James F. Wolf

Urban Governance and Business Improvement Districts: The Washington, DC BIDs

Abstract Metropolitan areas have increasingly relied on the creation of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as a way to focus on the special needs of retail and commercial centers. Whether part of the central city or a suburb, these relatively recent forms of organizations represent a new way to address sub-municipal issues. As such, they have become an important part of metropolitan governance and administration. The BIDs also clearly fit within the recent set of ideas represented by advocates of “new governance” that emphasizes both public/private partnerships and alternative institutional structures as strategies for addressing problems of metropolitan governance. This article examines four active BIDs in downtown Washington, DC. It presents the political and economic context of both the creation and operation of the four BIDs, relates them to new governance ideas, considers the extent that they have become an institutionalized form of metropolitan governance and finally, speculates on the extent that they are part of enterprise of public administration and management.

Reassessing the Human Resource Crisis in the Public Service, 1987-2002

In the late 1980s, a number of studies began to document serious problems with the federal public service employment system. In the 1st years of the new millennium, similar studies are again documenting major problems. At the beginning of the period, the Volcker Commission began work on recommendations for solutions. In 2002, another Volcker Commission is being formed to seek solutions. This article investigates the events occurring between the two commissions, using four analytical lenses—flow, competence, energy, and commitment. The analysis reveals much action and some improvements in employment flow and employee development; however, nothing positive has occurred to maximize employee energy and commitment to public purposes. Policy initiatives are needed in these last two areas if the capacity to govern is to be maintained.

Assessing Progress: The State of Metropolitan Planning Organizations under ISTEA and TEA-21

Abstract The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the ensuing Transportation Efficiency Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) established a central role for Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in regional transportation planning. In this new role, MPOs found themselves bringing together governmental and nongovernmental organizations representing the various transportation modalities in the planning process. At the same time, these MPOs assumed responsibilities for more effectively integrating transportation plans with other public policy arenas that affect and in turn are affected by transportation at the regional level. This paper reviews the progress that MPOs have made in achieving these goals. It concludes that there has been some progress in most areas specified in the ISTEA/TEA-21 legislation, however, the institutional contexts of MPOs substantially limits their effectiveness as regional transportation planning organizations.

Identifying the Capacities of Regional Councils of Government

ing the of quality of life in a metropolitan area. Consequently, local, state, and federal govern ments do not have an effective organizational means by which to address regional-level is sues such as the environment, transportation, health, and housing, among others. The dominant organizational model em ployed by local governments in the United States to address regional issues is the volun tary regional council of government (COG). Today, there are more than 500 voluntary re gional councils in the United States. These regional bodies also include associations of

How Metropolitan Planning Organizations Incorporate Land-Use Issues in Regional Transportation Planning

METROPOLITAN AREAS face increasing pressures of congestion and poor air quality, and citizens who live in these areas confront worsening mobility. Land-use and transportation policies have both hindered and helped these problems. The separate institutional environments in which land use and transportation issues are addressed do not permit extensive integration. Nevertheless, regionwide intergovernmental efforts have been attempting to address this disconnect. This article reports the results of a survey that examined the extent to which regional transportation planning agencies—metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)—consider land-use factors in their planning processes. Land-use planning and zoning are closely held powers of local jurisdictions. The principal land-use policies in metropolitan areas are determined by these localities. Other decisions by local jurisdictions dealing with the development of water and sewer services, schools, and other public amenities also influence land use in metropolitan areas. Many services are provided by the same local jurisdictions, special regional authorities, or in some

Greying at the Temples: Demographics of a Public Service Occupation

Changing societal, occupational, and organizational trends are powerful pressures affecting public sector management. This article explores the effects of these trends, particularly the demographic composition of the workplace, through a study of a local government occupation-public welfare agency workers. Workforce trends of seven local welfare agencies are presented along with the significance of these findings for local governments, welfare administrators, and personnel managers. The picture is one of a relatively stable workforce with some disturbing underlying forces. This paper begins with an overview of the age profile of the agencies and follows with a closer look at the side effects of these trends: plateauing, organizational dynamics created by the baby boom generation, and promotional opportunities. Although the study focuses on public welfare agencies, the problem goes beyond human services and affects many other local, state, and national agencies.

Systemic Bias in Federal Performance Evaluations: Does Hierarchy Trump a Performance Management Process?

Individual performance evaluations provide the link between individual and organizational performance. Employees expect to be rated based on their success in meeting their individual performance objectives regardless of their grade or position in the agency or other nonperformance-related criteria. This study examines performance appraisal ratings from three federal agencies (U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency) to learn whether the evaluation processes are free of a systemic bias based on an individuals position in the hierarchy. The analysis suggests that such a bias does exist and that this bias presents challenges to those who design, implement, and use performance evaluations to support their performance management systems and overall organizational performance. The importance of these exploratory findings goes to the question of fairness and equity in performance management systems, both real and perceived, and the impact of such beliefs on employee satisfaction and performance.

Disinvesting in the administrative capacity for public action

Recurring cutbacks in the public sector have received extensiveattention. Most of the emphasis has been on how to adjust to declinein support for public programs. Cutback Management andcon-tracting-out are examples of this approach. This article focuseson the negative consequence of cutbacks. It suggests that inadequateattention is being given to the decrease in the capacity of agenciesto act. An administrative disinvestment is occurring in much the sameway as it has for roads, bridges and other parts of our public infrastructure. Now, we are disinvesting in another critical social asset--our public bureau-cracies. The nature and implictions ofadminis-trative disinvestment are explord.

Foundation under Renovation: Proceed with Care!@@@Refounding Democratic Public Administration: Modern Paradoxes, Postmodern Challenges

Introduction - Gary L Wamsley and James F Wolf Can a High-Modern Project Find Happiness in a Postmodern Era? On Governance and Reinventing Government - Richard T Green and Lawrence Hubbell Fencing in the Inherently Governmental Debate - Larkin Dudley Public-Institutional Processes and Democratic Governance - Joy A Clay What a Difference a State Makes - John A Rohr Reflections on Governance in France Moving beyond Prescriptions - James F Wolf Making Sense of Public Administration Action Contexts Administering in the Public Interest - Thomas J Barth The Facilitative Role for Public Administrators Postmodernism, Public Administration and the Public Interest - O C McSwite The Public Administration and the Problem of the Presidency - Larry M Lane Refusing to Get It Right - Camilla Stivers Citizenship, Difference and the Refounding Project Understanding Social Processes - Lisa Weinberg The Key to Democratic Governance The Maturation of Public Administration - Linda F Dennard The Search for a Democratic Identity Thinking Government - John H Little Bringing Democratic Awareness to Public Administration A Public Philosophy and Ontological Disclosure as the Basis for Normatively Grounded Theorizing in Public Administration - Gary L Wamsley