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Examining government downsizing
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“If cost savings are the primary driver behind downsizing local government, this approach may prove ineffective.”
For the several local governments attempting to trim costs by cutting the size of their boards or legislators, the actual savings is likely to be negligible while loss in representation and responsiveness can be extreme, according to the latest research of the UB Regional Institute.
The institute’s latest policy brief, “Sizing up Local Legislatures,” is intended to help inform public debate on an issue that already has moved two towns to downsize their boards and has at least three others considering the same step. Orchard Park will vote on cutting its board from five legislators to three on Sept. 23.
“The size of local government boards is a matter of dollars and cents, certainly, but also fundamentally affects the degree to which elected leaders can respond to and represent citizen interests, as well as perform the basic functions of local government,” said Kathryn A. Foster, institute director and co-author of the brief, a joint effort of the institute and the UB Law School.
“In the end, it is a balance between extremes—the unwieldiness of a board that is too large and the concentration of power in a board that is too small,” she said.
Examined in the brief are cost and representation impacts from trimming two legislators from each of the 44 village, town and city legislatures in Erie County. Given typically low legislator salaries (less than $10,000 a year in villages and less than $25,000 a year in towns), cost savings tend to be minimal. Across all 44 municipalities, two fewer legislators cut overall budgets by less than 1 percent, and more often closer to one-tenth of 1 percent.
On a per-citizen basis, the scant savings are even more apparent—generally less than $4 per citizen annually. Exceptions to this included the county’s smallest communities, where savings are spread over fewer people. For example, citizens in Farnham, population 317, would save $12 a year with two fewer village trustees.
At the same time, the loss of representation can be significant, as remaining legislators must serve a greater number of constituents. For example, in West Seneca, which voted earlier this year to trim two legislators from its board of five, the per-legislator constituent base would increase by nearly 6,000 citizens, from about 8,800 to 14,600. In Amherst, legislators on a smaller board would need to serve 40 percent more constituents.
“There is no optimal legislature size, with the design of a governing body shaped by a range of factors, including the complexity of services provided, the diversity of the constituent base and the political dynamics of a community,” said James A. Gardner, vice dean for academic affairs at UB Law and co-author of the brief.
“Generally, larger boards are better suited where the constituent base is diverse, the scope and complexity of municipal functions is broad, legislator workload (including committee assignments) is high and susceptibility to special interests or corruption is high,” added Gardner, who also chairs the institute’s Advisory Council.
Historically, across the nation and New York State, there consistently have been five to seven members on local government boards, a trend partly shaped by the National Municipal League’s “Model City Charter,” which has recommended this size range for the past 20 years.
For those communities in the midst of the local government downsizing debate, the brief recommends constituents carefully consider their goals, values and priorities for local government as they weigh the tradeoffs involved.
“There is no right answer—the choice is up to each community. However, if cost savings are the primary driver behind downsizing local government, this approach may prove ineffective,” Foster said, adding that significant savings are best realized by eliminating or reducing local government services or finding efficiencies in the delivery of those services.
“Sizing up Local Legislatures,” is part of the institute’s policy brief series, which informs regional issues with timely, reliable data and analysis.
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