W. Bartley Hildreth

The Evolution of the State and Local Government Municipal Debt Market over the Past Quarter Century

Much has happened in the municipal bond market during the past 25 years. This article provides a retrospective of some of the significant developments in the market during that period of time. These developments include passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, innovations in the market in response to changing economic and social conditions, and the regulation, increase in disclosure requirements, and proliferatioin of credit enhancements that renewed the efficacy of municipal securities for American state and local governments.

Debt and the Local Economy: Problems in Benchmarking Local Government Debt Affordability

Debt creation imposes an obligation to repay borrowed funds from a wealth base that for most local governments is capitalized in property values. Therefore, the ability to afford debt is tied to the local economy, a factor often overlooked by localities in the analyses of their own position. However, debt levels are also relative, as the many debt affordability studies among governments and by bond rating agencies suggest. We argue here that economic concentration and interjurisdictional coordination fundamentally provide a broader analytical approach to the question a locality asks: Can we afford more debt?

State and Local Governments as Borrowers: Strategic Choices and the Capital Market

State and local governments issue securities to obtain financing for publicly desired projects or activities. A borrowers optimum economic goal is to obtain the lowest cost of capital over the desired repayment schedule. The role of the governments chief financial officer is to design appropriate strategies to achieve this goal within a context of changing market conditions, debt structures, and influences on borrowing choices.

A Profile of Discontinuity between Citizen Demand and Willingness to Pay Taxes: Comprehensive Planning for Park and Recreation Investment

Growing alienation between citizens and government represents an important challenge to democracy. Resistance to taxation is one of the manifestations of this alienation. The issue is further complicated by citizen demands that exceed their willingness to pay taxes, referred to here as tax-demand discontinuity. This article uses a survey of over 700 citizens designed to provide an information foundation for comprehensive park and recreation planning to test for and profile tax-demand discontinuity. Using combined scores on summated measures of willingness to pay taxes and demand for public investment, citizens are typologically classified into nine groups that are then consolidated under three classifications of tax-demand discontinuity. Citizen-assignments include traditionalists, or those with continuity or balance between willingness to pay taxes and demand; philanthropists, those who are willing to pay taxes in excess of demand; and free-riders, citizens with demands that exceed willingness to pay taxes. Differences in assessments of local government performance are examined in relationship to tax-demand discontinuity classifications indicating that productivity alone will not resolve issues of tax-demand discontinuity. The results indicate differences in citizen subpopulations in tax-demand discontinuity.

What Difference Does Having an MPA Make

Abstract The value of the master of public administration (MPA) degree is arguably a big question in public administration graduate education. This exploratory study of a national sample employs four outcome measures of master’s-level education, including return on educational investment (ROI), willingness to recommend degree program to others, salary, and satisfaction with salary. Furthermore, this research draws distinctions between MPAs and those who work for government but hold the competitive MBA degree. Additional insights are gained by restating the ROI measure as either pass/fail. Advice is derived for MPA programs. The results buttress NASPAA’s call for program assessment based on outcome measures.

Handbook of Public Administration, Third Edition

Municipal Shared Services and Consolidation: A Public Solutions Handbook Teaching Resources Guide for Public Affairs and Administration (3rd Edition). The third edition of the Handbook of Public Administration provides much-needed coverage of the theory and practice to help address these contemporary. The SAGE Handbook of Public Administration, Second Edition The SAGE Handbook of Strategic Handbook of Marketing Scales, Third Edition Handbook.

Strategic Public Planning: External Orientations and Strategic Planning Team Members

It is commonly argued that public strategic planning should be led by a small team of individuals committed to the process; however, little guidance is provided on how to construct such a team. Prior straegic management and public administration literature has examined the differentiation between internal and external managerial orientation. Building on that differentiation, this research found that those individuals who possess a greater external orientation are the most likely to be committed to planning. Therefore, externally oriented managers would be the most appropriate for building a strategic management team.

Integrating Planned-Change Intervention and Computer Simulation Technology: The Case of Affirmative Action:

A critical question in affirmative action planning is whether any given plan of action will successfully integrate an organizations work force within a reasonable length of time. Computer simulation, coupled with appropriate involvement by line managers, can help the organization ensure congruence between its plan of action and its timetables for making progress toward achieving an integrated work force. This article describes one organizations experiences in using a computer-assisted databased management intervention in setting affirmative action goals.

The Liability of Public Executives: Implications for Practice in Personnel Administration

This article provides an overview of the law of tort liability as it applies to personnel administrators. Starting with the premise that personnel practitioners can avoid liability pitfalls by familiarizing themselves with current statutory and case law, the authors analyze trends in the development of personal and official liability. The impact of tort liability upon the personnel profession is exemplified through reference to four personnel topics: employee non-discrimination; union activity; disciplinary policy; and supervisory practices. The authors conclude with several recommendations intended to assist practitioners in avoiding liability problems, including the careful design of bias-free rules and regulations, and the establishment of training programs and monitoring systems to avoid and/or remedy potential liability risks.

Impact of Bankruptcy Eligibility Requirements and Statutory Liens on Borrowing Costs

While bankruptcy protection remains an instrument of last resort, a recent wave of petitions has aroused the interest of key participants in the municipal bond market. To date, 12 states unconditionally authorize municipalities to file for bankruptcy protection, 15 states require that municipalities satisfy certain threshold requirements, while the remaining 23 states either explicitly prohibit or have not specifically provided this authority to municipal governments. As bankruptcy protection rules influence bondholder risk exposures, we empirically test the significance of the state-specific bankruptcy eligibility requirements on borrowing costs. In a representative sample of general obligation bonds, empirical results suggest that municipalities eligible to file for bankruptcy protection pay a premium. The premium is higher if issuers are unconditionally authorized to file for bankruptcy protection, especially for debt with longer maturities. Findings also show that there are benefits associated with statutory liens; however, these benefits diminish with maturity.