LOCAL GOVERNMENT

POLICYMAKING:
PA 460
PUBLIC POLICY (REVIEW):
 Public policy is what a legislative body of government (i.e. a city
council) decides to do or not do
 Public policy generally involves addressing a perceived gap
between a current and preferred solution (the difference between
what “is” and “should be”)
 Our political system demonstrates a representative democracy;
we elect officials to make policy decisions on our behalf; making
policies/laws is a primary responsibility of city councilmembers
and their legislative counterparts on other government bodies
(hence the term “policymakers” or “law makers”)
PUBLIC POLICY:
A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT
 Public policy is a complex, cyclical process
 Public policy is made in a political environment Therefore, it is not
always grounded in rational, evidence based models or even the
implementation of “best practices” (i.e. approving multifamily
housing along a transportation corridor according to Smart Growth
Principles)
 Public policy is influenced by many internal and external forces:
 Laws
 Social environment
 Political environment
 Deciding to ultimately not take action can be viewed as a policy
decision
 A conscious choice to take no action can be considered as endorsing or
perpetuating existing policy, or lack of a policy (i.e. regulating short term
rentals)
PUBLIC POLICYMAKING:
HOW IT’S DONE

 Establishing the Policy Objectives (Goals)

 Determining objectives (goals) for what the new or revised policy
should achieve
 Discerning Policy Alternatives
 Determining the many courses of action to address the policy
objectives
 Assessing the Policy Alternatives
 Choosing the option that provides the greatest margin of benefit
over the costs or harms that it would entail all within the context of
the political environment
PUBLIC POLICYMAKING (HOW ITS DONE)
– CONT’D
 Choosing to Act
 Policymakers choose the course of action and provide the
necessary resources to do it
 Implementation
 The process of putting a government program into effect; this is
the heart of public administration, the “doing side of
government”
 Evaluation
 Programs are evaluated by their efficiency and effectiveness and
subject to audit
LOCAL GOVT. POLICYMAKING:
WHO’S INVOLVED?
 *Mayor and City Councilmembers
 This is the “legislative body” that votes on the policy; no other officials vote on policy
*In Strong Mayor-Council form of government, Mayor is not part of legislative body;
approves or vetoes council actions
 City Manager
 City Manager oversees all city staff; makes the recommendations to the council; takes
direction from the council
 City Staff
 Subject matter experts worked on behalf of the manager to research optional courses
of actions, wrote the staff reports and supporting documentation, prepare the
presentations/exhibits for the meeting
 Staff, “street level bureaucrats,” implement public policy as part of their day-to-day
job functions; exercise “bureaucratic discretion”
 Citizens/Stakeholder groups
 Policy documents must be made available; council meets are public per the Brown Act so
public can register support or opposition
LOCAL GOVT. POLICYMAKING:
WHO’S INVOLVED?
 In academic writings and policy textbooks, we discuss the people involved
in terms of ‘actors’
 An official actor is a participant in the policy process whose
involvement is motivated or mandated by their official position in a
government agency
 An unofficial actor is involved and influences the policy process
without any explicit legal authority (or duty) to participate
 This absence of legal authority of an unofficial actor does not minimize
influence or ability to impact outcomes
 Unofficial actors include:
 Individual citizens
 Ad hoc/Interest groups
 Lobbyists
 Political Parties
 Researchers/Think tanks
 Editorial Boards of media outlets
POLICY STAGES/ACTORS/ACTIVITIES
 Establishing the Policy Objectives (Goals) [Council
w/guidance from staff]
 Proposed council action: “Direct the City Manager to return
to the City Council in 60 days with recommendations to
address …”
 Discerning Policy Alternatives [Staff]

 Assessing the Policy Alternatives [Staff; sometimes with

guidance from council]
 Choosing to Act [Council]

 Implementation [Staff]

 Evaluation [Staff]
“THE PUBLIC” OF PUBLIC POLICY:

 When making policy decisions, elected officials, and the

managers who work for them, identify and understand how
the policy will impact various stakeholders

 Stakeholder Analysis: Involves specifying who and what are

threatened by the negative impacts in order to lighten or
relieve those impacts; views the scenario from the potential
victim's perspective
 Operationalizes open-minded reasoning, impartiality, accountability,
fairness and empathy
LECTURE SUMMARY
 Public policy is a complex process that is a legislative
body’s course of action addressing the difference
between “what is” and what “should be”
 Public administrators play an integral role in supporting
elected officials in the policymaking process and
implement policies through their daily responsibilities
 Policies made at the local government level directly
impact residents; open government laws (i.e. Brown Act)
allow for the public to have access to policy documents,
attend the public meetings and speak on the record
concerning support or opposition