must be binding. It does not have to be a the state or federal government. MPOs new and renovated housing would new government structure, but the like NOACA only gained some teeth when probably emerge on most lists as issues cooperating jurisdictions must be tied by the federal government mandated that critical to enhancing development and The Ruth Ratner Miller more than just a voluntary agreement that transportation planning occur at a regional reducing the ongoing loss of population. might be broken at any time. It likely level and distributed funding accordingly. Can the region’s leadership commit to Center for Greater Cleveland’s Future involves giving up some political autonomy Likewise, state law created Portland’s and exploring the different governance options to allow the regional body some oversight Minneapolis/St. Paul’s regional that can help the region resolve these Ratner Miller Center Notes or control. That is not always palatable to governments. Some experiences do take issues? If so, then a public dialogue on local elected officials. Nor will citizens hold locally with neighboring jurisdictions regional governance can and should be necessarily support this type of change. agreeing to tackle shared problems. initiated. Regional solutions can grow as trust grows. Regional Governance for Economic Development Winter 2003 One solution is to only focus regional efforts on service delivery (i.e., transportation, water, sewer). These IV. Next Steps I. Approaches to Regional of a representative democracy for the requirements, such as the Intermodal collaborative arrangements can be Governance advancement of a community. Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of supported purely as an issue of economy s always, conversations regarding Governance occurs whether there is one 1991 (ISTEA) that required each of scale. However, the economic odds regional governance end with, everal regions have developed new unified government or a myriad of metropolitan region to identify a may be so stacked against cities right now “What is the next step?” governance systems to meet regional governments providing a diverse range of Metropolitan Planning Organization A services to a citizenry. (MPO) to decide how federal funds are that focusing only on service delivery may Footnotes economic development goals and to 1 S not be sufficient. Regional governance may For Greater Cleveland, the next steps are David Y. Miller, The Regional Governing of coordinate neighboring municipalities’ allocated. be the only way to address social inequity to identify the one or two economic Metropolitan America, University of responses to common problems. Some The purpose of this note is to identify and fiscal disparity between jurisdictions. development issues that the current Pittsburgh: 2002 (106). communities have developed unified or different forms of government that can Most existing MPOs primarily serve as ad government system seems unable to consolidated city/county governments or be used to enhance the governance of hoc forums and do not have a functioning Most observers of regional governance resolve and to consider different forms 2 Miller, 112. agencies to coordinate and implement economic development for any region, regional plan. San Diego and Seattle both agree that these arrangements come about of regional cooperation to improve the economic policies. Other areas have including the Greater Cleveland area. have supervisory MPOs that oversee from a crisis or an opportunity that situation. Assembling land for different 3 Todd Swanstrom, “What we argue about constructed their own federalist structure Improving the governance of economic compliance and report on progress but mobilizes the community leadership. Often forms of development in older parts of when we argue about regionalism,” Journal that assigns some responsibilities to a development does not have to entail the implementation is performed locally. regionalism takes hold when mandated by the county and financing efforts to build of Urban Affairs, Vol 23, 2001. regional government, while other services dissolution of any form of government Minneapolis/St. Paul and Portland are remain the responsibility of existing or the relinquishing of control of key assets the only regions with MPOs with statutory townships, towns, and cities. In still other by any government. authority to develop a regional plan and to areas, inter-governmental agreements have require changes or force local compliance evolved to codify the cooperation required Miller (2002), in The Regional Governing of with that plan. The Northeast Ohio to efficiently address the challenges Metropolitan America, identifies four broad Areawide Coordinating Agency generated by economic growth, decline, approaches to metropolitan governance: (NOACA) is also an example of and stagnation. A few regions have even coordinating regionalism, administrative coordinating regionalism. It provides the developed revenue-sharing programs to regionalism, fiscal regionalism, and official regional transportation plan for five Ruth Ratner Miller Center for divide the taxes generated by new structural regionalism. Each of these broad counties in Northeast Ohio. Since it Greater Cleveland’s Future categories provides instructive guidance receives federal funding to do this, it has 2121 Euclid Avenue, UR 340 development, thus minimizing conflict Cleveland, OH 44115 over the location of economic with regard to the identification of realistic some control over implementation. http://urban.csuohio.edu/ruth_ratner_miller/ development. In contrast to these options for Greater Cleveland. The four numerous and varied governmental typologies are useful for categorizing Administrative Regionalism: This reform efforts, many regions— declining, models found in other regions as well the approach, the most common, transfers stable, and growing—have decided against existing regional governance and some service delivery or economic any substantial reconfiguration of local governments already in place in Greater development responsibilities from governments. Cleveland. municipal governments to either special districts or to the county. The services In trying to determine if different Coordinating Regionalism: This transferred can be limited to one or to a structures would better support a region’s approach develops a strategic regional plan series. A special district created for economic development goals, scholars and and strives to coordinate local municipal economic development could take on administrators have focused on the critical strategic