By Chad Thomas According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), emergency responses to hurricanes aim to prevent further loss of life and property damage. Effective emergency responses utilize local information and enable decentralized responses from within the disaster zone. Local information about necessary relief in affected areas aids response efforts. A decentralized response enables … Continue reading Hurricane Response Efforts are Most Effective When Decentralized
Government Consolidation Rarely Lives Up to Promises
By Matt Kelly Government consolidation is an often-touted solution to economic and social problems in American cities. Several initiatives to combine local governments have resulted in conjoined regional governments, including Indianapolis-Marion County (IN), Athens-Clarke County (GA), and Jacksonville-Duval County (FL). Tallahassee and Leon County have seen six campaigns for consolidation over 50 years, all of … Continue reading Government Consolidation Rarely Lives Up to Promises
Study Explores Local Government Response to Recessions
Recessions can be trying times for city and county governments. They typically experience a fall in revenue from two primary sources: 1) a shrinking property tax base because of falling property values and 2) lower intergovernmental transfers—grants and other payments received from the state and federal governments—because of cutbacks made at these higher levels of … Continue reading Study Explores Local Government Response to Recessions