WHAT MIDDLE MANAGERS DO IN LOCAL-GOVERNMENT - STEWARDSHIP OF THE PUBLIC TRUST AND THE LIMITS OF REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

Can we afford to eliminate middle managers in local government? Dougla s Morgan and colleagues argue that middle managers play distinctive ro les as ''keepers of two functions'' that are essential to the health o f our democratic polity: helping to define ''acceptable service'' and making the delivery of public services accountable. The authors conten d that current efforts to eliminate layers of middle management throug h contracting out for services, privatizing, reinventing government, a nd other mechanisms to reshape the role of democratic governance need to be carefully informed and guided by a full understanding of the ess ential functions that middle managers play in maintaining the healthy functioning of our democratic order. They conclude that this steward-h ip role will become increasingly more important as national and state governments continue to decentralize the locus of responsibility for r egulation and service delivery.