Commission Report Delivered, Local Government Reformers Weigh Next Step
As state studies changing system, Japan continues studying current system
Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:35:00
While legislators in Albany prepare to debate reforming the state’s local government structure, local governments in Japan have been looking towards New York as a role model.
The Japan Local Government Center, which opened in New York in 1989, has as its mission studying local administration issues and sending best practices to Japan for implementation. Funded by local governments in Japan, the center is the country’s only U.S. research office.
Matthew Gillam, a researcher with the center, said local governments in Japan have been trying to change management styles in various issues and bring in best practices from other countries.
“Japan has a long tradition of learning from abroad,” Gillam said. “It is a part of the culture, even though they had 150 years of isolation.”
Issues researched by the center in recent years have included urban renewal, economic development, emergency management, public-private partnerships, electronic voting, electronic government, tax collection and revenue management.
The center does not pick topics to research, but rather receives requests either from individual local governments or from the national Communications Ministry, which oversees local affairs in Japan. Given the center’s location, New York State and City have been the main focal points for research, though New Jersey’s local government system has been scrutinized as well. Other states and cities have been studied as well, to a lesser degree.
New York has its weaknesses, Gillam said, but the research tries to balance all sides before sending reports back across the Pacific.
“We are not always presenting the best case. We will do a representative sample and look at what is better and what is not so good,” he said. “With New York, there are a lot of issues with government. Very often, the Japanese governments are interested in the kinds of ideas rather than the kinds of governments.”
The kinds of governments—and the numbers of them—have been the subject of countless reports over the past century, most recently by the local government commission convened by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D). The group’s final report was submitted to Gov. David Paterson (D) at the end of April.
The commission’s recommendations range from proposing regionalization of services such as assessment to shared services to the politically controversial, including insisting on a mandatory pay-in for health care for municipal employees. Former Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine (D), the commission’s chair, said the health care package was the most controversial among commissioners, but was deemed necessary in order to address the rising property taxes statewide.
The health care proposal passed with the bare minimum—10 votes out of 15—necessary for a commission consensus. Lundine dissented out of concern that the proposal would upset the unions enough to kill the entire package, he said.
Indeed, union leaders have indicated that though they are open to considering other ideas in the package, they intend to work towards the defeat of the health care proposal. Stephen Madarasz, communications director for the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), said the union will be working against the proposal if it goes before the Legislature.
Madarasz said the proposal cannot be enacted without significant changes to the Taylor Law, which dictates that health care issues need to be negotiated in contracts and most communities statewide already have this as a part of their public employee contracts.
Most local unions have agreed to pay part of their health care costs in order to obtain higher wages or additional vacation time.
Madarasz said the union also stands ready to battle another controversial proposal of municipal consolidation in rural areas, particularly amongst villages and towns. Current law allows for a village to be wholly within a town, with village residents paying taxes to, and receiving services from, both governments.
The state Conference of Mayors opposes consolidation efforts, which will eliminate some of their members if the state’s 75 smallest villages vote to merge with towns.
Legislative approval for all recommendations will be tough. While the two local government committee chairs, Sen. Elizabeth Little (R-Essex) and Assembly Member Sam Hoyt (D-Erie) served on the committee, they have different takes on the report. Little, who represents a very rural North Country district, embraces the idea of more regional high schools and county fire departments, but does not find a need to reduce the number of smaller governments. Hoyt, who represents a large chunk of Buffalo and the suburban community of Grand Island, wants to look at the reduction in the number of the over 4,000 local governments in the state.
Little and Hoyt anticipate that a number of recommendations will be adopted before the end of the session, with larger issues to be addressed next year. Paterson has already sent a program bill of several recommendations to the Legislature for consideration.
Even if the Democrats take the State Senate majority this fall, the chair of the Local Governments Committee is likely to remain a defender of smaller governments. Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Nassau), a commission member and ranking member of the committee, has released a letter dissenting from the commission’s recommendations on government consolidation. Johnson’s Long Island district is dominated by village governments.
In the meantime, Hoyt recommended that the Japanese center review the report as they study American local government for a way to improve their structure.
