Cutback management and its effects on comprehensive plannning and service delivery: Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission: A case study

• Main Author: White, Roxanne
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center 1983
• Subjects: Public Administration
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/1237; http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2488&context=dissertations

The primary intent of this degree paper is to discuss the functions of the Brooke-Hancock-Jeffersofl (BHJ) Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission, a regional commission in the Upper Ohio Valley, and the effects of decreased funding onthis organization’s ability to provide services to area governments. An attempt has also been made to present alternative solutions of reducing staff and personnel without threatening the exist ence of the organization itself. Private and public organiza tions’ solutions are presented along with those of the writer. Regional planning commissions have played key roles in com municating regional needs to state and federal agencies and offices; initiating or suggesting programs or policies to area governments which would address local problems; and facilitat ing the use of available public funds for local projects. These types of organizations have been instrumental in getting county and municipal governments to work together on issues and prob lems that transcend state, county and local boundaries. How ever, the point of this discussion is how such organizations deal with a decline in funds which would affect the delivery of the aforementioned services. The BHJ Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission is pre sented as an organization that faced the problem, derived and initiated a method of cutting back services and personnel, and retained a high quality and quantity of services rendered. The main sources of information were notes made during the internship experience, books that provided insights on the types of regional planning commissions and the definition of cutback management, and the BHJ Regional Development Plan. Personal interviews were also conducted with practitioners in the field of cutback management.