City Officials and General Revenue Sharing: Attitudes, Perceptions and Implications for Future Intergovernmental Policy*

Abstract

This article describes the 1972 State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act (General Revenue Sharing), its perceived impact on city expenditures, its impact on the attitudes of city officials, and GRS's implication for future intergovernmental policy. Using data from nine years of an annual survey to chief executives in cities with over 50,000 population, we conclude the program's most important contribution was in the general attitudes it fostered among local officials. Our analysis indicates that GRS remains extremely popular with urban chief executives and that its impact varies among expenditure categories and cities. We conclude that the Reagan administration may be able to develop viable policy alternatives because of the lack of consensus among many city officials who also exhibit varying degrees of support for the president's proposed policies. In addition, the consensus which characterized the public interest groups in prior years may be eroding, and this could create greater possibilities for policy change.