Managing Local Government: An Essential Guide for Municipal and County Managers offers a practical introduction to the changing structure, forms, and functions of local governments. Taking a metropolitan management perspective, authors Kimberly Nelson and Carl W. Stenberg explain U.S. local government within historical context and provide strategies for effective local government management and problem solving. Real-life scenarios and contemporary issues illustrate the organization and networks of local governments; the roles, responsibilities, and relationships of city and county managers; and the dynamics of the intergovernmental system. Case studies and discussion questions in each chapter encourage critical analysis of the challenges of collaborative governance. Unlike other books on the market, this text's combined approach of theory and practice encourages students to enter municipal and county management careers and equips them with tools to be successful from day one.

About the Author
Kimberly L. Nelson is associate professor of public administration and government at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, following six years in the Division of Public Administration at Northern Illinois University. Her research and teaching interests focus on local government management, local government form and structure, and innovation in local government. Her research on the effects of form of government on municipal performance and innovation have been published in leading journals including The American Review of Public Administration, Urban Affairs Review, and State and Local Government Review. She is also the author of book chapters and a regular presenter and participant at the conferences of the International City/County Management Association and the American Society for Public Administration. Dr. Nelson uses her research experience to inform her client work with local governments in strategic planning and improving local government-administrative relations, as well as to train local government leaders in promoting innovative practices. She received her Ph.D. in public administration from North Carolina State University.

Reviews

Managing Local Government: An Essential Guide for Municipal and County Managers takes on a critical topic-governing in urban areas. This text is very readable for an undergraduate audience with limited knowledge of local government and provides solid discussion of the role of the city manager in local government.

-- Raymond W. Cox III

Managing Local Government: An Essential Guide for Municipal and County Managers by Kimberly Nelson and Carl Stenberg is highly readable, well researched, and well written. The text features a strong focus on theory and history, summarizing practical managerial advice and strategies and comparing and contrasting theory and factual information through charts and tables.

-- Paula A. Duda Holoviak

Managing Local Government: An Essential Guide for Municipal and County Managers offers an exceptional overview of the profession of local government management. It also offers key insights and a valuable road map for the knowledge and skills needed to be an effective manager in an increasingly complicated intergovernmental landscape. It highlights skills, practices, and policies that are essential for a student of local government management to understand.

-- Christine Palus



Book Information
ISBN 9781506323374
Author Kimberly L. Nelson
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint CQ Press
Publisher SAGE Publications Inc
Weight(grams) 440g