Paying for Planning

This book chapter analyzes the trends of own-source revenue and intergovernmental revenues by type of local government from 1962 or 1977 to 2002, as an understanding of general funds and the constraints on revenue-generating by state legislature. Revenue collection is always subject to socioeconomic forces, state legislature limits, political culture, and a degree of uncertainty in terms of federal aid, but when the agenda of localities is dominated by budgets, local governments must persist in finding ways to pay for services despite regional and population variations in charges or taxes rendered. For the urban-type/regional category of local government where planning and zoning conceptually resides, conflict can arise from seeking greater state aid, revenue from other taxes, local options methods, or greater control on spending.