The Roles of Local Government Managers in Theory and Practice: A Centennial Perspective

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12296
Date01 January 2015
Published date01 January 2015
Kimberly L. Nelson is associate
professor of public administration and
government in the School of Government at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill. Her research and teaching interests
focus on local government management,
local government form and structure,
and innovation in local government. Her
research has been published in leading
journals including American Review
of Public Administration, Urban
Affairs Review, and State and Local
Government Review.
E-mail: knelson@sog.unc.edu
James H. Svara is visiting professor in
the School of Government at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He
specializes in local government politics,
management, ethics, and sustainability. He
is an honorary member of the International
City/County Management Association and
fellow of the National Academy of Public
Administration. He is a founding board
member of the Alliance for Innovation and
former director of the Center for Urban
Innovation at Arizona State University.
E-mail: james.svara@sog.unc.edu
The Roles of Local Government Managers in Theory and Practice: A Centennial Perspective 49
Public Administration Review,
Vol. 75, Iss. 1, pp. 49–61. © 2014 by
The American Society for Public Administration.
DOI: 10.1111/puar.12296.
Kimberly L. Nelson
James H. Svara
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Abstract: e standard narrative to explain the evolution of roles f‌i lled by city managers suggests that managers
originally served as administrative technicians who carried out the policy directives of city councils, but, over time, they
became more involved in policy advice and community leadership.  is article documents enduring involvement in
policy and the recent expansion of community leadership, analyzing def‌i nitions of the manager’s roles of‌f ered by practi-
tioners and scholars since the beginning of the city manager profession 100 years ago. In addition, measurements of the
manager’s role performance at various points in time are examined, along with trends in the preparation of managers
and the context in which they work. Ignoring the evidence that the policy role is integral to professional management
can lead to unfounded questions about the legitimacy of city and county managers and impairs our understanding of
the council-manager form of government and political–administrative relations.
Practitioner Points
In contrast to the standard narrative, the manager’s role in practice as a policy advisor to the council has
been a constant since the inception of the profession.
e nature of the manager’s community involvement has shifted from information provision, promotion
of council decisions, and response to service requests to f‌i nding ways to actively engage the public in the
process of decision making and implementation.
With the growing number of networks, partnerships, and citizens participating in government actions,
managers will increasingly be “senior strategic managers.”
roles of city managers by analyzing documentary
material from the beginning of the city manager
profession in 1914 and def‌i nitions of the manager’s
roles of‌f ered by practitioners and scholars. In addition,
summaries of data collected at various points in time
about the manager’s role performance are examined.
e article also considers trends in the preparation of
managers, the context in which they work, and the
elected of‌f‌i cials with whom they work.
In contrast to the standard narrative, the manager’s
role in practice as a policy advisor to the council has
been a constant, but wide variation characterizes
the extent to which it is recognized and accepted as
appropriate behavior. Changes in how the policy
role is def‌i ned and articulated (and how it relates to
a “political” role), how it is conceptualized as part of
the council-manager form, and whether it is viewed
as ethically appropriate have occurred. Related to
assessment of the policy role are dif‌f ering views about
the manager’s relationship with the public. From the
beginning, managers have directly communicated
with citizens, but experts disagreed in the f‌i rst two
e Roles of Local Government Managers in  eory
and Practice: A Centennial Perspective
Editor’s note: e International City/County
Management Association (ICMA) celebrated
the 100th anniversary of its founding in 2014.
is article is the third in a series of articles
about the council-manager plan published to
commemorate the ICMA’s 100th anniversary.
The standard narrative to explain the evolu-
tion of roles f‌i lled by city (and later county)
managers in the United States goes this way:
city managers originally served as administrative tech-
nicians who carried out the policy directives of city
councils, but, over time, they became more involved
in policy advice and community leadership. However,
a careful examination of documents since the incep-
tion of the f‌i eld demonstrates that this is a misleading
narrative.  e narrative has two major consequences.
First, questions can be raised about the legitimacy of
the “expanded” roles taken on by managers. Second,
it impairs our understanding of the council-manager
form of government and the comparison of governing
structures in the United States with those elsewhere.
is article reexamines the policy and community

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