1st Edition
Local Government Administration in Small Town America
In government administration and leadership, rural community leaders face unique challenges in delivering public services including (but not limited to) education, health care, and public safety. Meanwhile, residents who live in smaller and more isolated rural settings often face greater difficulties accessing provisions and services or commuting to work, among other economic development challenges. These factors may affect a community’s resiliency to and recovery from shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Local Government Administration in Small Town America devotes some overdue scholarly attention to the governance and administration of public programs in small towns and rural communities in the United States.
The chapter contributors to this volume analyze some of the unique challenges rural communities face, as well as the policy tools that their governments employ to address them. The book explores ways that small town governments collaborate with one another, the state, and the federal government, and examines how local government officials use knowledge of people and place to improve policy performance. The chapters are designed to provide cases and strategies for students and practitioners in public administration to use in a small town environment, while also considering a community’s distinctive social and political culture, which determines how local political leaders and government practitioners might respond to demands and challenges they face. Local Government Administration in Small Town America is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students studying local government, as well as for rural practitioners navigating evolving challenges unique to their communities.
Part I: Government Structures
1. The Network of Interests, Institutions, and Individual Interactions in Small Town Governance
James C. Clinger, Donna M. Handley and Wendy L. Eaton
Case Study: Starting Out as a Professional Administrator in a Small Town
Jamie Lawrence
2. The Origin and Persistence of American County Boundaries: Courthouse Competition and the Road to Reapportionment
William A. Fischel
Part II: Public Functions in Rural Government Systems
Subsection: Economic and Community Development
3. Placemaking as an Economic Development Strategy for Rural Governments
Janet M. Kelly
Subsection: Election Administration
4. The Mechanics of Democracy: The Critical Role of Local Governments in Supporting Election Operations
Kathleen Hale
Subsection: Public Budgeting and Finance
5. Public Budgeting in Small Local Governments
Jiseul Kim
6. Using Financial Statements to Improve Fiscal Strength and Make Policy Decisions
William C. Rivenbark
7. Small Town Revenues for Big Time Public Services
Deborah A. Carroll
Case Study: Crowdfunding Local Government: Belmont’s Bicycle Sunday Program
Martin K. Mayer and John C. Morris
Subsection: Healthcare, Parks and Recreation and Wellness
8. Rural Communities and Access to Health Care
Mary Ellen Travers and Sue M. Neal
Case Study: Maternal Health and the Healthy Start Program
Mary Ellen Travers and Sue M. Neal
9. Rural Parks and Recreation: Understanding and Meeting the Needs
Clement Lau
Subsection: Human Resources
10. Human Resources: Recruitment and Retention in Small Cities and Towns
Jaymes Vettraino and Sue M. Neal
Case Study: Volunteer Fire Departments in Small Town America
Jonathan M. Westendorf
Subsection: Infrastructure and Highway Services
11. Gateway Towns: Loving our Rural Communities to Death
Roger R. Carter
Subsection: Nonprofits and Social Services
12. Nonprofit Organizations and Arts Education in a Rural Community
Elise Lael Kieffer
13. Guthrie KY and Civic Engagement: How Small Groups of People Make a Difference
Stephanie L. Bellar
Subsection: Technology, Internet, and Broadband Availability
14. The Where of Small-Town Governance: Charting the Path from Technocracy to Democracy
Sue M. Neal and Jaymes Vettraino
15. Broadband Availability and Adoption in Rural America
Simone Silva and Narine Badasyan
Subsection: Public Safety and Emergency Management
16. Public Safety in Rural and Small Town America
James C. Clinger
Case Study: Personal Reflections on Small Town Policing
Kim Wallace
17. Challenges in Rural Emergency Management
Clinton McNair and Scott E. Robinson
Part III: Partnerships
18. Enhancing Rural Capacity and Public Service Values through Intergovernmental and Intersectoral Collaboration
Jeremy L. Hall and Donna M. Handley
Case Study: Personal Diplomacy and the Importance of Local Mayoral Networking
Matthew L. Howell
19. Solution or Trouble? Privatization and Rural Governments
Martin K. Mayer and John C. Morris
20. The Role of Federalism in the Attainment of Collaborative Sustainability Outcomes in Small Communities
Jayce L. Farmer
Case Study: One Food Basket at a Time: Addressing Food Insecurity
Clara Gerhardt
21. Interlocal Economic Development Collaboration in Rural America: A Case of West Texas
Sung-Wook Kwon and Xiaoou Cheng
Conclusion for Managing Mayberry
James C. Clinger, Donna M. Handley and Wendy L. Eaton
Biography
James C. Clinger is a professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology and serves as director of the Master of Public Administration program at Murray State University. He teaches courses in state and local government, Kentucky politics, intergovernmental relations, public policy analysis, and public budgeting and finance.
Donna M. Handley serves as Master of Public Administration Director and associate professor at Southern Utah University. Prior to her academic career, she served as an assistant director of community development for the City of Auburn, Alabama. Her research interests include online learning, rural community governance and leadership, and women and leadership.
Wendy L. Eaton currently serves as the Program Chair of the Master of Public Administration program at Franklin University (Ohio). Prior to her academic career, she served as an assistant city manager and has over twelve years of experience in local government management.
"This well-conceived book fills a major vacuum in the public administration literature that exists on rural living and governance. The authors explore numerous topics from economic development strategy to public budgeting challenges to public safety and others. A theme that is present in many of the chapters is the lack of financial support for healthcare, non-profits, broadband, and public services. For all those interested in local government management, you will find this volume enlightening even if your focus is on urban governance."
Douglas J. Watson, Retired City Manager and Professor, The University of Texas at Dallas, United States
