City Agencies Research Articles

A Modified Workweek for a Small City Agency

A Modified Workweek for a Small City Agency

OLDER ADULT ART STUDENTS: DESCRIPTIVE DATA FOR COMMUNITY PROGRAM PLANNING

This study surveyed 94 noninstitutionalized adult art students aged 55 and older in Tucson, Arizona. A modified Hoffman questionnaire gathered data useful for visual arts programming by city and county agencies. Most older adult art students were found to be married women, in good health, with a higher than average level of education. They took classes to continue their art learning in anticipation of having new and enjoyable experiences, and they reported feelings of accomplishment. Although 72% attended classes composed primarily of elderly students, 83% of those surveyed preferred age‐mixed classes that included younger students.

The Urban Fiscal Crisis Becomes Routine

O ne clear consequence of the New York City crisis, is that the amount of information generated about city agencies has dramatically increased. Perhaps because one element of the was the apparent inability of city officials to provide adequate and current information on the state of municipal finances, considerable effort has obviously been put into the generation of extensive statistical summaries of the financial situation of both the city as an entity, and also its component agencies. As a by-product of this effort, additional data is also generated on the management of these agencies. Since the solution of the New York City required the continuing presence of outside monitoring bodies, the reports generated by and for these external controllers provide an additional source of data about municipal operations. While there is no reason to expect agency heads to be especially forthcoming in their presentations to these outside bodies, the very fact that they are called on endlessly to report to outside monitors itself can influence their behavior. In this study, I am focusing particular attention on the ways in which different city agencies present to this small but vitally important attentive public. I will be particularly interested in their use of productivity measures which actually relate to departmental effectiveness. For the purposes of this research, I am less interested in the improvement (or deterioration) of service which these indicators show, but rather in whether the indicators are developed in the first place.' I suggested in earlier work that environments of budgetary stringency change the incentive systems which operate for municipal decision makers, particularly those with agency administrative responsibilities. In the American context, fiscal crisis has brought with it an accelerated entrance into the decision-making process of outsiders individuals with supervisory responsibilities whose values are closer to those of the business community than of traditional urban public-sector decision makers.2 We ought to anticipate, I argued, that models of success in the private sector would be emulated by those public sector agency heads who saw as a common feature of urban administrative life, and who hoped, nevertheless, to make a name for themselves by effectively administering under stringency.3 One component of such a personal strategy, I now suggest, would be the adoption of a form of measurement of agency effectiveness comparable to the data which private sector managers are routinely expected to produce. To argue that the incentive system for urban public managers works in this way is not to assume an identity, or

Limited Actions, Distressing Consequences: A Selected View of the California Experience

ial from the Mayor's Management Report presented in: Office of the State Comptroller, Office of the Special Deputy Comptroller for New York City, Fact Sheets for Major Agencies in New York City, Showing Data as of June, FCB1 -80, June 11, 1979. The data were drawn from an updated version of the 1978 Mayor's Management Report issued on August 18, 1978. Data reported for 1978 was unaudited, and therefore reflects the agency's choice on how to present itself. 13. Office of the State Comptroller, Office of the Special Deputy Comptroller for New York City, Summary of Cost Reduction Memoranda Submitted to the City as of December 31, 1978, FCB-21-80, June 11, 1979, p. i. 13a. These categorizations are mine, not the EFCB's. 14. HPD and HA data were not included in EFCB recodifications of the 1978 Mayor's Management Report. Indicators for these agencies were examined by using retrospective information in the 1979 Mayor's Management Report, City of New York, Mayor's Management Report, April 26, 1979. 15. The figure for housing is a combination of memos issued to the Housing and Development Administration, and the separate departments into which it was subsequently separated. 16. services memo totals include memos issued to the Department of Social Services and its predecessor, the Human Resources Administration (which included other functions as well). 17. This table is drawn from James Hartman, Expenditures and Services, in Horton and Brecher (eds.), op. cit., p. 58. Since Hartman presents his data by expenditure function rather than by city agencies, the categories he uses are not identical to those used in earlier tables. 18. This is consistent with Hartman's explanation of the dynamics of high growth and high retrenchment. In his interpretation, high growth in the pre-crisis period was concentrated in those agencies where new federal matching funds could be attracted. High retrenchment was concentrated in those agencies where functions could be moved out ofthe city's jurisdiction (usually to the state) and in those agencies where there were few matching funds and high municipal discretion about service levels. Some agencies are low in retrenchment because of externally mandated spending levels. Hartman, op. cit. These criteria stand independent of the types of management effectiveness (and perceptions of management effectiveness) measures this study has primarily been concerned with. 19. Andrew Glassberg, Response to Budgetary Stringency: New York and London, 1978 World Congress of Sociology convention paper.

The Impact of Post-Occupancy Evaluation Research

A comprehensive post-occupancy evaluation of subsidized housing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is described. The study was unique because it was initiated and financed by the city agencies responsible for the planning, regulation, and administration of public housing programs. One of the most important findings of the study was the importance of territorial definition and site security. This issue is used to illustrate the type of information the study generated and the impact it has had on the housing system in Albuquerque.

