Section 4 Intergovernmental Relations The Layers of Government o The US Federalist system created several layers of government Models of Federalism Layer Cake Marble Cake Picket Fence Types of Federal Grants Categorical Grants Block Grants Envisions separate and distinct areas of authority between the national state and local governments Assumes that there are few distinct areas that are strictly national state or local per se Characterized by close fiscal relationships between the national state and local governments Issue funds that must be used for very specific purposes Clearly defined rules and regulations The national government provides a lump sum of money to the states which they can dispense in the way that they see fit When local governments share services to reduce delivery costs the tax burden streamline services Interlocal Shared Government o Share Service Agreements and enhance governmental responsiveness o Types of Shared Services Sharing Personnel Implemented when there is not enough work for a full time employee Shares staff is preferable to the use of part time staff because of their increased accountability A partner model in which ownership is shared by each community owning an individual piece of the entire piece of equipment One stores another rents another uses rent money to provide maintenance Sharing Equipment Sharing Internal Services Ideal when the service function requires little interaction with the public Benefits all participants who are acting collectively Sharing External Services Agreements in which one governmental unit consents to provide services to another that no longer provides such services Also when two or more governments consolidate services into a single regional service Believed to lower costs by creating economies of scale o Opposition that Impedes Shared Service Initiatives Union Local residents Local officials may fear losing control over specific service areas Improving Performance via Intragovernmental and Intergovernmental Competition o Government should also compete with the private sector when awarding contracts Privatization Employing the private sector to do the work of government o Three Approaches to Competitive Government Dye s Competitive Federalism Competition among governments where individuals are capable of voting with their feet Individuals can chose to live wherever they want Those with young kids might move to a place with high school taxes to ensure proper schooling Older adults will move to an area with lower school taxes since they have no need for them Public v Private Competition the private sector Contracting In Public v Public Competition Governments should also be a part of the bidding process in contract bids and compete against Governmental units should compete to provide services to the public sector Expanded Model of Government Competition o Savas 1992 A government agency that enjoys a monopoly can be expected to behave no differently from a private monopoly Lack innovation and decreased productivity o Tenants of Government Competition Open Competition All public organizations should be encouraged to bid on government contracts Open Competition with Government Only Certain services Like law enforcement and public safety should be under the direct direction of government contractors Public entities should compete for control of these services Expanded Capacity for Competition To strengthen competitive force the introduction of new government based competitors will increase government competition o Public Authorities These entities are created as quasi independent organizations with their own revenue sources Therefore they have greater flexibility in raising the funds for specific tasks Temporary work groups established to complete specific tasks o Ad Hoc Third Party Government Third Party Government o Definition Form of government whereby federal state or municipal entities are granted distinct legal form to carry out governmental missions but in a more commercial fashion Government Owned Corporations GOC s Government Sponsored Enterprises ESE s State Owned Enterprises SOW s These models work well because government taps into the superior efficiency of private industry o Why were they established industry to better serve consumers To carry out interests deemed important to the public while incorporating the characteristics of private Created in sectors where there are public values and regulation is necessary to protect the public interest in the service Either completely owned by the government private shareholders o Who Owns Them Legal Status o Found in enacting legislation but much ambiguity remains Thus they can basically select the legal status that best suits their needs at any given point in time Let the invisible hand of capitalism determine the fate of these organizations However this is not a sound decision if the purpose of the organization is critical to public o Why Not Simply Privatize interest and values o Solutions Seidman argues that the answers to this dilemma is not found outside of government Instead of going quasi governments should design regulations and controls with greater flexibility to perform public functions more effectively Only the consequences or ends of behavior are judged as ethical or unethical not the means Rooted in the writings of Immanuel Kant specifically in what Kant calls the categorical imperative Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law Section 5 Public Ethics Principles of Ethics Teleological o Rooted in utilitarianism to such ends Concerned with the ends and consequences Outcome based ethics o Deontological Primarily concerned with means Duty based ethics The motivations behind actions o Machiavellianism How to gain and maintain power Balance between commanding fear but not hatred Theories o Finer Friedrich Debate Finer Friedrich o Milgram s Agentic shift o Adams and Balfour Their solution Wanted more external controls on behavior e g rules laws and regulations Argued that people are guided by their moral compass and internal standards of control When professional administrator act responsibly toward the hierarchy of authority while taking no responsibility for the contents or effects of administrative actions T he ethical framework of technical rational administration leaves little room for moral choice and resistance to administrative evil that is promoted by legitimate authority
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