This paper examines the demand side of public administration professionalism, focusing on city legislators’ preferences for professional administrators. To this point, most of the research on managerial professionalism has emphasized the supply side, or why managers seek professional advancement or professionalism. This paper examines the factors that drive political decision-makers to prefer professionalized city managers. In the manuscript, we explore how familiarity with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), financial conditions, and population size influence preferences for professionally credentialed administrators. Specifically, we investigate how these factors and their interactions influence legislator preferences for ICMA-credentialed administrators. We investigate the question of demand for professionalism through an original survey of 500 local government elected officials. We find that elected officials with higher levels of familiarity with ICMA were more likely to prefer ICMA-credentialed managers. Additionally, we find a significant preference for ICMA-credentialed administrators in financially strained governments, when legislators are familiar with the ICMA organization.
AmmonsD. N.KingJ. C. (1982). Professionalism and local government administration. The American Review of Public Administration, 16(4), 386–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/027507408201600409. (Original work published 1982)
BoiseW.RoweL. (1974). City manager-professional administrator in local government. Journal of General Management, 2(2), 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/030630707400200212
4.
BrelsfordC.LoboJ.HandJ.BettencourtL. M. (2017). Heterogeneity and scale of sustainable development in cities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(34), 8963–8968. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1606033114
CarrJ. B.HawkinsC. V. (2013). The costs of cooperation: What the research tells us about managing the risks of service collaborations in the U.S. State and Local Government Review, 45(4), 224–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X13508793
8.
CarrJ. B.LeRouxK.ShresthaM. (2009). Institutional ties, transaction costs, and external service production. Urban Affairs Review, 44(3), 403–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087408323939
9.
CayerN. J.CoxR. W.IIINewellC. (2014). The effective local government manager. ICMA Publishing.
10.
ChangY. S.KimH. E.JeonS. (2019). Do larger cities experience lower crime rates? A scaling analysis of 758 cities in the US. Sustainability, 11(11), 3111. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11113111
11.
ChapmanJ.GorinaE. (2012). Effects of the form of government and property tax limits on local finance in the context of revenue and expenditure simultaneity. Public Budgeting & Finance, 32(4), 19–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5850.2012.01022.x
CoateS.KnightB. (2011). Government form and public spending: Theory and evidence from US municipalities. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 3(3), 82–112. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.3.3.82
14.
DeHoogR. H.WhitakerG. P. (1993). Professional leadership in local government. International Journal of Public Administration, 16(12), 2023–2049. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900699308524885
15.
DenoK. T.MehayS. L. (1987). Municipal management structure and fiscal performance: Do city managers make a difference?Southern Economic Journal, 53(3), 627–642. https://doi.org/10.2307/1058759
16.
DentersB.GoldsmithM.LadnerA.MouritzenP. E.RoseL. E. (2014). Size and local democracy. Edward Elgar.
17.
DeslatteA.FeiockR. C. (2019). The collaboration riskscape: Fragmentation, problem types and preference divergence in urban sustainability. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 49(2), 352–377. https://doi.org/10.1093/publius/pjy020
18.
FaveroN.BullockJ. B. (2015). How (not) to solve the problem: An evaluation of scholarly responses to common source bias. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(1), 285–308. https://doi.org/10.2307/24484950
19.
FeiockR. C.JeongM.-G.KimJ. (2003). Credible commitment and council-manager government: Implications for policy instrument choices. Public Administration Review, 63(5), 616–625. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3110103 https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6210.00324
20.
FeiockR. C.KimJ.-H. (2001). Form of government, administrative organization, and local economic development policy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 11(1), 29–50. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3525636 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a003492
21.
HanL.ZhouW.PickettS. T.LiW.LiL. (2016). An optimum city size? The scaling relationship for urban population and fine particulate (PM2.5) concentration. Environmental Pollution, 208, 96–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.08.039
22.
HayesK.ChangS. (1990) The relative efficiency of city manager and mayor-council forms of government. Southern Economic Journal, 57(1), 167–177. https://doi.org/10.2307/1060487
23.
HendrickR. (2002). Revenue diversification: Fiscal illusion or flexible financial management. Public Budgeting & Finance, 22(4), 52–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5850.00089
24.
HochI. (1976). City size effects, trends, and policies: The consequences as a city grows in population and recent patterns of US urban growth are examined. Science, 193(4256), 856–863. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.193.4256.856
25.
International City/County Management Association. (2023a). ICMA code of ethics. https://icma.org
26.
International City/County Management Association. (2023b). ICMA credentialing advisory board policies and procedures (May 2023 version). ICMA.
27.
JungJ. (2024). Career paths and professionalism: Examining ICMA credentials among city managers. The American Review of Public Administration, 54(8), 732–746. https://doi.org/10.1177/02750740241269930
28.
KrauseR. M. (2012). Political decision-making and the local provision of public goods: The case of municipal climate protection in the US. Urban Studies, 49(11), 2399–2417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098011427183
29.
Leon-MoretaA.TotaroV. R.DixonD. S. (2020). Social heterogeneity, local capacity, and urban parks: Evidence from US cities. Cities, 99, 102588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.102588
30.
LerouxK.CarrJ. B. (2007). Explaining local government cooperation on public works: Evidence from Michigan. Public Works Management & Policy, 12(1), 344–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1087724X07302586
31.
LerouxK.PandeyS. K. (2011). City managers, career incentives, and municipal service decisions: The effects of managerial progressive ambition on interlocal service delivery. Public Administration Review, 71(4), 627–636. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02394.x
32.
