Explore current issues affecting local governments; for example, spending, state v. local control, and land use.

Local governments face an almost unbelievable range of complex and difficult issues. Local governments are, by definition, closer to average citizens and their challenges than are state and national governments. Consequently, they are uniquely positioned to address public policy problems ranging from economic development to drug addiction. However, the authority and reach of state and national governments both limits and complicates the ability of counties, cities, towns, and other local governments to address such issues.

The most significant and persistent challenge faced by local governments is finances. Local governments compete for scarce resources, both in the form of taxes as well as state and federal spending. The ability of local governments to raise and collect taxes is directly limited by state and national tax policies. Because counties, cities, and towns generally tax their residents at a much lower rate than state and national governments, they are in turn dependent on state and federal dollars to address some of the challenges they face. In the last twenty to thirty years, the budgetary innovation most supported by local governments has been block grants, or transfers of large sums of money directly to local governments to address specific problems, such as urban renewal. On the other hand, local government officials are still frustrated by the number of unfunded mandates passed on to them by state and national governments.

Additional economic challenges faced by local governments include:

• Suburbanization and the loss of taxpayers to areas outside of city limits
• Urban decay and the challenge of revitalizing downtown areas
• Unemployment, poverty, and homelessness
• Heightened competition between cities for businesses and economic development

As local government officials attempt to address these challenges in ways that will benefit their constituents, there are constant struggles between various levels of government over what policies ought to be implemented and enforced at which level. The age-old federalism trade-offs that apply to state versus national control debates are just as relevant in discussions about local versus state control. Should taxes be collected and problems addressed by the government that is closest to the people? Or should revenues be amassed and coordinated at a higher level to promote equity and efficiency?

It is difficult (if not impossible) to answer these kinds of questions in a general way. However, if specific issues are dealt with individually, the answers are a bit easier to come by. For example, when it comes to law enforcement, the primary responsibility for “first response” to crimes committed in the jurisdiction of a local government generally falls on the police force established within it. County, state, and federal law enforcement officials play an important and generally supplemental role in policing local communities. Cities, however, are not the most natural locus of policy creation and enforcement for issues and problems that transcend local government boundaries. For example, national and state governments take a much more aggressive leadership role on environmental issues than local governments do.