Commonwealth Local Government Forum

Americas \ Local democracy

This section contains information relating to all aspects of lcoal democracy and good governance at the local level. The Commonwealth principles on good practice for local democracy and good governance - known as the Aberdeen Agenda - which have been adopted by all CLGF members and are incorporated in the Commonwealth Charter, set the framework for the promotion of local democracy in the Commonwealth. The materials in this section relate to the constitutional and legal provisions for local government and include a range of studies, policy and training materials on local elections, leadership, community participation, representative local government, local government management and partnerships between local government and other key stakeholders such as traditional authorities.

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Structural reform, revenue adequacy and optimal tax assignment in local government

A striking feature of local government reform in many Commonwealth countries has been a heavy reliance on structural reform, often in the form of forced local council amalgamation. This paper argues that the long-run success of structural change in local government hinges on several key factors, not least that voluntary rather than compulsory council mergers have a far greater chance of success. A second key ingredient resides in a high degree of local autonomy in both the composition and operation of decentralized governmental functions. A third vital factor lies in ensuring that revenue and tax assignment is sufficient to provide local government with financial autonomy. Finally, adequate powers of taxation need to be accorded to local government and this requires careful consideration of the types of taxes most suited to local government.

Author: Lorenzo Robotti, Brian Dollery Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2009


Municipal-Aboriginal Relations: An Ontario Perspective

In Canada, there are many examples of respectful relationships between municipalities and Aboriginal communities. Where Aboriginal peoples have concerns with the actions or inaction of governments (be they federal, provincial or municipal governments), it is often municipalities that are directly affected by the measures taken by Aboriginal peoples to express their concerns. To help reduce possible conflicts at the municipal level and find shared solutions, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing of the Province of Ontario has been advising municipalities in the province on the benefits of engaging and developing relationships with Aboriginal peoples.

Author: Alia Hanif, Ruth Melady, Donna Simmonds, Ralph Walton Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2009


BOOK REVIEW: The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform

Structural reform has been one of the most important and hotly contested features of modern local government. From North America to Europe to Australasia, local government boundaries have been redrawn over the last two decades. In many countries it seems that structural change has been the ‘default’ option to which successive generations of policy makers are irresistibly drawn time and time again. And yet the reasons for the extraordinary popularity of this particular policy instrument and, more importantly, its impacts are under-researched. There is a dearth of rigorous empirical analysis of the costs and benefits and the relative effectiveness of different kinds of structural change and different approaches to implementing them. The Theory and Practice of Local Government Reform, edited by Brian E. Dollery and Lorenzo Robotti, is then a very welcome attempt to address these issues in comprehensive and comparative fashion, which draws upon expert knowledge of recent developments from across an impressive range of different countries and contexts.

Author: Steve Martin Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2009


BOOK REVIEW: Governing Cities in a Global Era: Urban Innovation, Competition and Democratic Reform (edited by Robin Hambleton and Jill Simone Gross)

Robin Hambleton and Jill Simone Gross have assembled a collection of papers which powerfully supports their argument that “those concerned with the future of cities, whether as academics or practitioners, should devote more time to instrumental learning from abroad.” Contributions range widely from the influence of globalisation and urbanisation, to the importance of understanding the unique impact of our own context; from innovation in the leading ‘world cities’ of the developed world, to the seemingly intractable problems of cities in the developing world; from celebrating the importance of a shift from government to governance, to contributions highlighting the potential of governance to undermine local democracy; and from the role of leadership to the dangers of persistent managerialism.

Author: Peter McKinlay Publisher: Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Publication year: 2009


The limits of boundaries. Why city-regions cannot be self-governing.

Andrew Sancton combines his own broad knowledge of global changes with an outline and comparison of the viewpoints of prominent social scientists to argue that city regions in western liberal democracies will not and cannot be self-governing. Self-government requires a territory delineated by official boundaries, but the multiple boundaries of city-regions, unlike the clear and undisputed boundaries of provinces and states, continue to move outward due to the constant growth and expansion of urban populations and services.

Author: Andrew Sancton Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press Publication year: 2008


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