Two years ago, when I was a senior at East Carolina University, I found myself, like many of my peers, scrambling to figure out what I should do after graduation. I eventually planted myself in one of my professors’ offices and explained to him that I wanted a career that would enable me to serve…

Residents in three New England communities voted on adopting, retaining, or rejecting various forms of manager government.

Greensboro, North Carolina<br />By supporting a community-led initiative, the city of Greensboro, N.C., revamped its budgetary process and ignited engagement in the community. What does a city do when its residents propose an alternative way of engaging them in the local government budget process? The city of Greensboro, North Carolina (pop. 287,027), had to answer that…

An unprecedented 80 percent or 16 out of the 20 finalists for the coveted All-America Cities (AAC) Award are communities that operate under the council-manager form of government with a highly trained, nonpartisan professional manager at the helm. These impressive statistics are the result of an analysis of the list of AAC Award finalists issued…

Eureka: Blazing a Trail to Community Success through Local Government Collaboration

At Life, Well Run. we tend to believe that the best careers out there are in local government…but we also have to admit that the second best job – is bragging about those dedicated professionals who serve our communities.  Looking back on 2017 it’s easy to be inspired by, grateful towards, and hopeful for the…

A quick and easy-to-understand introduction to the roles, responsibilities, and relationships of local elected officials.

By supporting the arts and encouraging renovations, the city of Colquitt revived its community and economy.

A number of form-of-government initiatives were included on ballots in May and November 2017. Some are still being decided.