I'm working on a management discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
3-1 Discussion
Kelly Davies posted Apr 7, 2022, 1:04 PM
Examine the report Illinois Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force and evaluate opportunities for efficiencies. Discuss the process of the evaluation of the white paper. What examples exist of these types of efficiency efforts in your area government?
I found the white paper regarding local government consolidation in Illinois interesting (The Civic Federation, 2016). Finding that there were actually coterminous townships, such as Evanston, IL, which was also the city of Chicago (or part of it) and shared responsibility for providing services through taxes is amazing (cityofevanston, 2022)! Evidently there were 20 of these in IL at one point (cityofevantson, 2022). It certainly makes sense to consolidate these overlapping governments and use one set of taxes to provide services to the residents of the city.
Finding examples of government consolidation in my area was not as easy, as I live in largely rural NH. I did find an article about regional consolidation of government in New England, with the primary focus on Boston, MA and Hartford, CT, both of which cities are quite densely populated (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2013). The article states that local government is fragmented in NE, compared to the rest of the US. The six NE states only make up 2% of the country’s land area, but accounts for 4% of the country’s local governments (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2013). NE is somewhat different also in that primary responsibility for providing services falls on towns and cities, rather than counties or metropolitan areas (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2013). The article does suggest that some services can be provided more cost effectively by combining units of government to achieve economy of scale (Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2013).
Kelly Davies
Sources:
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. (2013, July 16). The quest for cost-efficient local government in New England: What role for regional consolidation? Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/new-england…
The task force on local government consolidation and unfunded mandates makes its recommendations to the governor. The Civic Federation. (2016, January 22). Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://www.civicfed.org/civic-federation/blog/tas…
Www.cityofevanston. (2022). Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.cityofevanston.org/home/showpublishedd…
In responses to classmates, examine their justifications in support of their answers.
For your response posts, do the following:
post 1 to 2 paragraphs
Demonstrate more depth and thought than saying things like “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Guidance is provided for you in the discussion prompt.
Consider content from other parts of the course where appropriate. Use proper citation methods for your discipline when referencing scholarly or popular sources.
Link to the article: https://www.civicfed.org/civic-federation/blog/tas…
