Multiple Governments and Intergovernmental Relationships - Essay Example

Intergovernmental Relationships [Pick the [Type the company Intergovernmental Relationships-Introduction In the most basic sense intergovernmental relations may be defined as” important body of activities or interactions occurring between government unit of all types and levels.” (Janes)Instruments of Intergovernmental RelationsIntergovernmental Fiscal RelationshipsIn almost all western nations central government is the primary recipient of tax and then later distributes the revenue collected through various means.

(Edward Page)Some states have tried to decentralize taxes but this phenomenon is quite recent. The chief vehicle for distributing this money to local governments has been through grants. Three major forms of grants are used. (Zaki) – Unrestricted money transfer for sub national government operationBlock Grants to be used in general areasRestricted purpose grants to be used for specific purposes by sub national governmentsThese grants are normally seen by the local governments as federal’s government interference in local matters but studies suggest that this control is necessary to maintain some sort of control and uniformity in government rules and spending throughout the country.

Intergovernmental Regulations & Government structureUS system of government has become more and more federal as time has gone by. As federalism increases the nature of co-operation also changes between the different forms of government. A local government which depends on the provincial government for its existence would certainly be less demanding and more co-operative as compared to a local government which has been given constitutional status. In US federal governments have a right to make laws in variety of spheres.

The congress can pass only certain laws related to certain fields specified in the constitution. However experts believe that this autonomy or freedom is mainly on paper than in practice. As federal government control the purse strings they have the power to convince local governments to follow model bills prepared by the congress. In some areas these powers are beneficial but may also be prove contrary to local benefits in some cases.Bureaucratic ActionsThis is probably the most important aspect of intergovernmental relations as a government interacts through their bureaucrats.

At a particular point of time FBI is represented by the agent who is interacting with the LAPD.These officers can cause conflicts between two governments and can also make them very reactive to each other depending upon their personal rapport or enmity.Example of Intergovernmental RelationsOne of the most important examples in the recent times of intergovernmental relation has been anti-terrorist inquiries. Some of these inquiries are carried out parallel by the both the FBI as well as state police.

In major terrorist attack cases even the homeland security may be involved.Working together or againstLocal police officers do not like any case which happens even their area to be transferred to the FBI. They see this as a personal insult. This lead to enmity between the forces and lead to an atmosphere of mistrust. It has been documented by various investigators that prior information about a 9/11 plot was available with the CIA. However this information was lost in the red tape and did not trickle down; even if it reach the lowest level that is NYPD – the information was watered down in such a way that it was ignored by the officers.

This is perhaps one of the best examples how different level of government were not able to work together in harmony and the country had to pay a heavy price for it.Possible SolutionsCo-ordination Committees at national level as well as at the state and local level. Many such committees have been formed but the problem lies in the fact that they do not meet regularly or do not disclose information to each other when they meet. Possible solution would be to link a part of the officers career progression matrix to the success of these meetingsCentral Database – This is one of the best ways to tackle the problem of incoherent information.

Proper documentation should be done of all intelligence available and should be made available to every level of law enforcement. Some information may be quality that it cannot be shared with local police – this type of information should be minimal and a group of experts should decide about which information to share and which not to share as this important matter can’t be left to the fancies of different officers.Fix accountability – It should be fully decided as to which level of government is responsible for which action.

Officers generally tend to hide their incompetency behind a lot of red tape in government agencies. This red tape is essential in a mammoth organization such as government but should be minimized as much as possible.ConclusionDifferent levels of government are desirable in a democracy to take the government at the grass root level to the people. But these different forms of government should be there to help people out. People should not be made to suffer due to intergovernmental red tape and the lack of co-operation between the different governments.

BibliographyEdward Page, M. G. (1987). Central and local government relations: A comparative analysis of West European Unitary States. New York: SAGE Publications.Janes, J. (2001). Reforming Governance : Lessons from United States of AMerica and federal Republic of Germany. Nw York: Campus Verlag.Zaki, A. (1980). Intergovernmental Grants. Pittsburg: University of Pittsburgh.