State And Local Politics

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Bureaucracy

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the administrative branch of government, consisting of all executive offices and their workers

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The Budget Cycle

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Preparation, formulation, adoption, execution, audit

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Four main actors in the budgeting process:

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Interest groups, agencies, the chief executive and the legislative body.
Interest groups- organize testimony at budget hearings and pressure the three other actors to pursue favored policies and programs
Agencies- defend the amount of the previous years fiscal appropriation and advocate spending for new or expanded programs.
Chief Executive-tailors the budget to his program priorities as closely as possible and also acts as an economizer.
Legislative body- respond to and modify the initiatives of the chief executive

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Incrementalism

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a decision making approach in the budgetary process in which last year’s appropriations are used as a base for this year’s budget figures and small adjustments are made to the nature and funding base of existing programs

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Types of Budgets:

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Line item budget: a budget that lists detailed expenditure items such as personal computers and paper, with no attention to the goals or objectives of spending; each dollar can be accounted for
Management and planning: intended to help budget makers move beyond the narrow constraints of line items and incrementalism towards more rational and flexible decision making
Performance budgeting: budgeting organized to account for the outcomes of government programs
Capital Budget: a budget that plans large expenditures for long-term investments, such as buildings and highways

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Merit System

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the organization of government personnel to provide for hiring and promotion on the basis of knowledge, skills and abilities rather than patronage or other influences

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Neutral Competence

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The concept that public employees should perform their duties competently and without regard for political consideration (politically neutral)

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Affirmative Action

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special efforts to recruit, hire and promote members of disadvantaged groups to eliminate the effects of past discrimination

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Representative Bureaucracy

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the concept that all major groups in society should participate proportionately in government work (social, sexual, racial, socioeconomic, religious, geographic)

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Collective Bargaining

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a formal arrangement in which representatives of labor and management negotiate wage benefits and working conditions.

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Collective Bargaining

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a formal arrangement in which representatives of labor and management negotiate wage benefits and working conditions.

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Bureaucratic discretion

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the ability of public employees to make decisions interpreting law and administrative regulations

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Clientele groups

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groups that benefit from a specific government program, such as contractors and construction firms in state highway department spending programs

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New public management

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the argument that government should manage for results though entrepreneurial activity, privatization and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness

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Privatization

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shifts government functions to private or non-profit organizations through service arrangements such as vouchers, franchises, public-private partnerships and contracting out.

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E-government

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: the use of information technology to simplify and improve interactions between governments and citizens, firms and public employees, and other entities.

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Civil case

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a case that concerns a dispute involving individuals or organizations

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Criminal case

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a case brought by the state against persons accused of breaking a law

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Administrative case

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usually, a case in which a government agency applies rules to settle a legal dispute

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Common law

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unwritten law based on tradition, custom or court decisions

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Limited jurisdiction trial courts

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those courts with original jurisdiction over specialized cases such as juvenile offenses or traffic violations

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major trial courts

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courts of general jurisdiction that handle major criminal and civil cases

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Supreme Courts

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the highest state court, beyond which there is no appeal except in cases involving federal law

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intermediate appellate courts

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a state appellate court that relieves the case burden on the supreme court by hearing certain types of appeals

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Plea Bargaining

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negotiation between a prosecutor and a criminal defendants counsel that results in the defendant pleading guilty to a lesser charge or pleading guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence

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Bench Trial

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trial by a single judge, without a jury

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trial by jury

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a trial in which a jury decides the facts and makes a finding of guilty or not guilty

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Precedent

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the legal principal that previous similar court decisions should be applied to future decisions

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Judicial Federalism

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a trend in which state constitutional and statutory law is consulted and applied before federal law

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Judicial Activism

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the making of public policy by judges through decisons that overturn existing law or effectively make new laws

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General purpose local government

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a local government that provides a wide range of functions

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Single purpose government

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a local government, such as a school district, that performs a specific function

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Metropolitan area

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a central city of at least 50,000 people and its surrounding county or counties; often called an urban area

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Home rule

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a broad grant of power from the state to a local government

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County

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created by states to function as their administrative appendages, exist in most states (except connecticut and rhode island) They traditionally included property tax assessment and collection, law enforcement, elections, record keeping, and road maintenance.

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Incorporation

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the creation of a municipality through the granting of a charter from the state

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Charter

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a document that sets out a city’s structure, authority and functions

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Strong-mayor-council structure

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the mayor is empowered to perform the executive functions of government and has a veto over city council actions

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Weak-mayor-council structure

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the mayor lacks formal executive power; the city council (of which the mayor may be a member of) is the source of executive power and legislation

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City Manager

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a professional administrator hired by a city council to handle the day-to-day operation of the city

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Annexation

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: the addition of unincorporated adjacent territory to a municipality

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Extraterritorial jurisdiction

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the ability of a city government to control certain practices in an adjacent unincorporated area

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At- Large elections

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citywide (or county wide) contests to determine the members of a city council (or county commission)

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District (ward) elections

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elections in which the voters in one district or ward of a jurisdiction (city, county, school district) vote for a candidate to represent their district

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Reform movement

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an early twentieth century effort to depoliticize local governments through nonpartisan elections, at-large representation, shorter ballots and professional management

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Cumulative Voting

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candidates compete at large and voters can cast as many votes as there are seats to be filled, either as a bloc for one candidate or spread out among several candidates