“The fact that the previous governor created the commission and the current governor embraced our recommendations shows that we in New York State believe that our local government needs improvement,” he said. “They can learn from our mistakes.”
The Japan Local Government Center, which opened in New York in 1989, has as its mission studying local administration issues and sending best practices to Japan for implementation. Funded by local governments in Japan, the center is the country’s only U.S. research office.
Matthew Gillam, a researcher with the center, said local governments in Japan have been trying to change management styles in various issues and bring in best practices from other countries.
“Japan has a long tradition of learning from abroad,” Gillam said. “It is a part of the culture, even though they had 150 years of isolation.”
Issues researched by the center in recent years have included urban renewal, economic development, emergency management, public-private partnerships, electronic voting, electronic government, tax collection and revenue management.
The center does not pick topics to research, but rather receives requests either from individual local governments or from the national Communications Ministry, which oversees local affairs in Japan. Given the center’s location, New York State and City have been the main focal points for research, though New Jersey’s local government system has been scrutinized as well. Other states and cities have been studied as well, to a lesser degree.
New York has its weaknesses, Gillam said, but the research tries to balance all sides before sending reports back across the Pacific.
“We are not always presenting the best case. We will do a representative sample and look at what is better and what is not so good,” he said. “With New York, there are a lot of issues with government. Very often, the Japanese governments are interested in the kinds of ideas rather than the kinds of governments.”
The kinds of governments—and the numbers of them—have been the subject of countless reports over the past century, most recently by the local government commission convened by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D). The group’s final report was submitted to Gov. David Paterson (D) at the end of April.
The commission’s recommendations range from proposing regionalization of services such as assessment to shared services to the politically controversial, including insisting on a mandatory pay-in for health care for municipal employees. Former Lt. Gov. Stan Lundine (D), the commission’s chair, said the health care package was the most controversial among commissioners, but was deemed necessary in order to address the rising property taxes statewide.
The health care proposal passed with the bare minimum—10 votes out of 15—necessary for a commission consensus. Lundine dissented out of concern that the proposal would upset the unions enough to kill the entire package, he said.
Indeed, union leaders have indicated that though they are open to considering other ideas in the package, they intend to work towards the defeat of the health care proposal. Stephen Madarasz, communications director for the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), said the union will be working against the proposal if it goes before the Legislature.
Madarasz said the proposal cannot be enacted without significant changes to the Taylor Law, which dictates that health care issues need to be negotiated in contracts and most communities statewide already have this as a part of their public employee contracts.
Most local unions have agreed to pay part of their health care costs in order to obtain higher wages or additional vacation time.
Madarasz said the union also stands ready to battle another controversial proposal of municipal consolidation in rural areas, particularly amongst villages and towns. Current law allows for a village to be wholly within a town, with village residents paying taxes to, and receiving services from, both governments.
The state Conference of Mayors opposes consolidation efforts, which will eliminate some of their members if the state’s 75 smallest villages vote to merge with towns.
Legislative approval for all recommendations will be tough. While the two local government committee chairs, Sen. Elizabeth Little (R-Essex) and Assembly Member Sam Hoyt (D-Erie) served on the committee, they have different takes on the report. Little, who represents a very rural North Country district, embraces the idea of more regional high schools and county fire departments, but does not find a need to reduce the number of smaller governments. Hoyt, who represents a large chunk of Buffalo and the suburban community of Grand Island, wants to look at the reduction in the number of the over 4,000 local governments in the state.
Little and Hoyt anticipate that a number of recommendations will be adopted before the end of the session, with larger issues to be addressed next year. Paterson has already sent a program bill of several recommendations to the Legislature for consideration.
Even if the Democrats take the State Senate majority this fall, the chair of the Local Governments Committee is likely to remain a defender of smaller governments. Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Nassau), a commission member and ranking member of the committee, has released a letter dissenting from the commission’s recommendations on government consolidation. Johnson’s Long Island district is dominated by village governments.
In the meantime, Hoyt recommended that the Japanese center review the report as they study American local government for a way to improve their structure.
“The fact that the previous governor created the commission and the current governor embraced our recommendations shows that we in New York State believe that our local government needs improvement,” he said. “They can learn from our mistakes.”
