Local Government Administrators: A Balance Wheel Breakdown

Using qualitative data gathered from interviews with municipal department heads in a random sample of South Carolina municipalities, this article presents evidence that local administrators fail to characterize themselves as participants in political processes. When faced with political issues or co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American review of public administration 1997-12, Vol.27 (4), p.362-376
Main Authors: Felts, Arthur A., Schuhmann, Robert A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administration
CITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES
Decision making
Discretionary power
Governmental reform
Influence
Interviews
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Municipal government
Politics
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
SOUTH CAROLINA
Statistical analysis
Studies
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Using qualitative data gathered from interviews with municipal department heads in a random sample of South Carolina municipalities, this article presents evidence that local administrators fail to characterize themselves as participants in political processes. When faced with political issues or conflicts, they preferred to fall back on professional standards or hierarchical deference. This contrasts with Barth's (1991, 1993) study of federal administrators that supported Rohr's (1986) "balance wheel" model of administrators. Local government administrators reflected more of a corporate than apolitical model, which, in turn, harks back to the ideology of Wilsonian, progressive reform literature. This suggests that local administrators practice in an environment significantly different from that of their federal and state counterparts, and different from that described in generic public administration literature. These findings warrant the attention of public administration researchers and teachers.
ISSN:0275-0740
1552-3357
DOI:10.1177/027507409702700404