Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Sixth Edition offers the up-and-coming chief financial officer a thorough grounding in all the principles of financial management, as well as a review of the financial policies and practices used by local governments in the United States today. 

The sixth edition takes a broader, more comprehensive approach rooted firmly in an understanding that the principal challenges of contemporary financial management are:

• Executing, evaluating, and, when necessary, changing existing financial policies and procedures
• Anticipating and, where appropriate, ameliorating conflict over future decisions
• Presenting complex financial information to different stakeholders in intuitive, simple, and comprehensive ways
• Understand debt management and bond sales
• Deciding when and how to engage new stakeholders in the financial management process.

What’s new in Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Sixth Edition? 
Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Sixth Edition is organized around four main topic areas:

• Part One: “The Local Government Environment” provides a broad context for the work of finance managers.
• Part Two: “Management Tools” provides a survey of the types of structures that local governments use to organize their finance and budget functions. This part also discusses the influence that these structures have on the role of the chief financial officer (CFO).
• Part Three: “Revenue Sources” makes apparent that without a sufficient and stable flow of revenue, policies and budgets are merely wish lists.
• Part Four: “Financial Management” explores different components of financial management common to most organizations—public, private, or nonprofit.

Lessons for the Future 
Management Policies in Local Government Finance, Sixth Edition helps prepare the reader to understand the complex, but critical role of a local government CFO. The approach of this book rests on five tenets:

• A successful manager works to shape the decision-making agenda.
• Stability is one of financial management’s core professional values.
• Conflicts shape the CFO’s organizational environment.
• Timing is critical in managing conflict and political success.
• Context is essential to understanding and ultimately resolving a conflict.

EDITORS 
John R. Bartle, PhD, is the David Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of public affairs and the interim dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His major research and teaching areas are public budgeting, taxation and financial management, and sustainable development. He has published articles in Public Budgeting & Finance, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, State and Local Government Review, Municipal Finance Journal, and Public Administration Review. He is the editor of the book, Evolving Theories of Public Budgeting (2001), and the coauthor of Sustainable Development for Public Administration (2009).

W. Bartley Hildreth, PhD, is professor of public management and policy in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Previously, he was the Regents Distinguished Professor of public finance at Wichita State University and director of its Kansas Public Finance Center with joint appointments in the public administration faculty of the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs and the finance faculty of the W. Frank Barton School of Business. Dr. Hildreth has served as interim dean of the Barton School of Business and as dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

Justin Marlowe, PhD, is associate professor and faculty director of the Executive Master of Public Administration program at the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. He specializes in public financial management with an emphasis on public capital markets, financial accounting and reporting, public-private partnerships, local fiscal policy, and budget reform. Prior to entering academia, he worked in local government in Michigan. 

The latest edition in the classic ICMA series on fire and rescue services, Managing Fire and Emergency Services is a comprehensive update of the bestselling Managing Fire and Rescue Services (2002).

Managing Fire and Emergency Services is a modern practical reference and textbook illustrating the challenges that fire and emergency managers face and outlining leading practices to meet those challenges head on.

The previous edition (2002) addressed a profession on the brink of change following 9/11, yet this singular event was not the only harbinger of change. Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the threat of further terrorist acts underscored the need to prepare for and manage large scale emergencies. The housing collapse and economic crisis have further exacerbated the situation: fire and emergency services have to meet increased expectations with less funding from all levels of government.

At its very core, Managing Fire and Emergency Services provides a road map for effective management of all organizational facets in the modern fire and emergency services environment.

Two new chapters deal with the reality of professional firefighters being involved in all realms of emergency management and the increased involvement of fire agencies in emergency medical services.

