Policy Making

Contents

• Introduction
• Articles
• Related MRSC Pages
  • Best Practices in Local Government
  • Performance Measurement
  • Is it Policy or Administration?
  • Strategic Planning
  • Links to Institutions Performing Research Affecting Local Government Policy

Introduction

Policy-making is often undervalued and misunderstood, yet it is the central role of the city, town, and county legislative bodies. The policies created by our local governments affect everyone in the community in some way. Public policy determines what services will be provided to the residents and the level of those services, what kinds of development will occur in the community, and it determines what the community's future will be. Policies are created to guide decision-making. Elected councilmembers of cities, towns, and counties have public policy-making responsibilities. County commissioners also set policy, but, in non-charter counties, have an executive role of administering policy as well. This web page brings together a variety of resources aimed at providing guidance and perspective for policy-makers and those who assist policy-makers in Washington local government.

Articles

• Local Government Policy-Making Process, MRSC Report No. 45, February 1999 - The purposes of this publication are to describe the local government policy-making process, outline effective roles for local officials, and to provide practical tips to make the local policy-making process for satisfying and productive.
  
• Unintended Consequences of Policy Perspectives and Decisions, Carl H. Neu, Jr., MRSC Council/Commission Advisor, December 2007 - Carl Neu, Jr., reviews eight trapdoors through which we can fall into the quagmire of unintended consequences that may embarrass, frustrate or even harm communities. The challenge is to spot and avoid falling through these trapdoors.
  
• Legislating-for-Results Municipal Action Guides, The Urban Institute and National League of Cities, 2008 - A series of 10 guides for city and county elected officials, and their staffs, to help them obtain and use information about the results of their governments' services.
  
• The Case for Evidence-Based Policy: Beyond Ideology, Politics, and Guesswork, The Urban Institute, 2008 - U.S. public policy has increasingly been conceived, debated, and evaluated through the lenses of politics and ideology. The fundamental question "Will the policy work?" too often gets short shrift or even ignored.
  
• Understanding the Basics of Local Agency Decision-Making, The Institute for Local Government, Sacramento, CA, 2009 - Designed to provide a plain-language overview of how local government decision-making works. While this report is aimed at California officials, much of the information presented will also be of interest to local government officials in Washington and elsewhere.