The Manifestation of New Public Service Principles in Small-town Government: A Case Study of Grand Island, New York

• Published date: 01 March 2021
• Date: 01 March 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X211003139
• Subject Matter: Field Notes

Field Notes

The Manifestation of New

Public Service Principles in

Small-town Government:

A Case Study of Grand Island,

New York

Jason D. Rivera

1

and Andrew Uttaro

1

Abstract

Although New Public Service (NPS) principles are well known, their practice in local government

settings has only been limitedly explored. As a means of better understanding governance prac-

tices that adhere to NPS principles in local contexts, this study engaged in a case study of Grand

Island, New York. Through the analysis of interviews with elected officials and civic servant

department heads, it is observed that public servants practice various public engagement stra-

tegies for gauging public sentiment and interests in public policy. However, these same public

servants point out the challenges of public hearings and social media to understanding their citi-

zens. Information on public servants’ notions of accountability is observed, which relates to how

they view the public’s involvement in policy processes. Recommendations for future research are

provided as a means of enhancing our understanding and development of more inclusive gov-

ernance practices.

Keywords

New Public Service, local government, public engagement in policy, public servant accountability,

governance

A 2019 Pew study observed that public trust in

government was at a sixty-year low (Pew

2019). This finding underscores a perception

of government accountability and trust that is

ubiquitous. Observations of government dis-

trust support notions of a general citizenry with

relatively low levels of external political effi-

cacy in reference to influencing government

actions, policy development, and day-to-day

operations (Campbell et al. 1954; Converse

1972) to the extent that they believe they c an-

not affect their government’s business. Contri-

buting to this sentiment, Kane (2017) argues

that even in local settings, government does not

necessarily concern itself with local matters.

According to the New Public Service (NPS)

paradigm (Denhardt and Denhardt 2000), public

1

Department of Political Science & Public Administration,

SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, USA

Corresponding Author:

Jason D. Rivera, Department of Political Science & Public

Administration, SUNY Buffalo State, 1300 Elmwood Ave.,

Buffalo, NY 14222, USA.

Email: riverajd@buffalostate.edu

State and Local GovernmentReview

2021, Vol. 53(1) 89-100

ªThe Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X211003139

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