Last week I was contacted by Bill Wilson, a reporter for the Wichita Eagle for a story on the city's infrastructure. The mayor had announced that the city needed $2.1 billion for repairs and upgrades to its water/sewer system.

The question asked: "Are Wichita's infrastructure problems unique?" No,...

The magnitude of gun violence in the United States is undeniable and, as with all social phenomena, the extent of the problems and political attitudes can vary dramatically from one local government to another. What is consistent, however, is that a significant act of gun violence can occur anywhere and...

By now anyone who reads this blog is familiar with the case of Bell, California, a suburb of Los Angeles: a city of 2.64 square miles, with a population of less than 40,000 that is 90% Latino and has a median household income of $30,0000 to $40,000. It is a...

On May 11th, I was listening to a heart-warming story on All Things Considered about Brad Metzler's book, Heroes for My Son. I was feeling all warm and teary until the story ended like this:

Meltzer ...says, the most important lesson in the book [is]: "Love yourself first and everything...

Employees of local government earn an average of 12% less than comparable private sector employees.

So concludes a new study, "Out of Balance? Comparing Public and Private Sector Compensation over 20 Years," written by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers Dr. Keith A. Bender and Dr. John S. Heywood...

It's National Library Week, a time to celebrate and recognize the valuable contribution libraries make to our communities. Four ICMA Public Library Innovation grantees and Jill Nishi of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation discuss their projects and the role libraries play in helping communities recover from the economic downturn.

April and May are critical months for local governments whose fiscal years begin the first of July. In the continuing economic downturn, local leaders are struggling with further reductions in services - some for the third consecutive year. Against the service loss, they are balancing increases in taxes and fees...

Writing a blog hosted by the Huffington Post has elicited concern among some of ICMA's members. The complaints were not the content of the blog, but its association with the Huffington Post.

A city manager wrote, "Can someone please explain to me how a blog on the Huffington Post...

In response to my last posting on the council-manager form of local government, one person expressed concern about "corporatizing" government. Another response noted that the manager form of government could be technocratic.

Both writers raise excellent points. While the business of local government is the retail delivery of services, local...

What is a city, town, or county manager?

This is the question I heard repeatedly as county manager for Arlington County, Virginia, and even more often now that I work at ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. ICMA advances the professional management of all local governments. We require allegiance...