Policy Perspectives of The Northwest City Manager,1966-1974 Continuity or Change?

Abstract

In 1966 and 1974 city managers in the Pacific Northwest were surveyed to determine their views on their roles in policy making. With respect to general policy and budget matters there was a larger percentage in 1974 who were willing to initiate policy and leadership, but where a community was evenly divided on an issue, a larger percentage of managers in 1974 felt that neutrality was desirable. The findings suggest that increasingly city managers may be turning from political advocacy leadership to programmatic leadership, which maintains the manager's image as an administrative expert even when making major contributions to policy directions.