PAUL SOTO, The Good City: A Study of Urban Development and Policy in Britain .
ROBERT ALBON (ed.), Rent Control, Costs and Consequences .
MICHAEL E. CORBY, The Postal Business, 1969-79: A Study in Public Sector Management .
Efficiency in Government Expenditure .
H. SADDLER and others, Public Choice in Tasmania .
ROBERT J. HAYNES, Organisation Theory and Local Government .
D. J. WALMSLEY, Social Justice and Australian Federalism
PETER RYAN, Redmond Barry, A Colonial Life 1813–1880 .
Directory to Commonwealth and State Government Services in South Australia .
Administrative Review Council , Fourth Annual Report.
RUTH ATKINS, Albany to Zeehan: A New Look at Local Governments .
Relations between Levels of Government .
Endowed Lectures, 1974–1979 .
Proceedings of the National Government Accounting Convention .     

Subsidiarity or Subterfuge? Resolving the Future of Local Government in the Australian Federal System

During Australia's centenary of federation (2001), the author, Local Government Association of Queensland and Courier–Mail newspaper surveyed 1,264 Queenslanders for their attitudes to future constitutional change, including a sample of 259 local government opinion leaders from across the state. The results of this pilot suggest ongoing political, functional and theoretical challenges surrounding the position of local government in Australia. Only 22 percent of local government respondents indicated a preference for the federal system to remain the same in another 100 years, against 70+ percent preferring significant structural change (50 percent seeking regional governments that replace the states). This higher–than–expected interest in change suggests that ongoing national reviews of the position of local government will need to reconsider federalism's values and structures from first principles, including engagement by Commonwealth and states alike with the principle of 'subsidiarity', if they are to deliver any long–term gains.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Critical tears in Immigration: Canada and Australia Compared. By FREDA HAWKINS (Montreal
Utah and Queensland Coal: A Study in the Micro Political Economy of Modern Capitalism and the State. By BRIAN GALLIGAN
"That Community Government Mob": Local Government in Small Northern Territory Communities. By JACKIE WOLFE
Health Care and Public Policy: An Australian Analysis. By GEORGE PALMER and STEPHANIE SHORT
From Colony to Coloniser: Studies in Australian Administrative History. Edited by J.J. EDDY AND J.R. NETHERCOTE
A Policy Framework for Improving the Performance of Government Trading Enterprises. By the STEERING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT TRADING ENTERPRISES
Engagement of External Consultants by Commonwealth Departments: Report 302. By JOINT COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
R onald M endelsohn , Australian Social Welfare Finance
C hristopher H odgkinson , The Philosophy of Leadership
J ohn S tewart , Local Government: The Conditions of Local Choice
G reg H ancock , M ichael W. K irst and D avid G rossman (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Educational Policy: Perspectives from Australia and USA
A. P arkin and J. W arhurst (eds.), Machine Politics in the Australian Labor Party
M ark F indlay , S andra E gger and J eff S utton (eds.). Issues In Criminal Justice Administration
E va E tzioni -H alevy , Bureaucracy and Democracy: A Political Dilemma     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
CAMERON HAZLEHURST and J. R. NETHERCOTE (eds.), Reforming Australian Government: The Coombs Report and Beyond
R. F. I. SMITH and PATRICK WELLER (eds.), Public Service Inquiries in Australia
R. L. MATHEWS (ed.), State and Local Taxation
J. S. HUNTER, Federalism and Fiscal Balance: A Comparative Study
V. SUBRAMANIAM, Transplanted Indo-British Administration
NORMAN LEWIS and BERNARD GATESHILL, The Commission for Local Administration: a preliminary appraisal
MALCOLM BAINS, Management Reform in English Local Government
M. A. JONES, Organisational and Social Planning in Australian Local Government
J. J. MACKEN, C. MOLONEY and G. J. McCARRY, The Common Law of Employment
PATRICK KEATINGE, A Place Among The Nations: Issues of Irish Foreign Policy
JOHN D. ROCHE, Planning in the ESB
C. V. BROWN and P. M. JACKSON, Public Sector Economics     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Public Administration and Sustainable Development. Edited by Mohammad Ja 'Far Ekram Ja 'Fari , Raul P De Guzman and Mila A Reforma Political Leadership in an Age of Constraint: Bureaucratic Politics Under Hawke and Keating. By Colin Campbell SJ and John Halligan Transforming Australian Local Government. By Michael Jones Public Sector Reform Under the First Goss Government: A Documentary Sourcebook. Edited by Glyn Davis Towards National Administration: Studies in Australian Administrative History. Edited by JJ Eddy and JR Nethercote Documenting a Nation: Australian Archives—The First Fifty Years. By Hilary Golder Ethics for the Public Sector: Education & Training. Edited by Noel Preston Corruption Character & Conduct: Essays on Canadian Government Ethics. Edited by John W Langford and Allan Tupper The Politics of Australia. By Dean Jaensch The Australian Form of Government: Models in Dispute. By Richard Lucy A National Survey of Indigenous Australians: Options and Implications. Edited by J.C. Altman Regional Change in the Economic Status of Indigenous Australians, 1986–1991. By J. Taylor     

