Intergovernmental Cooperation in the Provision of Public Safety: Monitoring Mechanisms Embedded in Interlocal Agreements

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Andrew, Simon A.; Short, Jesseca E.; Jung, Kyujin; Arlikatti, Sudha
• 署名单位: University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton; University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton; University of North Texas System; University of North Texas Denton
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3352
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.12312
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 401-410
• 关键词: institutional collective action; transaction costs; networks

摘要

This article examines how monitoring mechanisms embedded in interlocal agreements (ILAs) are associated with vertical and horizontal intergovernmental relations. The authors hypothesize that ILAs established by local governments with higher-level governments are likely to rely on a clearly specified set of rules to establish an administrative structure, whereas ILAs established by local governments with other local governments rely on associational benefits to ensure that policy preferences are aligned across multiple political boundaries. The article examines ILAs established by small town, county, and municipal governments in Denton County, Texas, for the provision of emergency medical, police, and fire services. Findings show that more than half of the ILAs specified a financial reporting system, but an almost equal percentage did not contain features requiring financial records to be available for audit by a third party. Quadratic assignment procedure correlation analysis confirmed the presence of cross-monitoring mechanisms and showed that the patterns of ILAs tend to cluster around a geographic space.