INTERLOCAL RELATIONS (see also Urban Development) Assuring Local Viability States should authorize units of local government to contract with each other to render governmental services and to exercise jointly or cooperatively any power possessed by any of the units.14 (Report A-5, 1961) States as well as Congress and appropriate executive agencies should encourage joint undertakings by political subdivisions with common program objectives in urban areas where political boundaries overlap. (Report A-20, 1964) (Implemented by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, PL 90-577) Local governments in metropolitan areas should use cost-benefit studies in negotiating sharing of costs for areawide urban services. The States and Federal Government should develop standards to measure such areawide costs and benefits. (Report A-25, 1965) State government should make its "good offices" available in disputes over interlocal contracts. (Report A-11, 1962) States should require counties with unincorporated territories or municipalities contiguous to such areas within a specified time. to develop effective planning, zoning and subdivision regulations or the State should assume the responsibility. (Report A-44, 1974) States should establish a program of State technical and fiscal assistance to counties and municipalities for management feasibility studies on transferring and consolidating functions; and extraordinary initial costs incurred in action transfers of consolidations. (Report A-44, 1974) Metropolitan Areas Where effective county planning, zoning and subdivision regulations is nonexistent in fringe areas, States should make extraterritorial regulation of unincorporated areas available to municipalities, providing residents of the unincorporated areas have a voice in the imposition of the regulations. (Report A-11, 1962) Continuing Federal financial aid should be provided on a matching basis for metropolitan area planning agencies." (Report A-5, 1961) Federal technical assistance should be provided on an adequate and sustained basis to State and metropolitan planning agencies. [Through administrative action of Commissioner, Urban Renewal Administration continued financial support, August 1963; technical assistance was provided by Housing Act of 1961, PL 87-70, and Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966, PL 89-754.] COUNTIES (see also Law Enforcement) States should provide a complete package of county structural reforms options, that includes: (a) permission for counties to adopt by simple petition or referendum procedure, optional forms of county government (Report A-12, 1962); (b) the requirement that any county embracing the predominant portion of a metropolitan area's location shall have a full-time chief executive officer, either appointed by the county board or popularly elected; (c) placing county officers on a statutory rather than a constitutional basis; (d) empowering the governing bodies of contiguous coutties within substate regions to consolidate identical or compare county offices and functions; (e) Authorizing the governing bodies of contiguous counties within substate regions to execute a multi-county consolidation, subject to a simple concurrent majority of the votes in a referendum in each of the counties encompassed in the proposed merger; (f) requiring that in instances where counties undertake functions already provided by their constituent municipalities, such counties either enhance the quality or scope of the services or make proportionate payments to their municipalities; (g) a delineation of uniform procedures for transferring functions between and among municipalities, counties and multi-county regional bodies including officially designated umbrella multi-jurisdictional organizations. (Report A-44, 1974), incorporates and modifies recommendations from (Report A-5, 1961; Report A-12, 1962) States should authorize counties to establish subordinate taxing areas to enable them to provide and finance services in one portion of the county. (Report A-22, 1964) MUNICIPALITIES State constitutions should grant to selected units of local government all functional powers not expressly reserved, pre-empted or restricted by the legislature.18 (Report A-12, 1962) States should permit all classes of municipalities to adopt by ordinance or simple petition or referendum, optional forms of municipal government including strong mayor and councilmanager systems. The States should make technical assistance available on request, for this endeavor. (Report A-12, 1962) Notwithstanding the affirmed desirability for freedom of action by municipalities, certain limitations should be placed on home 18 Hummel dissent. rule for political units in metropolitan areas to assure that local governments in those areas meet the best interests of the people as a whole.19 (Report A-5, 1961) States should authorize establishment of metropolitan area commissions on local government structure and services of constituent localities.20 (Report A-5, 1961) NEIGHBORHOODS States should authorize large cities and county government in metropolitan areas to establish neighborhood subunits of government with limited powers of taxation and local selfgovernment, which the city or county governing body could dissolve at any time." (Report A-31, 1967) Neighborhood information centers should be established and financed to provide information and referral services for residents and migrants to urban areas on the demands and responsibilities of an urban society. (Report A-31, 1967) SPECIAL DISTRICTS (see Substate Regionalism) All States should survey all governmental entities to determine