Severe fiscal constraints on governments, especially local governments, have become a fact of life. This article reports the results of an empirical study of responses by local governments across one state to the fiscal stress following the “Great Recession.” It explores how such factors as the size, types, and forms of government and the severity of the cuts impacted those decisions. the findings show that overwhelmingly, municipalities do not use analytical research to determine their cutback strategies, and for a majority, political pressures present a great challenge during the cutback management process. For almost all of them, expenditure reduction is the main strategy. the severity of cuts was significantly related to employee morale and job performance. the vast majority of local governments did not attempt to broaden participation in the decision making process.
Beckett-CamarataJ. (2004) “Identifying and coping with fiscal emergencies in Ohio local governments”, International Journal of Public Administration, 27(8/9):615–630.
5.
BehnR.D. (1980) “Leadership for cut-back management: The use of corporate strategy”, Public Administration Review, 40(6):613–620.
6.
BehnR.D. (1985) “Cutback budgeting”, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 4(2):155–177.
7.
BehnR.D. (1996) “Management: Robert D. Behn on managing in a cutback environment”, Governing, 9(6):68.
8.
BraunB.M., JohnsonL.E. and LeyR.D.. (1993) “State revenue shortfalls: Budget restraints and policy alternatives”, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 52(4):385–398.
9.
CameronK.S. (1994) “Strategies for successful organizational downsizing”, Human Resource Management, 33(2):189–211.
10.
CaraleyD. and VaupelJ.W. (1982) “Cutback management: Advice from New York City's commissioners”, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2(1):101–107.
11.
ChadwickC., HunterL.W., and WalstonS.L. (2004) “Effects of downsizing practices on the performance of hospitals”, Strategic Management Journal, 25(5):405–427.
12.
ChapmanJ. and GorinaE. (2012) “Effects of the forms of government and property tax limits on local finance in the context of revenue and expenditure simultaneity”, Public Budgeting and Finance, 32(4):19–45.
13.
DarleyJ.M. (2004) “Commitment, trust, and worker effort expenditure in organizations” in: KramerR.M. and CookK.S. (eds) Trust and Distrust in Organizations, pp. 127–152, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
14.
De VriesM.F.R.K. and BalazsK. (1997) “The downside of downsizing”, Human Relations, 50(1):11–50.
15.
DoughertyM.J. and KlaseK.A. (2009) “Fiscal retrenchment in state budgeting: Revisiting cutback management in a new era”, International Journal of Public Administration, 32(7):593–619.
16.
DownsG.W. and RockeD.M. (1984) “Theories of budgetary decision-making and revenue decline”, Policy Sciences, 16(4):329–347.
17.
EbdonC. and FranklinA.. (2006) “Citizen participation in budgeting theory”, Public Administration Review, 66(3):437–447.
FolzD.H. and FrenchP.E. (2005) Managing America's Small Communities: People Politics and Performance. Lanham, MD: Roman and Littlefield.
20.
ForresterJ.P. and SpindlerC.J. (1990) “Managing municipal services in an era of declining federal assistance”, Policy Studies Review, 10(1):63–84.
21.
GlassbergA. (1978) “Organizational responses to municipal budget decreases”, Public Administration Review, 38(4):325–332.
22.
HigginsR.G. (1984) “Strategies for management of decline and productivity improvement in local government”, Public Productivity Review, 8(4): 332–352.
23.
HoeneC.W. and PaganoM.A.. (2009) Research Brief on America's Cities: City Fiscal Conditions in 2009, Washington, D.C: National League of Cities.
24.
JickT.D. and MurrayV.V. (1982) “The management of hard times: Budget cutbacks in public sector organizations”, Organization Studies, 3(2):141–169.
25.
JimenezB.S. (2013) “Strategic planning and the fiscal performance of city governments during the Great Recession”, American Review of Public Administration, 43(5):581–601.
26.
JimenezB.S. (2014) “Raise taxes, cut services, or lay off staff: Citizens in the fiscal retrenchment process”, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(4):923–953.
