Personnel Reform in Consolidated Metropolitan Governments: Executive Responsibility and Neutral Competence

Abstract

Metropolitan governmental mergers and consolidations are distinctly structural reforms which suggest administrative reforms of similar disposition. For the personnel function, reform has meant some blending of the neutral competence and executive responsibility models in order to maximize local governmental responsiveness and accountability, while protecting employees from partisan political abuses. Resultant personnel systems in seven consolidated governments are surveyed to determine the degree of complementarity between the two models. By measuring these metropolitan government personnel systems against ten criteria concerning coverage and hiring-firing-promotion practices, each may be characterized as “safe, good government” reform or “strong executive leadership” reform.