plans to fit within the integrated zoning, land use, incentives, etc. or just concepts of governance and government. whole. Most metropolitan areas have an part of economic development such as a Governance refers to the processes of organization that deals with regional issues port authority, transportation, or public decision-making designed to achieve such as a council of government or a environmental protection. About half of collective interests. Government refers to planning commission. These governing all special districts are bigger than one a specific structure created to secure and organizations, frequently composed of a municipality, and about 34% are The Ruth Ratner Miller Center for Greater Cleveland’s Future implement policies designed to achieve a board of mayors and other locally elected countywide or bigger1. This approach to Research, Collaboration, Regional Vision set of goals endorsed by the elected leaders officials, were created in response to federal regionalism is quite common because it can allow for more efficient and effective a program. In this seven-county region, new form of governance consolidated It encompasses 13 counties, and its board important model, as it implicitly recognizes decisions could be weighed on a regional delivery of a particular service (that 40 percent of a municipality’s growth in economic development functions at the members include business leaders. Team that the entire county (and greater basis. transcends typical municipal service commercial and industrial real estate county level while permitting several cities NEO’s goal is regional economic growth Cleveland region) benefits from boundaries) while still respecting existing valuation goes into a pool shared by all to continue to exist for the local delivery by retaining local companies, helping them development within the central city. It is a political boundaries and the desire for local municipalities. The proceeds are distributed of basic urban services including education. grow, and attracting new businesses. form of fiscal regionalism dedicated to a III. Arguments for control or responsibility for such services on a need-based formula. In effect, There are at least nine different police, fire, Membership, however, is voluntary and its single purpose, a cultural asset. Regionalism and the as education and public safety. wealthier communities lose a little of the and school districts (for a total of more success depends upon each local Potential Obstacles Cleveland’s Sewer and Water District benefits of their economic growth while than 27 units of government) within the jurisdiction and its business leadership is an example of administrative regionalism. poorer communities gain a lot. A study consolidated city/county of Indianapolis. deciding that its best interests lie in acting If the basic unit of the he discussion of the best scale for A special economic development district of the measured inequality in the total tax as a region and cooperating instead of economy is a region, some local government is rooted in the encompassing all of Cuyahoga County is base per capita between municipalities competing with neighboring jurisdictions regional governance may Tfounding treatises on public another potential example of a form of found that inequality was reduced by 20% II. Cleveland’s Regional for businesses and economic development. administration in the United States, the administrative regionalism. between 1987 and 1995.2 This approach Entities Government collaboration is voluntary. well be appropriate for United Kingdom, and France. Canada, the can also create a more rational regional transportation, infrastructure Netherlands, and Israel have each added Fiscal Regionalism: This approach approach to development because each leveland already has numerous First Suburbs: This consortium of inner development, the financing their own important contributions to the places financial responsibilities and benefits jurisdiction is not competing for the same regional governing entities ring suburbs is also a voluntary forum of needed services, dialogue across the last 50 years, and some for one or more services at the regional revenue sources. Location incentives are Cassuming strategic roles in the without any supervisory or enforcement education, and a supportive of the newest models for economic level. Some regions have cooperative minimized. region’s governance. Some of these entities role; however, it is an excellent first step tax/regulatory environment. development are to be found in strategies that recognize current political/ are limited to specific service delivery roles for these municipalities to work together metropolitan Toronto and Amsterdam. economic boundaries but still encourage Montgomery County, Ohio also has while others address broader planning as they realize their economic development metropolitan or regional funding implemented a tax-sharing policy that pools needs; some involve formal governmental efforts would be enhanced through unified The recent focus on competitive advantage mechanisms for a single or variety of public a portion of future growth in exchange agreements while others are voluntary; and approaches to common challenges. First Tax Base Sharing: The earnings tax for economic development has added new purposes. In this way, the benefits from for revenues from a common fund, but it some are old and worthy of revisiting while Suburbs provides a forum to address joint currently administered represents a form luster to discussions on regionalism, as have economic growth and the costs for securing guarantees that every jurisdiction is a net others are new and just starting to make economic development planning, and of tax base sharing as long as jobs remain the excessive costs attributed to sprawl and that growth can be distributed across a beneficiary. That is, unlike in the program an impact. As the city of Cleveland and potentially, a more extensive and supportive in the city of Cleveland, as the tax is paid their implications for slower-growing areas. region and competition can be mitigated in effect in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Cuyahoga County begin to explore the model for regional governance of based on where a job is located and not As faster-growing areas such as Atlanta, between municipalities over property tax region, a wealthier municipality will never question of addressing more needs on a economic development. where an individual resides. Communities the Dallas/Fort Worth region, greater revenue and land use. Fiscal regionalism get less from the