Centennial Brief Resource Collection

Introduction

To mark the centennial celebration of NLC, we created a a series of briefs that record the history of municipal government in the United States with a specific focus on governance, workforce, finance and the power of local authority.

Throughout American history, local government has been an instrument for growth, national collaboration and demonstrative of the power of partnership through its unique relationship to states and the federal government.

Explore our series to learn about the types of government that dominate local governing bodies, how the municipal workforce expanded and responded to global crisis and national needs. Beyond the structure of governments and how they serve their residents, we explore two factors that greatly influence municipal governance– municipal finance and infrastructure and the history of home rule and local authority.

Population Shifts and Forms of Government

Did you know that more than half of the US population has lived in urban areas since 1920? Download our brief to learn where the US saw population booms and the most common forms of government that have developed over the last 100 years.

Municipal Services & the Public Workforce Over the Past Century

Municipal governments have grown over the decades to provide the services their residents needed. Innovators by design, the number of services and employees have increased over the last century in response to the needs of their communities and residents. This brief provides an overview of the services provided by cities and examines the changes to the local government workforce over the last century.

Municipal Finance & Infrastructure Over the Last Century

Municipal budgets, primarily funded through a blend of local tax revenue and fines and fees, are an essential component of local governance in the United States. They reflect the choices and trade-offs that city leaders make to provide public services and infrastructure to their residents and businesses. Municipal budgets also respond to changing economic and social conditions, and national and global events that often shape the trajectory of their revenues and expenditures. Download our brief to learn how local governments have expanded or contracted their budgets all with a goal to provide for their residents.

100 Years of Home Rule

While the US Constitution does not mention municipal government authority, local governance has long been part of the American way of life since its founding. As our 50 states adopted their own constitutions, laws and policies, they extended varying levels of authority in recognition of the people’s ability to “establish laws and ordinances within localized geographic areas.” Download our brief to learn how the landscape for local authority or home rule has developed and shifted over the years.