UM: Government

Tom Ivacko, a program manager at the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy, writes a guest column in Bridge Magazine that looks at how transparency in government is affected when local units of government consolidate services. He writes: “As public services are increasingly delivered through a web of temporary agreements among differing sets of local governments, what happens to accountability and transparency? If your police protection is provided by a consortium of cities A, B, and C, while your fire services are provided by cities A and B with Township D, and your parks are maintained by City A along with County E and Township F, a new fog of government could descend. Who is responsible, and therefore accountable, for public services in such a scenario? Where do you turn to address concerns?” [Source]