fund than it contributes. regional basis, they may want to examine whose residents work in another city may Phoenix, and Southern California have provides more equitable distribution of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania has a the role these existing entities could play Port Authority: With members of the pass a supplemental tax, but the revenue encountered significant infrastructure and both costs and benefits of development. tax-base sharing plan that takes an as well as consider new vehicles for port authority appointed by both the generated by the residential component environmental problems, the issue of additional .5% sales tax (over $60 million regional governance. mayor of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County does not reduce the revenue received by metropolitan governance has been One example of fiscal regionalism is a annually), gives the county 50% and commissioners, this organization is an the city in which the job is located. This renewed. If the basic unit of the economy cultural asset district designed to help pay distributes 50% to participating Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating example of administrative regionalism. It means that thousands of workers in is a region, some regional governance may for cultural assets generally located in the municipalities based on fiscal need. Agency (NOACA): NOACA is a has some similar elements to Indianapolis’s Cleveland who live in other cities pay a tax well be appropriate for transportation, central city but used by everyone. Denver Louisville and Jefferson County, federally mandated MPO with 38 board consolidated city/county government, in to the city, and their total income tax is infrastructure development, the financing has the Scientific and Cultural Facilities Kentucky have had a tax- sharing program members proportionately representing five which the city council and mayor jointly thus shared. The possibility of introducing of needed services, education, and a District, which supports the zoo, museums, from economic development for more counties. It currently provides regional appoint individuals to authorities. more tax-base sharing mechanisms to supportive tax/regulatory environment. performing arts, and other arts than 10 years eliminating some of the planning for transportation and air and However, in this case, no boundaries have Cuyahoga County is worth exploring. organizations with one-tenth of the 1% competition for the location of businesses water quality because it has federal funding changed; the city and county have created David Rusk has also argued that regional county sales tax. Allegheny County, within the county and between all of the and/or existing expertise in these areas. an entity with authority over specific This approach does not interfere with governance is needed to help address the Pennsylvania has the Allegheny County cities in the county. services. A port authority can assume political boundaries, but it can lead to more problems of the center city. Poverty is Regional Asset District to help finance the NOACA could assume a more substantial important roles in economic development equitable growth and a more rational path increasingly concentrated in inner cities. region’s cultural/civic institutions: zoo, Structural Regionalism: This approach role in regional planning in general or in throughout a region and illustrates what for development. The costs of economic Regional policies could help mitigate this aviary, libraries, parks, and stadiums are involves changing the boundaries of one other specific areas such as economic can be accomplished through forms of development are not always borne by the concentration through land use-planning, funded through a .5% added sales tax. or more existing units of local government. development or homeland security. It has cooperation and regional development. government in whose boundaries it occurs. fair-share housing plans and revenue- Cuyahoga County and Cleveland’s This includes annexation and city-county the governance structure in place to For example, the new Legacy Village sharing programs. Researchers have Gateway Redevelopment Corporation consolidation. Annexation generally occurs provide representation to all collaborating Gateway Redevelopment Corporation: shopping mall undoubtedly helps the city documented other positive results from less also falls within this model. when a city absorbs an unincorporated local governments. NOACA does not, Similar to the port authority, this agency’s of Lyndhurst’s tax base, but it also causes fragmented governance: negative area, previously serviced by the county. however, have an enforcement mechanism. board members are appointed either by negative externalities including traffic externalities from uneven development are Another, much more extensive example of Columbus, Ohio is one familiar example Except in cases where it controls the purse the mayor of Cleveland or the Cuyahoga congestion and deforestation that affect reduced, quality of life as measured by tax-base sharing takes a regional source of of growth through annexation. City- strings (i.e., transportation planning), any County commissioners. The neighboring municipalities. It may also commuting time and perception of revenue, such as the property tax or sales county consolidation is relatively rare and regional agreements would rely upon redevelopment corporation differs from affect retail and restaurant revenues in neighborhood quality is increased, and tax, and distributes the proceeds to local voters tend to reject this approach. The voluntary implementation. the port authority in that its scope is far surrounding areas as well as downtown economic and racial segregation decreases governments based upon agreed-to criteria most recent example is the Louisville/ more specific and involved only the Cleveland’s efforts to revitalize. If the in less fragmented regions.3 that aim to equitably distribute the gains Jefferson County merger in 2000 through Team NEO: This recent addition to building of Jacobs Field and Gund Arena entire county shared in all future and benefits from development and a referendum. Indianapolis and Marion Cleveland’s regional governing entities is and the maintenance of these facilities and commercial and industrial economic However, research also appears to show growth. Minneapolis/St. Paul has such County created UniGov in 1969. This an example of coordinating regionalism. their related infrastructure. This is an growth, the costs and benefits of location that to be effective, regional governance