Key Features:

• Each chapter provides a level of understanding sufficient for action on the topic.
• Emergent issues are explored.
• 150 sidebars throughout the text illustrate leading practices from local case studies, expert analysis, and current research.
• Every chapter presents historical and current information with the purpose of directing the reader into effective and efficient actions.
• Chapters describe fully updated regulations, standards, and liability in key areas including human resource management.
• Is the most effective guide for professionals preparing for promotional exams.
• The content is designed to meet the National Fire Academy’s “Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education” (FESHE) model curriculum guidelines for its course, “Fire and Emergency Services Administration.”
• Every chapter emphasizes the role of innovation, collaboration, and skills development.
• Discussions address the latest developments in human resource management, candidate selection, firefighter safety, and grants management as well as information and communications technology.

Managing Fire and Emergency Services is organized into four sections, each completely updated and focused on operational achievement.

Part 1: Policy and Organizational Environment for Fire and Emergency Services
Part 2: Organizational Leadership
Part 3: Managing Fiscal Resources
Part 4: Critical Support Systems and Functions

Audience:

• Chief officers in fire and emergency services, including medical services 
• Local government managers and administrators responsible for fire departments
• Students in fire science, fire technology, and emergency services administration higher education courses
• Professionals preparing for promotional exams. This book is designed to meet the National Fire Academy’s Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) model curriculum guidelines for its course.

Editors:
Adam K. Thiel has spent 20 years in the fire and emergency services across four states and in numerous capacities. He currently chairs the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Emergency Services Organization Risk Management, is the author of numerous publications, and teaches graduate level public administration courses.

Charles R. Jennings is an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is also the director of the Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies at CUNY. He has more than 20 years experience as a firefighter and officer in New York and Maryland and is currently principal of Manitou, Inc., a public safety consulting firm.

Managing Fire and Emergency Services is your complete source for the latest fire and emergency management information and issues.

Related Resources

• Managing Fire and Emergency Services Self-Study Course

Training without the Travel!

The flexible format of the Self-Study course allows you to learn at your own pace. It’s the perfect tool for students or for in-service fire service personnel who are preparing for promotional exams or who want to brush up on their skills.

Other benefits of the course are:

• Review questions and exercises that help reinforce the main points and important details of each chapter
• Self-scored unit tests, a final exam, and a “retest” to help you evaluate what you’ve learned
• Answer keys with answers and page references for all exams to help you master any material that requires additional study
• Chapter essay questions for further thought.

Components: Self-Study Course, includes Study Guide and textbook. Study Guide and textbook are also available separately: Study Guide only (43637), textbook only (43636). You save $10 by ordering the study guide and textbook in this set. 

Related Resources

• Managing Fire and Emergency Services Study Guide

Hiring, developing, and promoting a competent workforce creates the backbone for excellence in service to the public. This book is intended to assist city and county executives, department heads, and other supervisory employees of relatively small jurisdictions, as well as students who will be serving in smaller local governments, in implementing sound human resource management practices.

The contents of this guide

The principles and practices explained in this guide cover the whole range of goals and activities associated with human capital management:

• Linking human resource management to desired general governmental outcomes by taking stock of existing jobs, such as performing job analysis, planning the nature and number of new positions, and determining appropriate compensation levels.
• Attracting a high-performance workforce by recruiting, testing, and hiring the best possible applicants and properly orienting new employees.
• Retaining and developing an excellent workforce by nurturing a highperformance work culture and providing effective evaluations, training, educational opportunities, financial incentives, and promotions.
• Maintaining labor peace by working with unions during the certification process, in collective bargaining sessions, and in administering the union contract; in general, moving toward collaborative and interest-based bargaining strategies.
• Avoiding legal liabilities by maintaining up-to-date personnel policy documents and respecting the rights of job applicants and employees.
• Creating an environment for excellence by offering attractive pay and benefit plans.
• Strengthening a high-performance organizational culture by clearly communicating ethical standards, as well as employee and employer responsibilities.
• Limiting organizational damage by dealing with a problem economy, as well as with problem employees, in a timely manner.
• Applying the most effective human capital management practices despite limited resources by using technical assistance services offered by public and private entities around the country. Membership in a professional organization often includes access to an e-mail list where questions and answers about personnel matters can be shared.