Spread of the With the new safe guards which the Des Moines plan added to the original scheme, the commission plan of city government gained great popularity. During the next few years it found adoption, without any change except as regards minor details, by many American cities, large and small, in nearly all the States of the Union. At the present time more than 300 municipalities of all sizes are governed by commissions. The majority of these are small communities with populations not exceeding 10,000; but some of the largest cities of the United States, notably Buffalo, New Orleans, Jersey City, Portland, Saint Paul and Oakland are included in the list. Among corrunission governed cities there are now six with populations exceeding 200,000 and 13 with more than 100,000. Of the larger municipalities which once adopted the plan only two, Denver, Colo., and Salem, Mass., have since abandoned it.
The A fur ther development of the original plan soon took place in the adoption by many. cities of an ar rangement which, while retaining the commis sion, established a new administrative post known as that of city manager. 'Under this plan the commission retains all its legislative and policy-determining powers but devolves responsibility for the actual administrative work upon a highly-paid, professional official who malces the subordinate appointments and is ac countable for securing efficiency in the various departments. This variation of the original scheme is now used by SO or more cities in addition to many others which have established the city manager plan in conjunction with a larger city council instead of a small commis sion. See CITY MANAGER.
Merits of the Commission Plan.—The chief advantages of the commission form of government are first of all the concentration of power in definite hands thus avoiding the delays, friction and evasion of responsibility which characterized the old system of govern ment by a mayor, various boards and a double chambered council. In the second place, by reducing the number of elective offices it has raised the plane of officeholding, securing for the commission citizens of a better type than those ordinarily elected to municipal positions. It has not wholly succeeded in ousting the pro fessional office-seeker, but it has given the man of business ability a better opportunity to serve the city in an official capacity. In the third place, the commission plan has made possible the introduction of many notable improvements in the routine conduct of the city's business, as for example, improved methods of budget making and accounting, the extension of the civil service system, publicity in the award of contracts, the development of new sources of city revenue, and the adoption of a pay-as-you go policy in municipal finance. It has faciliated the introduction, in many cities, of the so termed newer agencies of democracy such as the initiative and referendum, the recall, preferential voting, proportional representation, the short, ballot and the open primary. Finally, it has had
an educative value, awakening the interest of the citizens in their public affairs, malting the government of the city simple and intelligible which is the first necessary step in making it responsible to them. More has been claimed for the plan, however, than it or any system of local government could of itself be expected to accomplish, but its substantial achievements are heyond question.
The Defects of Commission Government. —The chief objections to the commission form of city government, on the other hand, are that it may place a dangerously large amount of power in the hands of a few men and enable them, by collusion, to carry corruption or dis honesty a long way vnthout detection. It is furthermore urged that the plan violates a cardinal principle of American goverrunent by vesting both the appropriating and the spending powers in the same hands, something that is not permitted in national or State government. There the tradition of checks and balances is still powerful. It is contended, however, that a legislative body ought to be fairly representative of all interests in the community and that a body whose membership is limited to five men cannot be adequately representative. Finally, there is the allegation which experience seems to support, that it divides among five men the responsibility which was formerly concentrated in one man, the mayor. In other words, the plan goes too far in one direction and not far enough in another. The comnaission is too small to be adequately representative as a legislative body and too large to be efficient as an adminis trative organ. The adoption of the city manager plan, with provision for a city council, is a recognition of this defect in the commission form of government.
Financial Resulta.—The financial results of the commission plan have been shown to be good as the result of a careful investigation made in 1916 by the United States Bureau of the Census. Comparing cities which have re mained under the mayor and council frarne work with those which have had some years of experience with commission government the balance of advantage appears to rest with the latter in such matters as lowered tax rates, more efficient checks upon expenditure, better budget methods and a reduction on municipal debts. See MUNICIPAL GOVERN M ENT ; CITY MANAGER.
Bibliography.—Bradford, E. H., 'Govern ment of Cities by Commission) (1911) ; Bruere, H., 'The New City Government) (1912) ; Mac Gregor, F. H., (Commission Government' (1911); Woodruff, C. R., 'City Government by Commission) (1911) ; Annals of the American Academy of Political and Sodal Science, (Corn mission Government and the City Manager Plan' (1914) ; National Municipal League, 'Report on the Commission Plan and Commis sion-Manager Plan) (1914) ; United States Bureau of the Census, (Financial Statistics of Cities' (1916).