当前地方政府开展绩效评估的难点与对策分析

政府绩效评估是政府管理创新的一种重要模式,开展政府绩效评估已成为一种世界性潮流,如何促进我国地方政府绩效评估的开展越来越为大家所关注。当前各级地方政府开展绩效评估面临着许多问题和难点,如何克服这些困难将对我国推进地方政府绩效评估具有重要影响。     

BOOKS TO BE REVIEWED

Book reviewed in this article: ANDERSON et al. Issues of Political Development BROGDEN. Australia's Two-Airline Policy BURROUGHS. Britain and Australia 1831–1855 BURTON. International Relations CHAMBERLAIN. Loyalty and Legislative Action CORDEN. Australian Economic Policy Discussion: A Survey COUNTRYMAN. Un-American Activity in the State of Washington (Ed.) CRICK. Essays on Reform, 1967 DULY. British Land Policy at the Cape, 1795–1844 FOUGERE. Civil Service Systems. International Institute of Administrative Sciences, 1967 HAIG and MCBURNEY. The Interpretation of National Income Estimates HUGHES. Political Stability and Political Behaviour (Ed.) HUGHES. Readings in Australian Government JORDAN. The Nato lnternational Staff Secretariat 1952–1957 (Ed.) LA NAUZE. Federated Australia LASKI. A Grammar of Politics (Ed.) LEACH. Contemporary Canada MEO. Japan's Radio War on Australia 1941–1945 N.S.W. Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Rating, Valuation and Local Government Finance PYE. Southeast Asia's Political Systems R.I.P.A. Management of Local Government, 1968 SAWER. Australian Federalism in the Courts SAWER. Ombudsmen (Ed.) SELLECK. Melbourne Studies in Education, 1967 The Indian Journal of Public Administration, “Administration of Food Production”, Special Issue, vol. XIII, No. 3, July–September. 1967 WILLIAMS. The French Parliament     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
F. A. LARCOMBE, The Advancement of Local Government in New South Wales 1906 to the Present .
HUGH V. EMY, The Politics of Australian Democracy .
BERNARD SCHAFFER and ELIZABETH O'KEEFE, People and Agencies
D. M. FENBURY, Practice Without Policy: genesis of local government in Papua New Guinea .
R. G. S. BROWN, Reorganising the National Health Service: A Case Study of Administrative Change .
HUGH V. EMY, Public Policy: Problems and Paradoxes .
WOLFGANG KASPER, Issues in Economic Policy .
I. K. F. BIRCH, Forming Australia's Education Policy .     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
JEAN HOLMES and CAMPBELL SHARMAN, The Australian Federal System
NANCY VIVIANI and PETER WILENSKI, The Australian Development Assistance Agency—A Post-Mortem Report
B. GUY PETERS, The Politics of Bureaucracy: A Comparative Perspective
BRUCE WOOD, The Process of Local Government Reform 1966-74
D. C. STAFFORD, The Economics of Housing Policy
M. V. POSNER (ed.), Public Expenditure. Allocation between Competing Ends
JOHN TYDEMAN and ROBERT MITCHELL, Subjective Futures for Decision Making     

Public Sector Land Banking: A Decision Model for Local Governments

Local governments frequently face land banking decisions concerning real properties that they may acquire now in open market transactions or later via their power of eminent domain. After construction of a practical local government land banking example, a theoretically correct cash flow and cost-benefit analysis is presented. Then a buy-now or buy-later decision model is developed explaining when to exercise the free American Call Option provided to governments through their power of eminent domain.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Bruce Mccallum , The Public Service Manager: An Introduction to Personnel Management in the Australian Public Service R. J. K. Chapman and Michael Wood , Australian Local Government Kosmas Tsokhas , A Class Apart? Businessmen and Australian Politics 1960–1980 Andrew Kakabadse and Suresh Mukhi (eds), The Future of Management Education Jonathan Boston , Incomes Policy in New Zealand: 1968–1984, Wellington, Victorian University Press for the Institute of Policy Studies David Dery , Problem Definition in Policy Analysis     