the number, types, functions and financing of special districts. within their borders. (Report A-22, 1964) Before any new special district is created: it should be approved by a State agency or an agency of city and county representatives within whose territory it would fall; a procedure should be followed to determine if the same service can be performed by a city or county or an existing special district that is contiguous to the proposed one. (Report A−22, 1964) To assure coordination of special district activities with those of the general government, all proposed acquisitions of lands should be submitted for approval-and proposed capital improvements should be submitted for comment to the appropriate State agency or general unit of local government. Budgets and accounts of special districts should be formulated and maintained according to uniform State procedures and audited by a State agency. All service charges or tolls levied by pecial districts should be reviewed and approved by a local general governing body or an appropriate State agency. (Report A-22, 1964) States should provide a simple procedure for consolidation of special districts performing similar functions and permitting general government units to assume responsibility for the special district's func ion. A State agency should be permitted to require consolidation or dissolution of special districts which are no longer needed or whose services can be performed by a unit of general government. (Report A-22, 1964) Ribicoff abstain. "Ribicoff no position. "Rhodes and Rockefeller dissent. Counties and municipalities should itemize special district property taxes on individual property owners' tax bills from urban development legislation. (Report A-22, 1964) Counties and Federal executive agencies should remove all provisions that promote or require special districts to the disadvantage of general purpose units of government and should favor general purpose government over special districts, other factors being equal. Special purpose recipients should be required to coordinate their aided activities with general units of government. [Implemented by Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966, PL 89-754, and Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, PL 90-577.] II. TAXATION AND FINANCE-GENERAL TAXATION General Administration (see also Grants-in-Aid, Data Needs) To achieve a more equitable, diversified and productive Statelocal tax system, States should require and enforce effective local use of property tax, equip themselves with a productive and broad-based tax system capable of underwriting a major portion of expanding State-local expenditure requirements, and shield basic family income from undue burdens imposed by sales and property taxes. (Report A-31, 1967) States should authorize the use of taxing powers by responsible areawide metropolitan service agencies carrying on functions not solely financed by user charges. (Report A-25, 1965) States should consider authorizing counties and cities over 25,000 population to levy sales and/or income tax provided that the States insure the creation of a coordinated system, by: (a) Providing a uniform local tax base conforming to that of the State if the State imposes the levy; (b) collecting and administering the local income or sales tax; (c) encouraging universal or widespread coverage by giving first option to adopt the tax to the local government of widest jurisdictional reach; (d) using the point of sale rule for determining sales tax (e) permitting local flexibility by specifying a range of tax (g) specifying arrangements for sharing taxes on earned States should take into consideration the following guidelines for coordinating nonproperty taxing power of local governments: (a) Because most local governments are smaller than their economic area, they should use nonproperty taxes only where property tax cannot be equitably and effectively used. (b) Authority for local use of nonproperty taxes should be statutory rather than constitutional, should be specific as to the kinds of taxes and governments authorized, should limit local governments to the most productive taxes, and should provide the electorate the authority to initiate by petition a vote on proposals for new taxes. The case for most nonproperty taxes is strongest in the large urban places. (c) States can provide technical assistance to localities by serving as a clearinghouse of tax information, furnishing model legislation, promulgating standards and regulations, providing local access to State records, training local personnel and providing sanctions against State taxpayers who fail to comply with local requirements. States can provide coordinative aid: when both the State and its localities use the same tax, the localities could use a local tax supplement to the State tax; where many localities use a tax but the State does not, the State agency could administer the tax. States should standardize apportionment formulas to determine taxes for multistate businesses. (Resolution of Commission, 1966) [Included in proposed Interstate Taxation Act of 1971 (S.1883)] States should establish enforceable physical presence rules that are as uniform as possible to govern the reach of their income and sale tax administrators. (Report A-30, 1967) Procedures should be initiated for admittance of State and local tax enforcement personnel to Internal Revenue Service's training program. (Report A-7, 1961) [Implemented by 1962 Amendments to Internal Revenue Code of 1954, PL 87-870.] Property (see also Education: Financing) The property tax should be treated as an integral part of overall |