Counties as Service Delivery Agents
Counties as Service Delivery Agents

Author: J. Edwin Benton

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2002-07-30

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0313076324

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Counties generally fulfill three service roles: traditional or state-mandated; local or municipal; and regional or urban. Benton has written the first scholarly treatment of county governments as providers of all three of these types of services, dispelling the notion that counties are mere providers of services they are mandated to perform by their state governments. County governments in the United States have become increasingly important as service providers over the past several decades, vis-a-vis municipalities and townships. These services change over time and vary from region to region. Variations in the roles that county governments play in the provision of traditional, local, and regional service are explained. Therefore, in addition to examining multiple indicators of service roles for all 3,043 counties in the United States, the analysis is extended to investigate the influence of political, state constitutions, statutes, and financial aid, population growth patterns, metropolitan/non-metropolitan status, and form of government.

Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery in Kenya
Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery in Kenya

Author: Abdu Muwonge

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2022-02-23

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 146481726X

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Kenya adopted a new Constitution and began the process of devolution in 2010. The new Constitution was the institutional response to longstanding grievances over the centralization of state powers and public sector resources, and regional disparities in service delivery and development outcomes. This radical restructuring of the Kenyan state has three main objectives: decentralizing political power, public sector functions, and public finances; ensuring a more equitable spatial distribution of resources between regions; and promoting more accountable, participatory, and responsive government at all levels. The first elections under the new Constitution were held in 2013. Alongside the national government, 47 new county governments were established. Each county government is made up of a County Executive, headed by an elected Governor and works under the oversight of an elected County Assembly. Seven years after the "devolution train" left the station, this report takes stock of how devolution has affected the delivery of devolved basic services to Kenyan citizens. Whereas devolution was driven by political reform, the ensuing institutions and systems were expected to deliver greater socioeconomic equity through devolved service delivery. The Making Devolution Work for Service Delivery (MDWSD) study is the first major assessment of Kenya’s devolution reform. The study was a jointly coordinated effort by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank. The study provides key messages with respect to what is working, what is not working, and what could work better to enhance service delivery based on the currently available data. It provides an independent assessment of service delivery performance in five sectors, namely health, education, agriculture, urban, and water services and includes an in-depth review of the main pillars of devolved service delivery, namely public financial management, intergovernmental finance, human resource management, politics and accountability.

Delivering Police Services Effectively
Delivering Police Services Effectively

Author: Garth den Heyer

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2016-09-19

Total Pages: 277

ISBN-13: 1315352117

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This book addresses the various strategies that are available to police management, such as consolidation, regionalization, and amalgamation of police agencies; new public management (NPM); enhanced performance management; civilianization; and organizational restructuring. It fills the gap in the research as to how police agencies have reacted to the environmental and fiscal changes since the 1980s. The book examines the strategies employed and the effect on police and their delivery of service.