Interlocal Agreements
Cities are turning to new models of service delivery, ranging from two party contracts to complex networks for service delivery. My research explores the adoption, oversight and termination of new service delivery models and cooperative agreements to share services among local government. In addition to understanding new service delivery models, we must understand the governance of these models, including the methods of accountability that link service delivery, through elected boards, to the public. Because of this, my research on interlocal agreements has given special attention to the roles of city councils and elected officials in the process of governing interlocal cooperation.
A County Manager’s Guide to Local Government Service Collaboration
Dr. Daryl Delabbio and I completed a study of the strategies and practices that county government officials use to develop shared services and interlocal agreements with other local governments. The research involved in-depth interviews with county officials around the country. Their best practice recommendations are synthesized in our report, “A County Manager’s Guide to Shared Services in Local Government,” for the IBM Center for the Business of Government.
Local Government Service Organization and Interlocal Cooperation in California
Local governments in California have a rich history of interlocal contracting, and much can be learned from their experience. From 2008 to 2012, I collected a variety of data about local government service organization and interlocal agreements in California. Through a series of papers, I investigate cities' rational for interlocal contract adoption and termination, and explore elected officials perceptions of shared services.
First, an article in Urban Studies uses an original survey from the San Francisco Bay Area to assess how local elected officials think of their roles in interlocal politics. This paper provides a foundation for applying institutional role theory to the study of interlocal cooperation. With the same survey data, I investigate the advice networks among local elected officials in the San Francisco Bay Area. This analysis illustrates the importance of county borders for advice network structure. Advice networks appear polycentric, which draws into question the extent to which metropolitan-wide institutions truly bridge interests within a metropolitan region.
Three papers examine the adoption and termination of interlocal contracts for police and fire service, with careful attention to the cost and quality rationale behind interlocal contracting. In The American Review of Public Administration, I explore the termination of interlocal contracts for police service. This research finds contract failure in some cities, while suggesting that processes of vertical integration related to organizational growth are at work in other cities. A parallel paper in Public Management Review investigates the adoption of interlocal contracts for police service and the mixed record of cost savings resulting from these reforms. The final paper examines provisions in interlocal contracts for fire service, discussing contract mechanisms for monitoring cost and quality over time.
Local Decisions About Intergovernmental Relations
For my dissertation research at Indiana University, I completed a study of local decisions to adopt interlocal agreements. The project was guided by a typological theory of interlocal agreement decisions based on stimuli for collaboration, perceptions of benefits from collaboration, and perceptions of potential partners. I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with a random sample of city council members in Michigan. The project also included a series of comparative case studies of police dispatch agreements and P.A. 425 Conditional Land Transfer Agreements. Research papers from this project were published in The American Review of Public Administration, Public Administration Review, and State and Local Government Review.
Last updated: January 2019
Cities are turning to new models of service delivery, ranging from two party contracts to complex networks for service delivery. My research explores the adoption, oversight and termination of new service delivery models and cooperative agreements to share services among local government. In addition to understanding new service delivery models, we must understand the governance of these models, including the methods of accountability that link service delivery, through elected boards, to the public. Because of this, my research on interlocal agreements has given special attention to the roles of city councils and elected officials in the process of governing interlocal cooperation.
A County Manager’s Guide to Local Government Service Collaboration
Dr. Daryl Delabbio and I completed a study of the strategies and practices that county government officials use to develop shared services and interlocal agreements with other local governments. The research involved in-depth interviews with county officials around the country. Their best practice recommendations are synthesized in our report, “A County Manager’s Guide to Shared Services in Local Government,” for the IBM Center for the Business of Government.
Local Government Service Organization and Interlocal Cooperation in California
Local governments in California have a rich history of interlocal contracting, and much can be learned from their experience. From 2008 to 2012, I collected a variety of data about local government service organization and interlocal agreements in California. Through a series of papers, I investigate cities' rational for interlocal contract adoption and termination, and explore elected officials perceptions of shared services.
First, an article in Urban Studies uses an original survey from the San Francisco Bay Area to assess how local elected officials think of their roles in interlocal politics. This paper provides a foundation for applying institutional role theory to the study of interlocal cooperation. With the same survey data, I investigate the advice networks among local elected officials in the San Francisco Bay Area. This analysis illustrates the importance of county borders for advice network structure. Advice networks appear polycentric, which draws into question the extent to which metropolitan-wide institutions truly bridge interests within a metropolitan region.
Three papers examine the adoption and termination of interlocal contracts for police and fire service, with careful attention to the cost and quality rationale behind interlocal contracting. In The American Review of Public Administration, I explore the termination of interlocal contracts for police service. This research finds contract failure in some cities, while suggesting that processes of vertical integration related to organizational growth are at work in other cities. A parallel paper in Public Management Review investigates the adoption of interlocal contracts for police service and the mixed record of cost savings resulting from these reforms. The final paper examines provisions in interlocal contracts for fire service, discussing contract mechanisms for monitoring cost and quality over time.
Local Decisions About Intergovernmental Relations
For my dissertation research at Indiana University, I completed a study of local decisions to adopt interlocal agreements. The project was guided by a typological theory of interlocal agreement decisions based on stimuli for collaboration, perceptions of benefits from collaboration, and perceptions of potential partners. I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with a random sample of city council members in Michigan. The project also included a series of comparative case studies of police dispatch agreements and P.A. 425 Conditional Land Transfer Agreements. Research papers from this project were published in The American Review of Public Administration, Public Administration Review, and State and Local Government Review.
Last updated: January 2019