27.
JohnsonN., NicholasA., and PenningtonS.. (2009 July 9) Tax measures help balance State budgets: A common and reasonable response to shortfalls, Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, accessed February 9, 2017 (www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/5-13–09sfp.pdf).
KelmanS. (2006) “Downsizing, competition, and organizational change in government: Is necessity the mother of invention?” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 25(4):875–895.
30.
KieferT., HartleyJ., ConwayN. and BrinerR.B. (2014) “Feeling the squeeze: Public employees' experiences of cutback - and innovation - related organizational changes following a national announcement of budget reductions”, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(4): 1279–1305.
31.
KlingerD.E., LehnenS. and SchervishP.H.. (1984) “Intergovernmental fiscal trends affect urban human service delivery”, National Civic Review, 73(6):283–291.
32.
LevineC.H. (1979) “More on cutback management: Hard questions for hard times”, Public Administration Review, 39(2):179–183.
33.
LevineC.H., RubinI.S., and WolohojianG.G. (1981) “Resource scarcity and the reform model: The management of retrenchment in Cincinnati and Oakland”, Public Administration Review, 41(6):619–628.
34.
LevineC.H., RubinI.S., and WolohojianG.G.. (1981a) The Politics of Retrenchment: How Local Governments Manage Fiscal Stress. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
MacManusS.A., RattleyJ.M., UngaroP.J., BrownW.R.Jr., O'DonnellS., and ShalmyD.L. (1989) “A decade of decline: A longitudinal look at big city and big county strategies to cope with declining revenues”, International Journal of Public Administration, 12(5):749–796.
37.
MaherC.S. and DellerS.C. (2007) “Municipal responses to fiscal stress”, International Journal of Public Administration, 30(12–14):1549–1572.
38.
MayP.J. and MeltsnerA.J. (1981) “Limited actions, distressing consequences: A selected view of the California experience”, Public Administration Review, 41(Special Issue):172–179.
39.
McGranahanL. (2002) “Unprepared for boom or bust: Understanding the current state fiscal crisis”, Economic Perspectives, 26(3):2–25.
40.
McTigheJ.J. (1979) “Management strategies to deal with shrinking resources”, Public Administration Review, 39(1):86–90.
41.
OsborneD. and HutchinsonP. (2005) The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis. New York: Basic Books.
42.
PammerW.J. (1990) Managing Fiscal Strain in Major American Cities: Understanding Retrenchment in the Public Sector. New York: Greenwood Press.
43.
PlantJ.F. and WhiteL.G. (1982) “The politics of cutback budgeting: An alliance building perspective”, Public Budgeting and Finance, 2(1):65–71.
44.
PoisterT.H. and McGowanR.P. (1984) “The use of management tools in municipal government: A national survey”, Public Administration Review, 44(3):215–223.
45.
PoterbaJ.M. (1994) “State responses to fiscal crisis: The effects of budgetary institutions and politics”, Journal of Political Economy, 102(4):799–821.
46.
RickardsR.C. (1984) “How the spending patterns of cities change: Budgetary incrementalism reexamined”, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 4(1):56–74.
47.
ScorsoneE.A. and PlerhoplesC. (2010) “Fiscal stress and cutback management amongst state and local governments: What have we learned and what remains to be learned?” State and Local Government Review, 42(2):176–187.
48.
SkidmoreM. and ScorsoneE. (2011) “Causes and consequences of fiscal stress in Michigan cities”, Regional Science & Urban Economics, 41(4): 360–371.
49.
StipakB. and O'TooleD.E. (1993) “Fiscal stress and productivity improvement: Local government managers' perspective”, Public Productivity and Management Review, 17(2):101–112.
50.
WardJ.D. (2001) “Responding to fiscal stress: A state-wide survey of local governments in Louisiana. A Research Note”, International Journal of Public Administration, 24(6):565–571.
51.
WestJ.P. and DavisC.. (1988) “Administrative values and cutback politics in American local government”, Public Personnel Management, 17(2):207–222.
