Local Governance in US

Implications of Dillon and Home Rule

Dillon's Rule vs Home Rule

• Dillon's Rule and Home Rule are two different approaches to

local governance
• Dillon's Rule takes a narrow approach to local authority,
• Local governments only have the powers expressly granted to them by
the state.
• Home Rule gives local governments greater autonomy
• Limits the power of states to interfere in local affairs.
•
Dillon’s Rule
• Dillon's Rule is named after Iowa Supreme Court Justice John F. Dillon,
• Articulated a philosophy about limited local authority in a 1868 court case.
• Dillon’s rule is consistent with the principle of federalism and American
Constitution
• The Constitution has designed that Federal Government should be dependent on
the States
• Dillon's Rule limits a municipality's power to the following:
• The powers explicitly granted to them by the state
• The powers necessarily or fairly implied in or incident to the powers expressly granted
• The powers essential to the declared objects and purposes of the corporation, not simply
convenient, but indispensable
Home Rule
• Home Rule is a delegation of power from the state to its political
subdivisions (including counties, municipalities, towns, townships or
villages).
• A municipality with Home Rule can exercise any power and perform any
function unless it is specifically prohibited from doing so by state law.
• The majority of U.S. states apply both Dillon's Rule and Home Rule in some
way.
• Most states use a blend of the two principles, and
• state legislatures frequently modify the scope of local authority.
• The courts have also caused variations from state to state with different
interpretations of the existing statutes.
•
Dillon and Home Rule
• It is generally believed that Dillon’s Rule restricts the local government to address challenges
particularly for expansion of the city
• The local government has to seek relief from the state government which is time consuming
• They often yearn for greater "home rule" authority, which would expand their authority to land and
land use planning
1. Dillon's Rule and home rule states are not polar opposites.
2. No state reserves all power to itself, and none devolves all of its authority to localities.
3. Virtually every local government possesses some degree of local autonomy and every state
legislature retains some degree of control over local governments.
Dillon and Home Rule
• Many Dillon Rule states maintain model growth management
systems.
• Such states may have strong programs that give local governments the tools
and incentives to manage or channel growth
• On the contrary a state with strongest home rule traditions may keep
state-mandated growth management regime.
• The Dillon Rule states legislatures may grant localities broad
freedom to engage in growth management.
• Conversely, legislatures in home rule states can pass laws that
restrict municipalities from engaging in exclusionary practices or
other activities that appear to undermine important state objectives.
• The strong local autonomy can complicate regional collaboration.
Dillon and Home Rule
• In practice, more autonomy to the local governments acting
independently may actually hinder effective growth management.
• Regional approach is a key to successful growth management.
• Adherence to a set of broad principles for region-scale metropolitan growth is
necessary
• Local governments generally act in a parochial manner,
• Lack the geographic breadth or
• Ability to manage growth on a meaningful scale.
• The home rule does not offer advantage for growth management
challenges.
• It contributes to greater fragmentation and localism and hinders problem
solving.
Dillon and Home Rule
• States should take a leadership role.
• Take the lead in promoting and implementing progressive growth management efforts
through
• infrastructure, land use, tax, and other investment policies
• Comprehensive plans, regulations, and infrastructure investments play a powerful role in
addressing metropolitan growth challenges.
• The Founders made no mention of local government in the U.S. Constitution.
• Local governments are creations of state governments under the authority of their state
constitutions.
• While local governments play an important role in states, it is unfounded for local
jurisdictions to contend they are equal to the states.
• The question remaining is whether local government was created by federal or state
government.
• Since the federal government’s responsibilities are limited to their enumerated powers,
which make no mention of municipal or county government, local government must
belong to the states
Local Governance in UK
Local Governments
• Each part of the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland has a distinct system of local government.
• Local governments have very few legislative powers
• Must act within the framework of laws passed by the central Parliament and
• By the Scottish Parliament in Scotland.
• They have the power to enact regulations and to levy council taxes
(property taxes) within limits set by the central government.
• They are funded by
• The council taxes that they levy,
• At business rates (taxes levied on non-residential properties, such as stores,
offices, factories, and warehouses),
• Fees for services, and
• Grants from the central government.
Functions of Local Governments
• Local governments in the United Kingdom are responsible for a
range of Community services, including
• environmental matters, education, transport, social services,
firefighting, sanitation, planning, housing, parks and recreation,
and elections.
• In Scotland and Wales regional governments handle some of
these functions, and local governments handle the remainder.
• In Northern Ireland the Northern Ireland Assembly is
responsible for many of these functions.
• The responsibilities of local governments are limited to environmental
matters, sanitation, and recreation.
Different systems
• Local governments have three levels, or tiers, two tiers or only a single tier.
• Throughout England, parish and town councils form the lowest tier of local