Family day care: Where it's at-updated New York City

Almost five years ago, (November 1974)Day Care and Early Education surveyed the state of family day care in a series of four articles entitled “Family Day Care: Where It's At.” In one of these articles, Betti Whaley, then Commissioner of the New York City Agency for Child Development, reported on that city's system for serving working mothers and providing children with the best possible home care. The following article on the present situation in New York City, and several others to appear in future issues, will provide an update on what has happened in family day care around the country since 1974, review the pros and cons of this type of day care, and consider prospects for the future.

Explaining Cynicism among City and County Police

This research extends our understanding of the determinants of police cynicism. The focus of the research is on contrasting levels of cynicism among police officers fiom varying organizational types. The data for the project came from responses of 189 law enforcement officers (73 from the county agency; 1 16 from the city agency.) Each officer responded to a survey instrument which had him indicate his agreement or disagreement with a set of police cynisicm items. The data were analyzed through gamma correlation coefficients. The findings revealed specific areas of difference between members of the two types of agencies, particularly on the dimensions of police cynicism likely to develop in each. The significance of this project is that it demonstrates the importance of exploring the relationship of alternative variables, from those traditionally used in the past, with the development and continuance of police cynicism. Further, the research suggests ap propriate avenues of inquiry for additional research.

Physiological responses of fire fighting recruits to high intensity training.

Data were obtained for 20 fire department recruits before and after a ten-week training program. Training consisted of interval running and circuit weight training. At the conclusion of the training program several parameters were examined. Total work capacity assessed on a bicycle ergometer significantly increased (27.3%) with a concomittent increase in maximum oxygen uptake (33.2%). Physical performance tests given showed marked increases in 12 foot rope climb, 600 yard run, push-ups, sit-ups and leg-lifts. Physical strength also showed significant increases for the bench press (18.5%), military press (19.4%) pulldown (11.7%) biceps curl (16.2%) and leg press (18.7%). Training of this nature also brought about significant changes in body composition of the recruits. The subscapula and abdomen skinfold sites showed significant decreases of -9.6% and -11.9% respectfully. Body segment circumferences showed significant changes for shoulder, thigh, flexed biceps and abdomen. The skinfold and circumference measures reflected changes in lean body weight (2.6%), absolute body fat (-13.4%), and relative body fat (-13.7%). It has been shown that interval training and circuit weight training significantly increase the physical performance capacities of the recruits. It has been suggested, due to the tremendous cost to the county and city agencies as well as to the aspiring recruit, that a preliminary physical training program be implemented to reduce the drop-out rate of recruits during the tower training drills.

The Future of Community Control

The nature of community control ideology, its relation to more general political consciousness, and its social correlates are explored. The primary data are drawn from two main sources: a survey of the attitudes of 362 civic and political leaders in seven districts of New York City conducted in 1972 using a combination of structural and reputational indicators to identify the sample; and intensive participant observation in three of these districts during 1973–74, along with 175 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with individuals in district-level voluntary organizations, interest groups, political parties, poverty boards and agencies, and “street-level” bureaucratic roles.Both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that the great majority of leaders subscribes to a democratic rather than a race-conflict rationale for community control, but that there is a strong independent relationship between minority group status and operational support for community control. Possible explanations for this finding include the present interests of minority groups in American cities, the functional inadequacies of the political party structure, and the developmental history of the civil rights movement and its ideology. The relationship between race and community control may fade, however, if community control ceases to be a useful vehicle for advancing the interests of minority groups. One crucial determinant will be the identifications and beliefs of minority group members who are recruited into urban bureaucracies. Another is whether experience with decentralized city agencies indicates that movement toward increased community involvement in government leads, in fact, to enhanced power and patronage for minorities. The data point to a continuing attachment to the community control ideology but also a recasting of it in a more qualifiéd and complex form.

Historic Planning and Redevelopment in Minneapolis

Abstract The redevelopment process in Minneapolis involves an attempt to recreate the positive aspects of life that existed in the nineteenth-century city, an era when the city was a dynamic and positive environment. Redevelopment has focused on recovering die importance of downtown, restoring die industrial base lost to die suburbs and revitalizing neighborhood life—all characteristic aspects of the historic city. The city's public planning efforts, well documented by Altshuler and others, have involved significant cooperation among city agencies and private organizations. This paper will focus on die role of the private sector in this partnership to encourage redevelopment. Nicollet Mall and the industrial development program are two of the major accomplishments of the recovery efforts. Where success has eluded the city, as in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood re-vitalization project, more attention to the historic and social needs of residents might contribute to fulfillment of project goals. The Minnea...

