The chicken or the egg: A recent history of public opinion and tax reform in Florida

Public dislike of taxes led to tax revolt and tax reform. Despite the connection between tax attitudes and tax policy, relatively little is known about public attitudes toward taxes over time, and how public opinion either shapes or is shaped by changes in tax policy. We examine the link between opinion and changes in tax policy in Florida, where the public’s view of sales and property taxes was surveyed consistently from 1979–1997, a time when both taxes changed significantly. This combination of tax reform and survey data allows us to observe the pattern of public opinion before, during, and after changes in tax policy, and to draw inferences about whether public opinion leads or lags state action, while examining common explanations for individual differences in opinion. Among other things, our results indicate that the portrait of an anti-tax populace is overdrawn and that the pattern of opinion differs for each tax

Private Governments and Private Services: Homeowners Associations in the City and Behind the Gate

In this article, we examine homeowners associations (HOAs) as private providers of what are traditionally considered local government services: streets, security, recreation, maintenance, and public works (e.g., water, drainage, sewerage, and trash collection). Although much has been theorized about the nature of such organizations, little empirical data has been collected to examine these prescriptions. We present the results of a 2005 survey of large-scale HOAs to shed light on the characteristics of such associations, and especially the nature of their relationships with local governments that may be providing similar services. We find that the survey raises interesting questions about how these associations interact with local governments, and that the nature of private as opposed to public governance demands further study. Copyright 2006 by The Policy Studies Organization.

Turnover among city administrators: The role of political and economic change

Executive turnover can have profound effects on city policies, programs, and commitments such as contracting or issuing debt. This article identifies how political changes, reflected in the composition of the city council, and economic changes in the community influence city manager turnover. Analysis of manager turnover patterns in 143 large U.S. cities with council-manager governments from 1987 to 1999 allows us to distinguish “push” and “pull” factors that can induce city managers to leave their jobs. The empirical analysis demonstrates that political conflict and economic development can influence the likelihood that a city manager will exit a community, but these effects can be complex. In particular, the influence of community economic development on turnover includes a temporal dimension not revealed in previous research. We conclude by discussing the findings’ implications for career patterns in city management