Serving the City

Abstract

T HIERE are nine times as many municipal employees in the United States as there are men in the Regular Army. Approximately 600,000 persons, representing almost every profession, specialization, and skill, are carrying on the work of government, exclusive of education, in the 3,165 municipalities of over 2,500 population. If employees of municipal school systems are included, another 500,000 must be added, giving a total of well over one million municipal employees, or approximately one third of the total public service personnel of the Nation. In cities over 500,000 population there are 11.7 city employees (except schools) for each 1,000 population, as compared to 6.1 employees in cities of 10,000 to 30,000.1 The total number of employees is important from the point of view of this article only as it reflects the scope of municipal functions. As municipal functions increase, the number of appointed employees increases more rapidly than the number of political or elected officials. In fact there is a tendency for the latter number to decrease with the adoption of modern city charters. How well the rank and file of the municipal service do their work depends in part not only upon their qualifications and how they are selected, but also on the extent to which a permanent administrative service is provided, and the extent of professionalization of the service.