Police Employee Organizations and Accountability Procedures in three Cities: Some Reflections on Police Policy-Making

James Q. Wilson (1971: 4-5) has observed that militant police unions may constitute the greatest obstacle to reform and innovation in contemporary American police practice. To date, most social science studies of the police have focused on the analysis and consequences of individual officer behavior and not on collective actions by policemen to influence law enforcement policy. The absence of in-depth studies of police from a group perspective is significant in view of research (Horton, 1970; Kaufman, 1969) which indicates that municipal agencies in larger cities are moving toward a joint management-labor determination of goals and administration under the prodding of activist employee associations.

Citizen Va-r-ooooooom! In Memory of Paul Goodman 1911-1972

Every once in a while, Paul would be on the phone. He had a new anti-war action in mind or a writer was being hassled by his publisher or a local institutional injustice was being visited on someone by personnel in the police department or a city agency.

Agencies in cities in crisis: a descriptive study of selected characteristics.

Agencies in cities in crisis: a descriptive study of selected characteristics. J E MulliganCopyRight https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.63.1.46 Published Online: October 07, 2011

Professional Local Administration in Municipal Government

Urban areas are no longer sharply defined, and local administrators cannot ignore neighboring areas. Trained professionals are necessary today. They are employed by half of all cities in the United States with populations between ten thousand and fifty thousand. The professional's functions include planning and coordination of city and intergovernment agencies. His characteristics must include sound training, tact, patience, self-confidence, and communicative skill; also imagination and courage. More and more, the professional local administrator is called upon to be a pace-setter in city planning and operation.

Application of the Forrester Model to Harris County, Texas

The generalized Urban Dynamics model of Forrester was applied to Harris County, Tex. The 40 variables changed were those considered to be "region dependent." The model was initialized with data froni the year 1950. Statistical data for 1960 and 1970 were used to check the validity of the model. The statistical data used were obtained from the 1950, 1960, and 1970 censuses and from various county and city agencies. The results revealed that the model could be used as a planning tool for a specific region, as the final model appeared closely tuned to the county's major statistical variables. The lack of variables in the model which could be directly correlated with statistical data was thought to be the reason for deviations in the subvariables. Sensitivity of the model to a large number of variables was determined.

The Bureaucracy of Race

This paper deals with bureaucracy, race, and civil rights in what I term racial bureaucracy. These are the municipal, county, state, and federal civil rights agencies. The racial bureaucracy includes such federal agencies as the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; state agencies including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, the California Fair Employment Practices Commission; city agencies such as the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations and the Detroit Commission on Community Relations. The first federal racial

Professionals' participation in community activities: is it part of the job?

Professional involvement in community mental health centers and other inner city agencies, especially schools, requires a new kind of professional collaboration and participation in the community's social and political processes. Current questions are: Can involvement be professional, effective, responsive to changing community needs and survive conflicting pressures? Can and should these skills be taught?

National Mapping for Urban Areas

The need for topographic mapping with increasing scales and more detail has grown steadily since the inception of the national program. As a result, a mapping scale which began at 1:250,000 has evolved into the present 1:24,000 basic scale. The Geological Survey is exploring the need for general-purpose maps at a larger scale that might help solve the environmental problems of urban areas. The Urban Mapping Coordination Group (five Federal bureaus) is also working towards this goal. A study completed by the System Development Corporation provided valuable related information and statistics. To ascertain how the functions of city agencies can be better served by maps and cartographic data, the Geological Survey recently conducted a study of map use in the District of Columbia government. Also beneficial to urban use is the Survey's development of the orthophotomap and a rapid method of map revision called interim revision. Although the Geological Survey is pledged to continue its primary program - to provide standard-quadrangle topographic coverage at 1:24,000 scale - it will also continue to assess the need for an urban series of general-purpose maps at a larger scale.

Planning for Rational Organization of Urban Health Services

* Health Services Administrator, The City of New York. appropriated by the City Council and Board of Estimates. The figures do not include payments made under Title 18 to hospitals and other providers, nor do they include grant funds paid to the Health Services Administration or related agencies. Furthermore, the city's payments to its employees for health insurance and workman's compensation, totaling $62,500,000, are carried in separate budgets. Earlier, Mayor Lindsay had announced a capital construction budget for the Health Services Administration totaling over $500,000,000 for the next five years. Health Services Administration projects were given the highest priority in the city's capital budget. These budget figures illustrate the magnitude of public funds now available for delivering health services in New York City. About 50 per cent of the expense budget will be spent by city agencies, and the remainder by voluntary bodies and private providers, to secure care for the 45 to 50 per cent of the population of New York City unable to pay the full cost of treatment.

Control of Childhood Lead Poisoning

THE CONTROL of lead poisoning in children is a subject of increasing interest among physicians, the industries using lead in their products, public health workers, and informed citizens. This interest has grown rapidly in the past several years as a better understanding of the magnitude and the seriousness of the problem has developed. Persons and agencies in several cities have initiated efforts to control the illness. None of these efforts is complete and the problem continues to be serious in even the cities with the most advanced programs.