LiaoY.MaL. (2019). Do professional associations make a difference? Linking municipal managers’ association participation and attitudes toward citizen participation. Public Management Review, 21(12), 1824–1847. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.1577907
33.
LubellM.FeiockR. C.de la CruzE. E. R. (2009). Local institutions and the politics of urban growth. American Journal of Political Science, 53(3), 649–665. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25548143 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2009.00392.x
34.
McDonaldB. D. (2015). Does the charter form improve the fiscal health of counties?Public Administration Review, 75(4), 609–618. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24757822 https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12389
35.
McDonaldB. D. (2023). Teaching public budgeting and finance to the next generation of scholars. In ElgarE. (Ed.), Handbook of teaching public administration (pp. 402–414). Edward Elgar Publishing.
36.
MontgomeryM. R. (1988). How large is too large? Implications of the city size literature for population policy and research. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 36(4), 691–720. https://doi.org/10.1086/451693
37.
MorganD. R.HirlingerM. W. (1991). Intergovernmental service contracts: A multivariate explanation. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 27(1), 128–144.
38.
NalbandianJ. (1990). Tenets of contemporary professionalism in local government. Public Administration Review, 50(6), 654. https://doi.org/10.2307/976976
39.
NalbandianJ. (1991). Professionalism in local government: Transformations in the roles, responsibilities, and values of city managers. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
40.
NelsonK. L.AfonsoW. B. (2019). Ethics by design: The impact of form of government on municipal corruption. Public Administration Review, 79(4), 591–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13050
41.
NelsonK. L.SvaraJ. H. (2015). The roles of local government managers in theory and practice: A centennial perspective. Public Administration Review, 75(1), 49–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar
42.
OliveiraE. A.AndradeJ. S.Jr.MakseH. A. (2014). Large cities are less green. Scientific Reports, 4(1), 4235. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04235
43.
OliverJ. E. (2000). City size and civic involvement in metropolitan America. American Political Science Review, 94(2), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.2307/2586017
44.
PendergrassL. F. (1975). The formation of a municipal reform movement: The municipal league of Seattle. Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 66(1), 13–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40489350
45.
PerryJ. L. (1997). Antecedents of public service motivation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 7(2), 181–197. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1181709 https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jpart.a024345
46.
RosenbloomD. H. (1983). Public administrative theory and the separation of powers. Public Administration Review, 43(3), 219–227. https://doi.org/10.2307/976330
47.
RotoloT.TittleC. R. (2006). Population size, change, and crime in US cities. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 22, 341–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-006-9015-x
48.
SchneiderM.TeskeP. (1992). Toward a theory of the political entrepreneur: Evidence from local government. American Political Science Review, 86(3), 737–747. https://doi.org/10.2307/1964135
49.
SharpE. B. (1991). Institutional manifestations of accessibility and urban economic development polity. The Western Political Quarterly, 44(1), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.2307/448751
50.
SharpE. B.DaleyD. M.LynchM. S. (2011). Understanding local adoption and implementation of climate change mitigation policy. Urban Affairs Review, 47(3), 433–457. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087410392348
51.
SquireP. (2007). Measuring state legislative professionalism: The squire index revisited. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 7(2), 211–227. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40421579
52.
StewartD. W. (1985). Professionalism vs. democracy: Friedrich vs. Finer revisited. Public Administration Quarterly, 9(1), 13–25. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41575704
SvaraJ. H. (1990). Official leadership in the city: Patterns of conflict and cooperation. Oxford University Press.
56.
SvaraJ. H. (1999). The shifting boundary between elected officials and city managers in large council-manager cities. Public Administration Review, 59(1), 44–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/977478
57.
SvaraJ. H. (2014). Who are the keepers of the code? Articulating and upholding ethical standards in the field of public administration. Public Administration Review, 74(5), 561–569. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12230
58.
SvaraJ. H.WatsonD. J. (Eds.). (2010). More than mayor or manager: Campaigns to change form of government in America’s large cities. Georgetown University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2tt76p
59.
SwitzerD. (2020). The context of responsiveness: Resident preferences, water scarcity and municipal conservation policy. Review of Policy Research, 37(2), 260–279. https://doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12377
60.
SwitzerD.JungJ. (2023). Contextual responsiveness in US local government climate policy. Review of Policy Research, 40(6), 920–949. https://doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12518
61.
TeodoroM. P. (2011). Bureaucratic ambition: Careers, motives, and the innovative administrator. Johns Hopkins University Press.
62.
TeodoroM. P. (2014). When professionals lead: Executive management, normative isomorphism, and policy implementation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(4), 983–1004. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muu039
63.
VanderleeuwJ.SidesJ.WilliamsB. (2015). An advanced degree in public administration — is it valued by city councils?Public Administration Quarterly, 39(3), 453–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/073491491503900304
64.
WatsonD. J.HassettW. L. (2004). Career paths of city managers in America's largest council-manager cities. Public Administration Review, 64(2), 192–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2004.00360.x
65.
WeiW. (2022). Municipal structure matters: Evidence from government fiscal performance. Public Administration Review, 82(1), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13183
66.
WeiW.ZhangZ.YangK. (2022). Local institutions and public service outsourcing: Managerial professionalism, mayoral strength, and electoral rules. Public Administration Review, 82(6), 1095–1123. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13525
67.
ZhangY.FeiockR. C. (2010). City managers’ policy leadership in council-manager cities. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 20(2), 461–476. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40732519 https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/mup015
