| Abstract: | The vulnerabilities and strategies of county governments inthe American intergovernmental system are explored in this studyof California counties in the post-Proposition 13 era. The propertytax limitations of the 1978 ballot measure have combined witha number of other state fiscal, programmatic, and boundary rulesto constrain county finances. The rules encourage cities topursue growth policies, including annexations and redevelopment,that contribute to county constraints. However, the rules lsoprovide some intergovernmental tools for counties, as illustratedhere by case studies from three Central Valley counties. Employingtheir land-use powers and ability to block annexations, thecounties were recently successful, to varying degrees, in establishingrevenue-sharing agreements with their cities |
