A Guidebook for City and County Managers: Meeting Today's Challenges - Paperback

by James M. Bourey (Author)

Whether you are a student preparing for a career in public administration, a mid-career professional manager or a seasoned veteran, A Guidebook for City and County Managers provides policy guidance and advice to local governmental challenges and issues.

Assuming a knowledge of the basics of public management, James M. Bourey provides real-world recommendations for issues managers are facing this decade and beyond. Relying on experience from his long career in local government in chief executive positions in city, county and regional council management in locations throughout the United States, Bourey outlines the best approaches to the most critical issues for local governments. The book is comprehensive in its breadth of subject matter yet targeted in the recommendations that focus on the most critical issues. Social equity, environmental protection and global warming, good fiscal management, adequate public infrastructure and active citizen engagement are important themes throughout.

Merely being an administrative caretaker is not sufficient; managers must have the knowledge of ways to improve their communities and take the initiative to enhance the quality of life of its residents. Making a difference is both the reason for the job and its reward. This book helps provide a roadmap for the journey.

Author Biography

James M. Bourey works as an author and part-time consultant on local government management through his firm, Bourey Consulting. For most of his 43-year career, Bourey served as a local government manager, working in chief executive positions in city, county and regional council management in locations throughout the United States. He also worked in the private sector as the Director of Corporate Development for Elliott Davis and Director of Management Services with McGill Associates. Jim's management career includes serving as the County Administrator for Hennepin County, Minnesota (Minneapolis), and City Manager for Newport News, Virginia and Greenville, South Carolina. He held a variety of other local government management positions in Seattle, Washington; Phoenix, Arizona; Tampa, Florida; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jim has developed over 20 annual budgets, some exceeding one billion dollars and has been the chief executive in organizations with as many as 10,000 employees.