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THE
HOWARD H. BAKER, JR. CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY
Alan C. Lowe, Executive
Director
HOWARD H. BAKER, JR. CENTER
FOR PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH TEAM
Co-Principal Investigators:
Dr. Michael R. Fitzgerald, Dr. John Scheb, Dr. David
Folz
Senior Research Fellow: Dr.
Amy Gibson
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR THE
STUDY
The Tennessee Supreme Court on January 12, 2007, in
the case of Diane Jordan v. Knox County, Tennessee,
ruled that the people of Knox County have the power to
change the form of local government under which they
live. Thus, for the first time in Knox County's 215
year history it has been made absolutely clear that
local voters have the power to make whatever changes to
the structure or to establish whatever form of local
government they deem necessary and proper for their
governance. This ruling presents a historic opportunity
to examine the question of what form of local
government is likely to be the most citizen-driven,
responsible, coordinated, and efficient for Knox
County for the 21st Century? This
research has been commissioned by the Seven Islands
Foundation, a Knox County based foundation that is
interested in impartial research on that question, to
complement a citizen driven idea gathering process to
ask the same question.
SUMMARY OF STUDY SCOPE AND PROCESS
This study will provide an extensive and intensive
analysis of the forms and best practices of local
government in the United States. It seeks to provide an
informational foundation for public understanding as to
where Knox County currently stands in comparison
to the structure and best practices of peer local
governments. It intends ultimately to help define and
clarify the alternative forms and practices available to
Knox County citizens as they would seek better to
provide for their governance.
The study will start with an examination of the
varieties of different structures of local government in
the United States, and at the same time outline the
current governmental structure in Knox County. We then
will determine which communities are most similar to
Knox County, find indicators of best practices in those
communities, and ascertain the effect of governmental
structures on performance in the evaluation criteria.
Evaluation criteria will include responsiveness,
accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. Finally,
we will note how the structure of Knox County government
compares to the best practice structures identified for
each criteria in similar communities.
The study team will survey relevant literature and
integrate information from a wide variety of sources.
We also will visit similar communities to gain first
hand knowledge of alternative governmental structures
and operations. The team, using this information, will
conduct in-depth qualitative analysis and a comparative
case study. A report will be provided by August 1,
2007.
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