Managing America's Small Communities People, Politics, and Performance

by Folz, David H.; French, Edward P.

• ISBN13: 9780742543386
• ISBN10: 0742543382
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-31
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In their book, Managing America's Small Communities, David Folz and P. Edward French examine the relevant trends, executive behavior, service quality, and service performance measurement in small communities. The theme is the value added to small communities that evidence professionalism in administration. Professional managers base service strategies on needs rather than demands, emphasize long-term community interests, promote equality, and advance citizen participation. The findings show that city managers are more extensively engaged than mayors in governmental process decisions and help to advance the level of service quality in small communities.

Author Biography

P. Edward French is an instructor in the political science department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
1 Introduction	1	(10)
Why Study Small Communities?	4	(1)
Purpose of the Book	5	(1)
Data and Methods	6	(1)
Plan for the Book	7	(1)
Notes	8	(3)
2 Profile of Small Communities and Chief Executives	11	(22)
Demographic Trends in Small Communities	11	(4)
Structural Features of Small Town Governments	15	(8)
The Chief Executives of Small Communities	23	(3)
The Issues That Concern Small City Chief Executives	26	(2)
Summary	28	(1)
Notes	28	(5)
3 Executive Behavior and Decision Making	33	(18)
Role Emphases and Time Allocation Among Chief Executives	35	(4)
Executive Involvement in the Governmental Process	39	(3)
Patterns of Consultation in Decision Making by Executives	42	(2)
The Influence of Local Interest Groups on Executive Decisions	44	(2)
Summary	46	(1)
Notes	47	(4)
4 Measuring and Comparing Municipal Service Quality	51	(36)
The Concept of Service Quality	52	(2)
The Two Dimensions of Service Quality	54	(1)
Conceptual Model of Service Quality	55	(9)
The Service Performance Gap	58	(4)
The Service Delivery Gap	62	(1)
The Knowledge, Service Design, and Communication Gaps	62	(2)
The Value of Measuring Input Service Quality	64	(2)
Indicators of Input Service Quality	66	(8)
Police Services	66	(3)
Fire Protection Services	69	(2)
Building Code Enforcement Services	71	(2)
Solid Waste Recycling Services	73	(1)
Input Service Quality Levels Among Small Communities	74	(1)
Explaining the Differences in Input Service Quality	75	(5)
Summary	80	(1)
Notes	81	(6)
5 Measuring and Comparing Municipal Service Performance	87	(38)
Approaches to Performance Benchmarking	90	(3)
Types of Measures Used in Assessing Service Performance	93	(4)
Municipal Benchmarking Projects	97	(15)
The ICMA Benchmarking Project	97	(2)
The Northwest Municipal Conference Projects	99	(1)
The North Carolina Benchmarking Project	100	(2)
The South Carolina Benchmarking Project	102	(3)
The Tennessee Benchmarking Project	105	(7)
Lessons from the Municipal Benchmarking Projects	112	(5)
Implications of Benchmarking Projects for Small Communities	117	(2)
Summary	119	(1)
Notes	120	(5)
6 Conclusion	125	(8)
Directions for Future Research	130	(1)
Notes	131	(2)
Appendix A Measures Used for Police, Fire, Solid Waste, and Recycling Services in Municipal Benchmarking Projects	133	(18)
Appendix B Financial Data Collection Forms for the Tennessee Municipal Benchmarking Project	151	(6)
Bibliography	157	(10)
Index	167	(8)
About the Authors	175