How to Navigate a New or Changing Local Government
In years that end in 2 and 7, the United States Census conducts a survey of America’s local governments. The project evaluates the number and types of counties, townships, municipalities, and special districts that combine to create our federated democracy.
Why would a federal agency take such a detailed account of what’s happening on the local level?
Because local governments are responsible for what Americans need on a daily basis. Founded to deliver water, protect neighborhoods, regulate construction, pick up the trash, pave the roads, and educate our kids, these entities provide the basic services that make up life in one of America’s 38,779 counties, municipalities, and townships.
Not only do these thousands of local governments see regular leadership changes, whether elected or appointed, but many are traditionally nonpartisan, making it a challenge to guess administrative priorities.
A new local administration offers new opportunities, not just for participants and residents, but for sellers who are able to align the goods and services they offer to government priorities.
As a seller, you’d be wise to learn as much as you can about the way an administration operates and its topmost priorities.
The more informed you are, the more relevant your marketing strategy will appear to government buyers.
Local government structures are as unique as the places they govern.
When you think of our great American federation, you might first consider the federal government and its relation to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories.
But under those states are thousands of local governments that represent a wide variety of structures.
The United States has, in the words of Jason Grant of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), “one of the most complex and diverse local governance structures in the world, with vast differences in form and function not only from state-to-state, but within states as well.”
To offer some method of standardization, the Census classifies every local government as either a county, municipality, township or special district.
Counties, municipalities, and townships are all general purpose governments, meaning they provide a wide variety of services to residents.
Special districts are founded for a specific reason, like forest fire management or irrigation regulation. They are still vital to the governance of many areas, like the mountains of Colorado or the aquifers of Nebraska, but aren’t tasked with meeting diverse community needs.
Among general purpose local governments - counties, municipalities, and townships - there are a variety of organizing structures that make the delivery of services possible.
Here are just a few types of local government structures:
Council-manager
The most common local government structure in the United States, in this arrangement a group of elected officials sets the vision for the administration while leaning on an appointed manager to oversee the day-to-day.
According to ICMA’s 2018 survey of local governments, 48.2 percent of local governments use this system.
In this structure, there might technically be a mayor, but they’re likely chosen from the members of city council and exercise a largely ceremonial or procedural role.
Mayor-council
In this structure, both the mayor and council are elected officials. To compare the functions of local government to the federal government, the mayor would be the executive branch and the council the legislative.
Depending on the locality’s charter, the mayor may be referred to as “strong” or “weak.” This speaks to their budgetary, veto and emergency powers, among others.
Just like a council-manager system might technically have a mayor, a mayor-council system might also have a manager. According to the 2018 ICMA survey of local governments, over 50 percent of mayor-council governments also reported having a manager. Typically, though not always, appointed by the mayor or council, this chief appointed official (CAO) oversees the day-to-day on behalf of the mayor.
Other variations
Though significantly less common than council-manager and mayor-council structures, commissions and town meetings are also active forms of local government. A local commission is composed of commissioners of specific areas, like fire, police, utilities, or health.
Some small townships rely on democratic or representative town meetings to make all decisions, relying on voting members to make all decisions regarding governance. These models are used in roughly seven percent of local governments.
So, what does a local government’s administrative structure have anything to do with selling them services?
Simply, structure dictates how and where money flows.
A local government’s structure dictates how budget priorities are set, who has the upper hand in influencing the budget, and who has the authority to make large purchase decisions.
Depending on the locality, this balance of power will shift with each new administration. As a vendor, it’s important to pay attention to these shifts, which have the potential to derail your sales strategy.
As local governments change, make sure your B2G sales strategy reflects new priorities.
Remember, a change in government boils down to a change in the people who govern.
While you can’t read an elected or appointed official’s mind, with these recommendations you’ll be able to build a strong foundation of knowledge to inform your navigation of the shifting landscape.
Start with your basic research. What would a resident do?
To develop a strong working knowledge of the locality you want to work with, begin your research as a resident would. Government social media, official websites and community engagement or public records platforms are all easily accessible, virtual spaces to learn more about the local structure and the existing administration’s priorities.
Using the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin as an example, a quick search of the city website offers a succinct explanation of the governing structure. A glance at their official Twitter feed clearly shows the administration values public safety, tourism and equity.
To dive one level deeper, attend a public meeting. They can come in the form of council, board, commission or even task force meetings, and they’re a great way to learn what elected and bureaucratic leaders value - straight from the source.
Evaluate shared, body-wide priorities or, for more targeted efforts, note what individual leaders choose to champion, from clean energy to civtech.
Evaluate electeds’ priorities. Don’t be afraid to get political.
They say all politics is local. Never is that more true than when it comes time for a new municipal administration to frame its priorities.
Campaign promises become administrative priorities, and administrative priorities become budgetary ones.
Check out the former candidate’s campaign website and advertisements. Whether they ran for mayor or city councilor, their policy areas page and the subjects of their ads should hint at where their interests lie.
Incoming administrations typically make use of something called a transition team. It’s a group of people the new leader trusts to advise them as they begin their term. The membership of this transition team can tell you a lot about the big projects a new leader may embark on.
What representatives from the policymaking, small business, finance or nonprofit communities might indicate a connection between the future of the administration and the goods or services you have to offer?
Tap the local network. What’s the buzz about the budget?
Every locality has an ecosystem of influence, a network of people who may work in government, liaise with government, or lobby government for change.
These folks offer a wealth of knowledge about how administrative priorities may, or may not, be reflected in popular opinion or expert circles.
In the world of local government, these folks rear their heads around budget season, advocating for their interests in front of the elected and bureaucratic officials who craft the local budget. Whether it’s in council chambers, at a public meeting, or over drinks, local influencers have the leaders’ ears.
Get to know those influencers whose priorities align with yours. In return, you can get an honest take on the compatibility of the new administration and your goals.
Adjust along with the administration. Pick up the phone. Send the email.
Government priorities are changing every day, based not just on leader preference, but also on feasibility, cost, popular opinion, and more.
Therefore, the best way to understand where the government buyer stands is to build relationships that outlast the change.
If that’s not possible, approach each call, email, meeting, or piece of content with the intention of building a lasting relationship.
Trust is the currency of B2G sales, and that’s only possible with open and honest communication. It starts with picking up the phone or sending that email and turning acquaintances into allies.
Your most reliable source of information on administrative priorities is a values-based relationship with a public servant who shares your mission.
As in the world of technology, government form and function go hand in hand.
Once you’ve developed an understanding of the structure of the local government, evaluating the priorities of the new administration will feel more manageable.
You’ll know which members of leadership to look to, which departments to explore, and what time of the year to propose big purchases.
You’ll also be less likely to waste your time weighing minor priorities that may never come to fruition due to larger structural barriers to progress.
Lightning-fast city council terms, a veto-happy mayor, and disaggregated technology budgets are all examples of structural details that will influence how you make your first contact with local government, if you attempt it at all.
But the bottom line is this: when you’re comfortable with the constants, you can plan for the contingencies.
Having a plan for a new local government administration makes it more likely you’ll benefit from the real opportunity it offers.
With a strong working knowledge, let the selling to government begin.
With any sort of leadership turnover in local government, a government vendor looking to do business with the new administration will have a leg up on the competition by pivoting their B2G sales strategy based on two simple factors: the system that the buyer is operating in and the priorities the buyer is beholden to.
With a consistent knowledge of the form of local government and a flexible, reliable picture of its priority functions, you’ll be ready to introduce the new mayor, manager or council member to the best solution on the market.
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