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VII. FINANCES OF METROPOLITAN AREAS

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. "State Constitutional and Statutory Restrictions on Local Taxing Powers." Washington, 1962. 122 pages.

This report appraises existing State restrictions and recommends State action.

"Measures of State and Local Fiscal Capacity and Tax Effort." A staff report. October 1962. 150 pages.

This analysis studies alternative measures of State and local fiscal capacity and tax effort, with special emphasis on the development of the estimated yield of a representative tax system "yardstick" on a State-byState basis for use in appraising the relative capacities of the several States to produce revenue and the relative tax effort represented by their present tax systems; the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach are explained.

"The Role of Equalization in Federal Grants." January 1964. 258 pages.

Examines the basis of distribution of Federal grants among State and local governments, identifies the categories of grants the distribution of which should recognize differences in the recipient States' comparative financial capabilities and needs, and makes recommendations for legislative and administrative action. Provides also basic information on each of the Federal grants, including each State's share of the available funds and the amount of matching funds required of the States.

"The Role of the States in Strengthening the Property Tax." June 1963.

Volume 1 (187 pp.) examines the major problems of property tax policy and administration, the State's relationship to them; and ways the State can deal with them; the prerequisites of sound assessment administration are examined on the basis of recent experience in the several States; remedial measures to meet the varying needs in the different States are recommended. Volume 2 (182 pp.) summarizes the lines of action individual States have taken to meet their property tax responsibilities.

"State Constitutional and Statutory Restrictions on Local Government Debt." September 1961. 98 pages.

Appraises existing State restrictions and recommends State action. "Tax Overlapping in the United States," 1964. An information report. July 1964. 175 pages.

Contains a description and analysis of the principal taxes involved in Federal-State-local tax relations, with basic data on major tax provisions, tax rates, and tax collections for each of the States and major local governments.

Brazer, Harvey E., "City Expenditures in the United States," Occasional Paper 66, National Bureau of Economic Research Inc., New York, 1959. 82 pages.

This rather technical report goes to the heart of metropolitan public expenditures. The author examines financial operations in 462 cities

in the hope that this analysis will be useful in at least two ways: "(1) City officials *** may be aided in evaluating the relative position of particular cities, and (2) an understanding of expenditure variations among cities would appear to be the first step toward explaining these variations."

Mace, Ruth L. "Municipal Cost-Revenue Research in the United States," the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1961. 201 pages.

This work cites four reasons for the sharply increased pressures on municipal budgets: (1) The central city is called on to provide areawide services for which it is not adequately compensated; (2) increased and improved services are demanded; (3) population shifts result in more low-income urban families; and (4) a revolution in technology occurs with a corresponding revolution in tax-raising machinery. The author examines these increased costs and explores alternative solutions; a valuable bibliography is also included.

Sacha, Seymour and William F. Hellmuch, Jr., "Financing Government in Metropolitan Areas: The Cleveland Experience." Free Press of Glencoe, New York, 1962. 387 pages.

This case study shows how the city's growth has affected operating expenditures, revenues, and debt over 20 years.

Solomon, Ezra and Zarko G. Bilbija, "Metropolitan Chicago: An Economic Analysis." Free Press of Glencoe, New York, 1962. 208 pages.

The authors point out that we know more about the economies of most foreign nations than we do about our own major cities. Relevant data has been lacking or ignored. Here for the first time, it is claimed, is a method of economic analysis of a large metropolitan region that city planners, economists, and many others can apply to their own locale. Some of the topics covered include: the level of employment and output, long-term economic growth, Chicago's economic base, personal income, personal taxes, expenditures and savings, and the flow of savings.

VIII. AIR POLLUTION

Council of State Governments, "Air Pollution: Summary Report to the Governors' Conference." Chicago, May 1958. 49 pages.

