Local Government Modernization

Report Outline
Current Strains on Local Government
Local Government in a Federal System
Action to Strengthen Local Government

Current Strains on Local Government

Pressures for Change in the City and County

Local government in the United States is being strained beyond its capacity to serve the great expanses of population building up in and around big urban centers. A frustration common to cities and suburbs is the inadequacy of existing governmental machinery to deal with the complexity and range of their problems. At the same time, the urban migration is depopulating the countryside to the point that local government is not easily supported in many rural areas.

The nation's top business leadership has recently expressed the belief that local government will gradually wither away unless it is reorganized in terms of 20th century needs. Its survival is considered essential on two grounds: first, the traditional one that government governs best when it is closest to the people; and second, that local government is necessary to the operation of federally financed programs across the nation.

The United States Chamber of Commerce is among business and public groups that within the past year have called for a political restructuring in city hall and county courthouse. The Chamber in May 1967 published a compilation of how-to-do-it ideas for community leaders. The Committee for Economic Development, whose membership also embraces the summit of American business, has warned against efforts merely to “tidy up a chaotic situation.” The group's Research and Policy Committee recommended last year that the number of local governments be reduced by four-fifths. It considered that only the two newest states—Alaska and Hawaii—had “patterns of local government deliberately designed for modern conditions.” Many cities are hamstrung by unwieldy restrictions imposed by state constitutions and legislatures.