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Town Meeting

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an annual event at which a town’s residents enact ordinances, elect officials, levy taxes and adopt a budget

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Public Authority

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a type of special district funded by non-tax revenue and governed by an appointed board

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Special Districts

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:do what other local governments cannot or will not do, they are established to meet service needs in a certain area

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Equalization formula

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a means of distributing funds (primarily to school districts) to reduce financial disparities among districts

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Elite Theory

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a theory of government that asserts that a small group possesses power and rules society

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Pluralist Theory

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a theory of government that asserts that multiple, open, competing groups possess power and rule society

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Reputational approach

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a method for studying community power in which researchers ask informants to name and rank influential individuals

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Decisional method

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a method for studying community power in which researchers identify key issues and the individuals who are active in the decision making process

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Regime

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he informal arrangements that surround and complement the formal workings of governmental authority

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Non-profit organizations

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private sector groups that carry out charitable, educational, religious, literary or scientific functions

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Hyper pluralism

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a condition characterized by a large number of groups and interests

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Taking

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a government action assuming ownership of real property by eminent domain (new london, ct)

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Deracialization

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the de-emphasis of race in politics, especially in campaigns, so that there is less racial bloc voting

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Progressive Era

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A period in the early twentieth century that focused on reforming or cleaning up government

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Alderman

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a label used in some communities for members of a local legislative body, such as a city council

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Ordinance

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enacted by the governing body, it is the local government equivalent of a statute

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Dillon's Rule

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a rule that limits the powers of local government to those expressly granted by the state or those powers closely linked to the express powers

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Second- Order Devolution

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a shift in power from state government to local government

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Mandate reimbursement requirements

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measures that take the financial sting out of state mandates

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Edge Cities

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the new boom towns of office and retail developments on the outskirts of cities

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Urban Sprawl

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development characterized by low population density, rapid land consumption and the dependence on the automobile

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Impact fee

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a charge levied on new development to offset some of the costs of providing services

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Smart growth

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government efforts to limit urban sprawl by managing growth

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Greenbelts

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open spaces in which development is limited

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Shadow Governments

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entities, especially unofficial ones, that function like governments

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Regional Government

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an area-wide structure for local governance, designed to replace multiple jurisdictions

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City-county consolidation

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the merger of city and county governments into a single jurisdiction

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Substate districts

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formal organizations of general purpose governments in an area, intended to improve regional coordination

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Density Bonus

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a provision that allows a developer to increase density (build more homes) in a development with in return for complying with a government regulation

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New urbanism

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an anti-suburban pro-small-town version of city planning

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Own-Source revenue

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monies derived by a government from its own taxable resources

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intergovernmental transfers

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the movement of money or other resources from one level of government to another

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Countercyclical aid

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a transfer of federal dollars to states and localities to counteract a downturn in the economic cycle

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Tax Capacity

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the taxable resources of a government jurisdiction

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Tax Effort

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the extent to which a jurisdiction exploits its taxable resources

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Regressive Tax

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a tax in which the rate falls as the base or taxable income rises

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Progressive tax

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a tax in which the rate rises as the base or taxable income rises

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Proportional (flat) tax

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a tax in which people pay an identical rate regardless of income or economic transaction

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Benefit Principal

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the principal that taxes should be levied on those who benefit directly from a government service

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Indexing

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a system in which tax brackets are automatically adjusted to account for inflation

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Circuit Breaker

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a limit on taxes applied to certain categories of people, such as the poor or elderly

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Tax service paradox

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situation in which people demand more government services but do not want to pay for them through higher taxes

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political economy

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political choices that have economic outcomes

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Taxation and expenditure limitations (TELs)

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restrictions on state and/or local government taxing and spending

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Fiscal Stress

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financial pressure on a government from factors such as revenue shortfalls, and taxing and spending limitations.

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General obligation bond

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a debt instrument supported by the full financial resources of the issuing jurisdiction

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Revenue Bond

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a bond paid off from income derived from the facility build with the bond proceeds

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Industrial development bond

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a bond issued to fund the construction of a facility to be used by a private firm

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bond bank

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a state-administered fund that aggregates local government debt instruments and sells them as a package at a reduced interest rate

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Outcome based or performance based education

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a reform that strives to hold schools, teachers and administrators accountable for student performance, usually based on standardized test scores

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school choice

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a market-based appraoch to education improvement that permits parents and students to choose which school the child will attend. Examples include charter school programs and voucher programs

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Magnet School

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a public school whose curriculum emphasizes a specialized area such as performing arts or technology, to attract students from different ethnic groups and income groups

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open enrollment

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an option that permits students to attend a public school of their choice within a designated jurisdictional area. The intent is to increase educational opportunities for all children

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Charter School

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an alternative public school established by contract with a sponsoring agency or school district

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Voucher Plan

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an arrangement in which the state or school district subsidizes tuition for students to enroll in a school of student/parent choice

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Grand Jury

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a group of citizens appointed to determine if there is enough evidence to bring a person to trial

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Indictment

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a formal, written accusation submitted to a court by a grand jury, alleging a specified crime

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Victimless Crimes

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illegal acts that, in theory, do no one any harm

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Indeterminate sentencing

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sentencing in which a judge exercises discretion when deciding on the number of years for the sentence

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Determinate sentencing

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mandatory sentencing that is determined by law, not a judge’s decision

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Creative Sentencing

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sentencing in which the punishment matches the crime and the characteristics of the convicted person