This report is one of the early, significant analyses in a field that has achieved recognition only recently. It defines the problem in terms of its causes, historical background, and public activity to date, and offers suggestions for both intrastate and interstate action. The feasibility of different methods of control and the nature of the required technical, industrial, and legal controls are explored. The burden for air pollution control is greatest at the local level, due to the local origins of most contaminants, it is argued. But State and Federal Governments share in the responsibility for research, and for the training of needed personnel. The report recommends more research and more organized training and emphasizes the need for interlocal cooperation even across State lines. It stresses the importance of State responsibility, if local action is to be effective.

U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Public Works, "A Study of Pollution: A Staff Report." (Committee print, 88th Cong., 1st sess.) Washington, 1963. 62 pages.

This report summarizes our present knowledge of pollutants and discusses the magnitude of the problem, the effects of urbanization, and the influence of weather on pollution. It also examines the effect of air pollution on health, agriculture, and property. The history of the Federal program under Public Law 84-159, authorizing technical assistance and research in this field is traced in some detail and current State, local, and industrial efforts at control and research are outlined. The effort is made to answer such questions as these: What has been done in technology? What can be done? By whom should the burdens of air quality be assumed? Who should control research and enforcement? What degree of cooperation between jurisdictions is called for?

U.S. Public Health Service. "National Goals in Air Pollution Research." Report of the Surgeon General's Ad Hoc Task Group on Air Pollution Research Goals. Washington, August 1960. 40 pages.

Three areas of research are stressed in this report of the Surgeon General: the identification of national goals in air pollution research; the costs thereof; and the recommended allocation of financial responsibility for the completion of the research. The task group finds that research is needed on the effect of pollution on man and agriculture; the economic losses due to damage, soiling, and reduced visibility; the identification and measurement of air pollutants; the atmospheric and meteorological aspects of pollution; the means by which air pollution can be monitored and controlled; the scope of the needs for information and for training; and finally, administrative and legal aspects of the problem of control in terms of jurisdiction and degree of regulation required. Recommendations on all of these topics are included in the report.

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IX. EDUCATION

Conant, James B. "Slums and Suburbs: A Commentary on Schools in Metropolitan Areas." McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961.

149 pages.

This short but persuasive study of public high schools contrasts the college-oriented high schools of the well-to-do suburban communities with the high schools in the slum areas of the great cities where academic incentives are virtually unknown. The author finds "social dynamite" building up in these urban areas whose youth are unemployed and often unemployable.

Henry, Nelson B. and Jerome G. Kerwin. "Schools in City Government: A Study of School and Municipal Relationships in Cities of 50,000 or More Population." University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1938. 104 pages.

This pioneer study examines the legal basis of the administrative, fiscal, and personnel relations of municipalities to their schools and the cooperative procedures that have emerged in functional areas. Despite the common belief that municipal administration of the schools would subject them to the influence of partisan politics, the authors found that the schools were subjected to no greater political pressures in those areas in which schools and municipal services were administered cooperatively than in the situations in which independent school authorities administered the system. On the contrary, it was found that cooperative endeavor on the part of schools and municipalities has more often improved than impaired the services of both.

Lonsdale, Richard C. "The School's Role in Metropolitan Development." Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1960. 71 pages.

Here are presented 12 case studies of local government-school system relationships in three suburban areas-four each in Syracuse, Detroit, and Portland (Oreg.). Vigorous school involvement in metropolitan area development is recommended, together with a modification of curricula and teacher-training programs to take account of the complexities resulting from the country's rapid urbanization. The author would like to see a local assistant principal (or superintendent) appointed with prime responsibility for representing the school in metropolitan area programs. He believes, further, that the schools might offer courses and discussion groups sponsored by the adult education divisions as a means of obtaining a more effective citizen participation in metropolitan area affairs. Martin, Roscoe C. "Government and the Suburban School." Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 1962. 115 pages.

Public education has enjoyed a unique position in American society. Its separate status and its position as a "special district" sometimes leads to conflict with suburban government and always creates competition for voter allegiance and support. This fragmentation of local government activities presents a difficult problem for the voter who attempts to assign responsibility for governmental actions. Schools which are themselves outside the arena of general government may not be advantageously situated to teach civic responsibility. The "modest proposal" offered is that more cooperation is needed between city hall and the educators.

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