The Effect of Tax and Expenditure Limitations on Revenue Volatility: Evidence from Colorado

Much of the research on tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) focuses on the impact that limits have on the size of the public sector or the distribution of expenditures at the state and local levels. While these results shed light on the extent to which TELs succeed in reducing government spending, they do not have much to say about the impact of TELs on government budgeting or financial planning, despite the fact that voters support TELs in the hope of reducing government inefficiency (Courant, Gramlich, and Rubinfeld 1980; Ladd and Wilson 1982). This paper examines the effect of TELs on the stability of government revenues; sound tax policy entails controlling the volatility of revenues in order to plan more effectively for the future. Using panel data from Colorado's Division of Local Government as well as the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, this paper examines the impact of Colorado's 1992 Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) on local government finances. Results from difference‐in‐difference estimation suggest that TELs increase revenue and expenditure volatility.     

Autonomous Local Climate Change Policy: An Analysis of the Effect of Intergovernmental Relations Among Subnational Governments

Local governments have emerged as important players in climate change governance, both at home and on the international stage. Likewise, action by states and provinces has been increasingly highlighted, particularly as national actors have moved slowly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But to what extent do local governments act independently from state and provincial governments in the area of climate change mitigation? Using an explicit process tracing approach, the article tests two hypotheses regarding the influence of upper level subnational governments on local policy. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a city that is a climate change leader, provincial government intervention cannot explain the results of climate change mitigation policy making. This suggests that local governments can exercise an important degree of autonomy over climate change policy, but also implies that where municipalities are less independently committed to climate action, active upper level government intervention will likely be needed.     

A Cautionary Tale: Council Amalgamation in Tasmania and the Deloitte Access Economics Report

Contemporary Australian public policy has come to rely increasingly on technical reports produced by commercial consultants in contrast to the traditional approach, which employed disinterested public servants to generate the specialist information required to inform decision makers. This approach is fraught with problems, not least the fact that ‘hired guns’ have strong incentives to create the ‘answers’ sought by their employers. By way of a ‘cautionary tale’, this paper examines the empirical evidence adduced in favour of radical amalgamation of Tasmanian local authorities in Local Government Structural Reform in Tasmania, produced by Deloitte Access Economics (DAE) (2011), and commissioned by the Property Council of Tasmania. In particular, the paper provides a critical analysis of the econometric modelling undertaken in the DAE (2011) Report. We find that if the DAE model is re‐estimated – employing alternative functional forms – then the empirical evidence in support of Tasmania council merges evaporates.     

The Debate on Australian Federalism: Local Government Financial Interrelationships with State and Commonwealth Governments

The nascent debate on Australian federalism has hitherto focused almost entirely on Commonwealth-state interrelationships to the virtual exclusion of local government. Since Australian local government employs around 156,000 people and spends in excess of $10 billion this neglect is unfortunate. In an effort to at least partly remedy this oversight, the present paper seeks to assess various unsettled questions in local government financial relationships with both Commonwealth and state governments, especially the issue of financial assistance grants and their efficiency consequences.     

Fifteen Years After Decentralization by Devolution: Political‐administrative Relations in Tanzanian Local Government

One of the professed goals of the 1998 Tanzanian Local Government Reform Program, entailing substantial decentralization, was to provide for a democratic administrative set up in local government. Elected local councils were invested with responsibilities for a wide range of policy sectors and services; the local administrative staff, formerly recruited and instructed by central government, would be appointed by and accountable to the local councils. A well‐functioning local politico‐administrative system was considered paramount to improve service delivery and ensure control of decision making by the local community. This article reports on research into the relations between councilors and administrators in two Tanzanian municipalities. Overall, these relations were found to be tense and full of discordance, caused by clashing role perceptions and mutual distrust. The research suggests that the main factor underlying the behavior and attitudes of councilors and administrators is the very system of public administration, which — despite the ambitions expressed in the Local Government Reform Program — remains very centralistic in character. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.