government.
• Parishes are civil subdivisions, usually centred on a village or small town,
• They have the power to assess “precepts” (surcharges) on the local rates
and
• a range of rights and duties, including maintenance of commons, recreational
facilities, and environmental quality and participation in the planning process.
• Community councils perform a similar role in Wales, whereas
• community councils in Scotland are voluntary and consultative bodies with few
statutory powers.
• This lowest level of local government has no counterpart in Northern
Ireland.
The structure of local government
• The next tier of local government is known in England and Northern Ireland as a district, borough,
or city.
• In Northern Ireland this is the only level of local government.
• In Scotland and Wales this second tier is the only one with broad powers over major local
government functions.
• In Wales these local government areas are known as either counties or county boroughs, while in
Scotland they are variously known as council areas or local government authorities or, in some
cases, cities.
• In some areas of England this second tier of local government is the only one with broad statutory
and administrative powers.
• These areas are known in England as unitary authorities (since they form a single tier of local
government above the parishes and towns) or metropolitan boroughs (which are functionally
equivalent to unitary authorities but form part of a larger metropolitan county).
• In other areas of England, districts, boroughs, and cities form an intermediate tier of local
government between the towns and parishes on the one hand and administrative counties on the
other. Administrative counties, which cover much of England, are the highest tier of local
government where they exist.
The structure of local government
• Finally, every part of the United Kingdom lies within what is known as a historic county
• The historic counties have formed geographic and cultural units since the Middle Ages,
and they historically had a variety of administrative powers.
• The Local Government Act of 1888 regularized the administrative powers of counties and
reassigned them to new administrative counties with the same names as the historic
counties but with different boundaries in some cases.
• Successive local government reorganizations in the 1970s and ’90s redrew the boundaries
of administrative units in the United Kingdom so that no remaining administrative unit
corresponds directly to a historic county,
• although many administrative and geographic counties and other local government units
carry the names of historic counties.
• Still, even though they lack administrative power, historic counties remain important
cultural units.
• They serve as a focus for local identity, and cultural institutions such as sporting
associations are often organized by historic county.
Thje structure of the Government
• In Greater London, boroughs form the lowest tier of local
government and are responsible for most local government
functions.
• However, in 2000 a new Greater London Authority (GLA) was
established with very limited revenue-gathering powers
• but with responsibility for public transport, policing, emergency
services, the Environment, and planning in Greater London as a
whole.
• The GLA consists of a directly elected mayor (a constitutional
innovation for the United Kingdom, which had never previously
filled any executive post by direct election and a 25-member
assembly elected by proportional representation.
The structure of the local government
• Whereas the administrative counties of England and the counties and county boroughs of Wales
have statutory and administrative powers, there are other areas throughout the United Kingdom
that are called counties but lack administrative power.
• In England, metropolitan counties cover metropolitan areas; they serve as geographic and statistical
units, but since 1986 their administrative powers have belonged to their constituent metropolitan
boroughs.
• Moreover, in England there is a unit known variously as a ceremonial county or a geographic
county.
• These counties also form geographic and statistical units.
• In most cases they comprise an administrative county and one or more unitary authorities.
• In other cases they comprise one or more unitary authorities without an administrative county.
• Greater London and each of the metropolitan counties also constitute ceremonial and geographic
counties.
• These areas are known as ceremonial counties because each has a lord lieutenant and a high
sheriff who serve as the representatives of the monarch in the county and who represent the county
at the ceremonial functions of the monarchy.
Relationship of local government with central
government
• Local authorities act as stewards of the central government,
• The broad outlines of policy are determined nationally;
• Local authorities play a substantial part in interpreting those policies and
• mobilizing the resources .

• The Agency Model

• The local authorities have a subordinate relationship to the central government with little or no discretion in
the task of implementing national policies.
• In this model, however, while the central government departments put pressure on local authorities, the latter
still retain some policy discretion in representation of central / local relationships.
• The model sees local authorities as something far more complicated than simple, uncritical, unthinking agents
of the centre
Relationship between central and local
government
• The Partnership Model
• The Partnership Model sees authorities as more or less co-equal partners
with central government in providing services.
• Today, partnerships address a broader range of issues, such as
• the quality of life etc.
• Federalism in the USA, grants state governments a final say in local
governance;
• It grants these governments definitive rights against the centre.
• Decentralization in UK, is a managerial strategy by which a centralized
regime can achieve the results it desires in a more effective manner.