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Summary Report for the Lansing Charter Commission: Literature Review on the Forms and Efficiency of Municipal Government

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October 18, 2024 - Pei-Jyun Lu<lupeijyu@msu.edu> and Mark Skidmore<mskidmor@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension

In 2023 Lansing voters authorized a potential revision of the City Charter by a narrow margin of 51.6%. As a result, a nine-member Charter Review Commission will spend the next three years researching and engaging with residents to draft a new charter. This report provides a summary of research on municipal forms of government to assist the committee in drafting the new charter. 

The report is divided into two main sections. The first section discusses the mayor-council and council-manager systems of government and their impacts on public service performance. Currently, the City of Lansing operates under a mayor-council structure but is reconsidering the existing structure. The second section explores what might be the optimal number of council members needed to most effectively represent citizens. The key findings of this report are listed below.

Key findings: 

  • Prevalence: Mayor-council and council-manager governments dominate nearly 90% of cities and municipalities in the United States (US).
  • While cities frequently change forms of government, the trend shows that council-manager systems are becoming the majority, with 59% of cities in the U.S. using this model. However, among capital cities the mayor-council form of government is more pervasive (56%).
  • Some cities use a hybrid approach, referred to as Type III cities or adapted cities, where municipalities may use aspects of both council-manager and mayor-council systems.
  • Changes in municipal structure are primarily influenced by citizens' socioeconomic characteristics, particularly income per capita. Higher income communities tend to use the manager-council form of government.
  • Overall, council-manager governments generally perform better than mayor-council governments in terms of efficiency, management, and financial status.
  • A common rule of thumb suggests having between 5 to 7 council members for most effective citizen representation. Among U.S. cities with population size that are similar to Lansing, the number of council members ranges from 5 to 11.

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