City Government Structures: An Attempt at Clarification

INCREASING EVIDENCE in existing literature—although much of it is impressionistic and anecdotal—suggests that the two major municipal government structures (i.e., council-manager and mayor-council) may be inadequate to describe the various hybrid forms of government that have been evolving. Given the importance ascribed to political structures by academics, practitioners, and activists, it is important to understand the characteristics and consequences of different structural arrangements. Using the latest national Municipal Form of Government Survey (1996) conducted by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), as reported in the 1998 Municipal Year Book (Renner and DeSantis 1998), we identify subcategories within the broad political structure that comprises the two major municipal government structures in an effort to more effectively categorize the administrative and policy-making processes in American cities. Before scholars can assess the consequences of contemporary city structures, as past researchers have done for traditional forms (Lineberry and Fowler 1967; Lyons 1978; Dye and Garcia 1978; Morgan and Pelissero 1980; Welch and Bledsoe 1988), it is necessary to have more systematic data on current characteristics. City Government Structures: An Attempt at Clarification