Susan A. MacManus

Understanding the incremental nature of e-procurement implementation at the state and local levels

Government’s e-procurement system has not caught on as rapidly as has e-Bay! This article examines the slow implementation rate of public e-procurement systems. It challenges the notion that efficiency gains alone can entice governments to leave traditional procurement systems and principles behind. Four traditional procurement principles are reexamined to see whether they are deterrents to e-commerce: (1) low bid wins and that’s a must; (2) separation between the vendor and user is desirable to avoid claims of favoritism; (3) fixed price and fixed term contracts are best for government; and (4) open access is absolutely imperative in all situations. The jury is still out as to whether the new commerce is contingent upon a reformulation of these principles.

Why Businesses are Reluctant to Sell to Governments

responses varied by type ofproduct or service being provided. Contracting out is one of the most popular forms of cost containment utilized by governments at all levels (David, 1988; Morley, 1989; Chi, 1988; Butler, 1985; MacManus, 1990a). Ironically, at the very time when governments are most actively and aggressively seeking more opportunities to rely on the private sector, news media accounts indicate that the business community has become more cautious about selling to government (Goldstein, 1989). It is estimated that less than 2 percent of all U.S. businesses sell to the federal government (Holtz, 1980: xii) in spite of the fact that the U.S. government spent

Municipal Electoral Structure and the Election of Councilwomen

195 billion on goods, services, and research and development in 1988 alone. Although the proportion of businesses selling to state and local governments is probably somewhat higher, it is evident that businesses are skeptical about selling to government in spite of the size of the public-sector market. Yet for governments to get the most benefit from contracting out, genuine competition for government contracts must exist. If a significant proportion of the business community does not perceive that government procurement is competitive, or that the competition is fair and equitable and produces costs savings, then government procurement experts must devise strategies to broaden the vendor pools.

Disaster Vulnerabilities How Strong a Push Toward Regionalism and Intergovernmental Cooperation

A survey of the 946 American cities having populations in excess of 25,000 in 1980 reveals very little relationship between election structures and the presence of women on their councils. These results hold for the full data set as well as for four regional subsets. The evidence does not sustain the desirability hypothesis that suggests women will less often be elected in cities where the position is more valued. Women serve somewhat more frequently in the West, as expected, however, the proposition that the South will have a small proportion female on its councils is not borne out.

Testing Assumptions of the Totality-of-the-Circumstances Test An Analysis of the Impact of Structures on Black Descriptive Representation

In 2004, the Government Accountability Office reported that in the context of homeland security and disaster management, regional organization is an effective way to improve intergovernmental cooperation and preparedness at the local level. In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security began including risk (vulnerability) calculations in its funding formulas and adopted a regional approach to the distribution of funds to major metropolitan areas. Despite regionalisms theoretical appeal and its popularity as an organizational structure, what makes regionalism work in the context of emergency management/homeland security has not been methodically examined at the first responder level. Our study of local governments in Florida empirically tests the relationship between perceived vulnerabilities (risks) and the effectiveness of regional emergency management organizational structures. We find that certain types of local vulnerabilities, such as population attributes and infrastructure, are more powerful promoters of proregionalism sentiments than others, most notably financial condition.

Code Red: Florida City and County Officials Rate Threat Information Sources and the Homeland Security Advisory System:

The effect of each element of the Voting Rights Acts totality-of-the-circumstances test on black city council membership is analyzed in 946 cities with 1980 populations exceeding 25,000. Several structural elements, namely, staggered terms, majority vote requirements, large councils, and longer terms for council members, do not significantly reduce rates of black membership. There is some evidence, however, that the proportion black on a council is higher when representation is from single-member districts, at least in the South. Even in the South, the advantages of single-member elections vis-à-vis at-large elections do not apply to all types of citywide voting. Black office holding in at-large southern cities with residency requirements or that combines staggered terms with pure at-large elections is very similar to that in single-member district cities.

Emergency Management: Gauging the Extensiveness and Quality of Public- and Private-Sector Collaboration at the Local Level

Following September 11, 2001, the White House identifi ed the need for an early warning system as one of six critical homeland security missions, including “activities related to detecting terrorists and disseminating threat information and warning [and] the development of programs that promote intelligence sharing across the public and private sectors” (Carafano 2004, 1). The Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS), established by presidential directive in March Code Red: Florida City and County Offi cials Rate Threat Information Sources and the Homeland Security Advisory System

Minority Business Contracting with Local Government

This empirically based study compares the extensiveness and perceived quality of public and private emergency management—related collaborations at the grassroots level, based on a statewide survey of Florida county and city officials. The extensiveness of local officials’ involvement in private-sector collaboration is on par with their emergency management—related interactions with public-sector entities. County officials are more likely than city officials to report higher quality networks with both public and private partners. First responders rate the quality of their intergovernmental public-sector collaborations higher than their generalist counterparts; the results are more varied in terms of each group’s private-sector network quality assessments.

Financing Federal, State, and Local Governments in the 1990s

The trend in government contracting with minority-owned businesses in a racially and ethnically diverse community (Hillsborough County, Florida) is examined in this article. Using data from the countys Minority Business Enterprise program for FY 1987 and FY 1988, three hypotheses are tested and confirmed: (1) Getting contracts is related to the degree of economic and social assimilation of a racial or ethnic group; (2) getting contracts is related to the size of the minority population; and (3) getting contracts is related to the degree to which a minority group is incorporated into the political system. Through an analysis of the drop-out rate of the minority businesses participating in the program, a market explanation of this phenomenon is offered.

Financing Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness: Use of Inter-local Cost-Sharing

The 1980s were a decade of federal fiscal devolution. Federal cutbacks reflected the Reagan administrations commitment to decentralization and the realities of federal budget deficits. Cutbacks increased fiscal pressure on state and local governments, while restrictions on their borrowing capacity made it more difficult to use long-term tax-exempt debt to raise revenue in the short term. These restrictions also made it more difficult to finance public-private partnerships. To cope, state and local governments improved management techniques, transferred functions to the private sector and to other units of government, diversified their revenue systems, and looked for more discretionary revenue. Revenue enhancement was often limited by restrictive statutes, intergovernmental competition, and public opposition. Growing cynicism about the fairness of taxes prompted passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This act significantly affected state and local taxing and borrowing. It did little, however, to allay state and local fears that the federal government would continue to capture more revenue for itself. As we enter the 1990s, the major question will undoubtedly be, Which governments can or should pay for what?