Date of Award
Spring 6-5-2024
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Charity Osborn
Keywords
Local government, public policy, city manager, mayor, city council, balance of powers
Abstract
The Balance of Powers Principle, while well-applied in the spheres of federal and state government, is not much discussed when it comes to local government structures. This paper seeks to compare the strengths of some of the more popular forms of municipal governance (i.e., the council-manager and mayor-council systems) to determine, to what extent, the Balance of Powers principle applies in an American local government context. The author then subsequently argues that this principle can be utilized to propose a preferred, counterbalanced model of city government, that uses and relies upon the strengths of all three major authority figures in municipal politics—the city council, the mayor, and the city manager. A theme of mutual reliance and benefit is explored, as is the relational experience of working in local government.
Recommended Citation
Martin, Rayna, "Deciphering Authority: The Balance of Powers in Local Government" (2024). Honors Projects. 221.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/221
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Included in
Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Policy Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Honors Program