The impact of the great recession on the financial management practices of state and local governments: part I

Local government has emerged from a prolonged transition to face a second generation of challenges, namely unfunded mandates. Compliance with the current financial management system is a constant challenge for local government. To complicate matters local government is challenged by the dilemma of unfunded mandates which are an extreme manifestation of the phenomenon of governing from the centre. National government through various strategies imposes national mandates on provincial and local government at the expense of the latter. The incidence of unfunded mandate reflects a power hierarchy. Unfunded mandates are generally a significant indicator of the relative weakness of national government because it is often local government occupying constitutionally and politically the weakest position in the hierarchy that is burdened with new responsibilities. In decentralised and federal government systems, provincial/state and local governments object to unfunded mandates because they shrink their policy space, limit their expenditure choices and ultimately local government’s accountability to their electorates. Further, these systems of governance establish a hierarchy of authority that creates notions of self-rule by national government. Unfunded mandates reflect systemic weaknesses of decentralised or federal allocation of powers and functions. Although there are principled objections, unfunded mandates remain constitutional. Given the wide incidence of unfunded mandates the critical question arises as to how in a decentralised system, one level of government can impose mandates with cost implications on another. How is it constitutionally justifiable?

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US sub-national governmental response to the ‘Great Recession’: implications for the ‘equitable distribution of the costs and benefits of public services’

International Review of Administrative Sciences ◽

10.1177/0020852315585056 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 83 (3) ◽

pp. 425-442 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Blue Wooldridge ◽

Heidi Jane M. Smith

Keyword(s):

Great Recession ◽

Local Governments ◽

Work Force ◽

Fiscal Stress ◽

The Great Recession ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Public Managers ◽

Global Recession ◽

State And Local ◽

Subnational Governments

Experts suggest that when faced with fiscal stress public managers can engage in three coping practices: an actual cutback in services, expansion of existing financial resources, or reduction in work force. During the Great Recession (2007–2012), US subnational governments utilized all three of these practices. The purpose of this article is to identify coping mechanisms used by state and local governments to respond to the Great Recession, and identify approaches to minimize the negative and disproportionate impact of these actions on women, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged. The authors provide specific examples of tactics employed by US subnational governments in response to fiscal stress and evaluate the equity of their consequences on the distribution of goods and services. A review of the concept of social equity, its related literature, and an analysis of the disparate impact of coping practices on underrepresented groups is provided. Finally, the article presents mitigating strategies in order to reduce the regressive impact of these coping practices on the vulnerable populations. Points for practitioners This article identifies ‘coping’ strategies used by US Subnational Governments in response to the Global Recession. It presents the inequities caused by these responses and suggests some ‘mitigating’ strategies to reduce the regressive impact on the disadvantaged.

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Modeling Fiscal Stress and Contracting Out in Local Government: The Influence of Time, Financial Condition, and the Great Recession

The American Review of Public Administration ◽

10.1177/0275074017699276 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (6) ◽

pp. 565-583 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Antonio M. López-Hernández ◽

José L. Zafra-Gómez ◽

Ana M. Plata-Díaz ◽

Emilio J. de la Higuera-Molina

Keyword(s):

Great Recession ◽

Local Governments ◽

Fiscal Stress ◽

Contracting Out ◽

The Great Recession ◽

Financial Condition ◽

Precise Understanding ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Various studies have analyzed the relationship between fiscal stress and contracting out, but have failed to achieve conclusive results. In this article, we take a broad view of fiscal stress, addressed in terms of financial condition and studied over a lengthy period (2000-2010). The relationship between fiscal stress and contracting out is studied using a dynamic model, based on survival analysis, a methodology that enables us to take into account the effect of time on this relationship. As this study period includes the years of the Great Recession (2008-2010), we also highlight the impact of this event on the fiscal stress–contracting out relation. The results obtained suggest that taking into account the passage of time and conducting a long-term assessment of financial condition enable a more precise understanding of this relation. We also find that the Great Recession reduced the probability of local governments’ contracting out public services.

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Weathering the Storm: The Impact of Cutbacks on Public Employees

Public Personnel Management ◽

10.1177/0091026018801044 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 97-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jaclyn S. Piatak

Keyword(s):

Great Recession ◽

The United States ◽

Federal State ◽

The Great Recession ◽

Mass Layoffs ◽

Government Sector ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

State And Local ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

The United States saw mass layoffs and unemployment during the Great Recession, where jobs have been slow to recover especially in the government sector. Research on cutback management became widespread in the late 1970s into the 1980s and several researchers have called for attention to be reignited to determine what lessons can be applied to the Great Recession and beyond. However, little attention is paid to the influence of cutbacks on employees. How do layoffs impact public personnel? Using nationally representative employment data, this study examines sector differences in job loss, advance notice, job mobility, and sector switching. In addition to distinctions across job sectors, differences within the government sector across federal, state, and local employees are explored. Findings raise several questions for research and practice regarding the ability to recover staff in a timely manner, the diversity of the organization, and the capacity to cope with future crises.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act

Public Personnel Management ◽

10.1177/009102600002900204 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 211-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J. Edward Kellough

Keyword(s):

State Government ◽

Americans With Disabilities Act ◽

Local Governments ◽

Management Practices ◽

Disabled Persons ◽

Personnel Practices ◽

The Disabled ◽

Rehabilitation Act ◽

State And Local ◽

The Impact

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is important legislation designed to prohibit discrimination against disabled persons, but most state and local governments covered by the Act were already prohibited from discrimination against the disabled by provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This article reports the results of a national survey designed to measure the perceptions of personnel managers from state government departments and agencies regarding the impact of the ADA on public personnel management practices given concurrent coverage of the Rehabilitation Act. A majority of the managers from organizations subject to the Rehabilitation Act reported that the ADA had no significant effects on their organizations. Substantial proportions of respondents agreed, however, that the ADA did have certain more narrowly defined effects on public personnel practices. Possible explanations for the perceived effects of the ADA despite coverage by the Rehabilitation Act are considered.

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