How America manages urban communities

1. The three-level government structure of the United States

Different from my country’s five-level government structure, the United States implements a three-level government structure: the federal government, state governments, and local governments. Below the state government, there are local governments, regardless of size. Therefore, the differences in economic and population size of local governments in the United States are huge. For example, in the same local government, there are 600,000 people in Boston and 100,000 people in Cambridge, but less than 50,000 people in Salem, and only 35,000 people in the town of Amherst, which is adjacent to Amherst. Places such as Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett, all small towns with a population of no more than 2,000, are also local governments.

On the surface, the division of government levels in the United States is too simple. In fact, it is closely related to the tax-sharing system implemented in the United States. In the United States, the largest tax is personal income tax, which is basically owned by the federal government; consumption tax is mainly the revenue of state governments; local government revenue mainly comes from property taxes.

Of course, this is not absolute. In many places in the United States, income tax, consumption tax, and property tax are also shared. For example, in the city of Seattle, property tax is divided between the city, the Washington State government, and King County. Shared among governments, in 2003 their respective proportions were, 31% went to the city government; the state government took 28%; the Seattle school district received 23%; King County government received 13%; other departments include: Port 3%; medical emergency services 2%. The city’s 8.8% consumption tax rate is also shared by the city government with the state government and other departments. Among them: the state government is the big one, taking 6.5%, accounting for 73.9% of the total; the city government gets 0.85%, accounting for 9.7%; other departments include: Metro 0.8%; King County 0.15%; Transportation 0.4%; Criminal Court 0.1% . In Cupas Christi, excise tax revenue accounted for 24% of the city's general fiscal revenue in 2003. In Howwood County, income tax revenue accounted for 39.65% of the county's general fiscal revenue in 2004. The consumption tax is also a tax shared between the North Carolina state government and the city of Doom, with the state government taking the lion's share. For every US$1 spent, consumers need to pay a consumption tax of US$0.065 (excluding food consumption), of which 61.54% (US$0.04) belongs to the state government; 38.46% (US$0.025) belongs to the city of Dume. In 2003, the city of Doom collected $27.9 million in excise taxes. In 2004, this tax contributed 20% to the municipal finance.

2. Autonomous community management model

Communities in large cities in the United States also implement autonomous management. But under the city government, there are several "Neighborhood Service Centers" or "Little City Halls". They are agencies of the city government that provide services to local residents in their respective areas. , and does not have strong management functions. Corresponding to these "resident service centers", the city has several "District Councils" (District Councils), and their representatives and some government officials jointly form the "Urban Residents Council", which works with the city government The Department of Neighborhoods is responsible for the management and development of urban communities.

As shown in the picture: Community service and management structure chart of Seattle City

The “Department of Neighborhoods” of the city government

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(Composed of 2 representatives from each of the 13 district councils and relevant government officials)

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13 District Councils

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Representatives of various grassroots organizations

such as: community councils, local chambers of commerce, and non-profit organizations, etc

A community organization in the United States is an organization that serves residents under the guidance of the county government. It is the bridge and link between the government and residents. Many of the government's community building and management tasks are assisted by community organizations. This not only reflects the democratization of government decision-making, but also saves government management costs and improves management efficiency. Community management model is a management topic worthy of study and discussion, from which we can learn from successful foreign community management experiences.

3. Community management in the United States embodies the "collaboration" between the government and the people

The community management of Arlington County, Virginia, USA, across the river from Washington, D.C., is a microcosm of community management in the entire United States. . There are about 50 communities in the county, and the communities have residents' associations. The local government plays an important role in community construction and improvement of facilities. In order to cooperate with the public and the public to build a community that residents are satisfied with, the Community Management Department of the county government launched the "Community Management Plan", which has a history of 41 years. The focus of the community management plan includes traffic safety, including street lighting and sidewalk paving, street maintenance and greening, and community park construction.

All community management plans are formulated based on the opinions of community residents and reflect the actual needs of residents' daily lives. From plan formulation to project implementation, the entire process fully reflects grassroots democracy. The "Community Management Plan" representatives elected by the community are also followed by the district representatives elected by the residents. The district representatives will distribute question sheets to each household every year, listing some specific matters, allowing residents to choose what they think is the most important issue for the community. Things that need improvement. When residents come up with community welfare ideas or have any opinions, they report them to the county government through the district representatives. The Community Management Department and representatives from each community responsible for community management planning affairs meet monthly to discuss community residents' suggestions and projects. The Community Management Department conducts on-site surveys based on residents' opinions and determines the priorities for community construction. It then hires professionals to design the project. The next step is to solicit residents' opinions on the design plan. If the design plan is supported by 60% of the residents in the community, the project will begin. .

The Community Management Plan is funded through local taxes and is budgeted every two financial years. The Community Management Department fully considers the interests of each community and makes arrangements based on actual needs to achieve a balance between communities of varying sizes. The Arlington County government's involvement in community construction is also reflected in the development stage of community real estate. The county government's top priority when reviewing community real estate development plans is to ensure that there is a certain area of ​​public land - children must have a safe place to play, and residents must have a place to go when they go out. Also consider that the community must have a certain proportion of housing that is affordable to those with below-average incomes.

In short, urban community management in the United States implements an autonomous management model in which county (city) governments and community resident representatives combine with each other and extensively solicit and listen to residents’ opinions. Although there are no grassroots government agencies at the township or street level like China. , only county and city governments have resident service centers set up in communities. However, due to the reduction of government agencies at the street level, county governments directly go to communities to organize various community work, provide various resident services, and listen to residents’ opinions. This greatly improves work efficiency and reduces management costs. This is community management experience worth learning from.