City utilization of regional council technical assistance

This study is part of a research project to analyze the effects of regional councils of governments on local governments. This study investigates select characteristics of communities that may explain variations in city utilization of regional council technical assistance. Technical assistance includes grant application writing, community planning and other forms of assistance provided to cities by the regional councils\u27 professional staffs;Characteristics of communities used to explain city utilization of regional council technical assistance are city and municipal government need for extralocal resources, and community organization. City need for extralocal resources is assumed to be high if the city has high incidents of poverty and substandard housing, and if a large proportion of the population is over age 65. Municipal government need for extralocal resources is assumed to be high if its tax levy is close to the statutory limit, if limits to increases in expenditures are causing a decline in public services, and if the municipal government has recently made large-scale capital investments. Community organizations are expected to facilitate action to solve community-wide problems. Community organization and the resulting linkages among organizations are measured by indicators of economic complexity, the presence of a large scale and diversified municipal government, and the presence of voluntary organizations which encourage community-wide goals and values;The research arguments are tested using data from 132 small, rural cities in 9 substate regions in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Variables about municipal need for extralocal resources contributed little to the explanation of city utilization of regional council technical assistance; however, indicators of community organization and the availability of linkages contributed significantly. Further analysis of Iowa data suggest that among more highly organized cities, those with low incidents of poverty and substandard housing, and those with relatively few people over age 65, are more extensive users of regional council technical assistance