Edited by Carl Stenberg, director of the MPA program, and Susan Austin, project director, both of the School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Managing Local Government Services is the indispensable resource – the practical and comprehensive guide – for meeting the new demands in today’s world and ensuring you provide the best service possible.

What’s New in This Edition

Managing Local Government Services is the third edition of the previously published Managing Small Cities and Counties: A Practical Guide. This revision, as a comprehensive text on the subject of local government services, is relevant to local governments of all sizes.

This edition is refocused and updated to include the demographic, economic, technology and cultural trends that affect the management of service delivery. New chapters discuss the shift from “government” to “governance,” alternative methods of service delivery, community development, and the five management practices that are fast becoming the standard for professional local government management.

Case Examples and Chapter-by-Chapter Guidance on Each Service

Each chapter lays out the manager’s responsibilities in each service area, and provides effective policies, practices, and procedures. Short case examples give you a practical look at the goals, challenges, and solutions in the manager’s world.

Discover:

• How powerful ideological and political forces and trends have changed the rules of the game in four areas: the role of citizens, the values and views of elected officials, the manager’s roles and responsibilities, and the ways in which local governments conduct their business
  
• Ten key competencies for local government managers in the 21st century
  
• The three most important concerns the local government manager must address during the budget preparation, approval, and implementation process
  
• Tools for HR management, including: new employee orientation checklist, employee evaluation components, 12 employee assessment errors to avoid, disciplinary action checklist, steps for processing employee grievances, and more
  
• A critical discussion on planning, including the instruments of planning, the forces shaping planning, and the participants in planning
  
• Major goals, policies, strategies, and programs of economic development
  
• Creating affordable housing options as a primary strategy of community development
  
• Key issues in the management of human services programs, including funding, public safety, citizen participation, diversity training, program evaluation, and technology
  
• And much, much more.

When you purchase the book, you'll receive a web link to download the online collection of more than 65 supplemental documents FREE, including: