美国的地方政府最贴近民众，所以也是最能灵敏反映民意的政府形态。地方/市级政府的目标是满足市民最普遍、最基本的需求，如医疗、安全和基建等，因此更能激发民众的亲近感。除此之外，相对于州政府官员以及联邦官员而言，民众更能够在日常程序中影响由他们选出的、代表他们利益的地方政府官员。鉴于这种特性，本课程将研究美国地方政府的结构，包括其提供的各种政府服务、共同的组织框架和总体治理理念（详细列举民选和受任命官员的角色和责任）。作为学生的研究设计要求，他们将在指导下选择性地分析一系列美国地方政府网站内容并将各自的研究心得作为课堂交流和展示的基础。通过这门课程，学生将：（1）熟悉地方政府组织架构；（2）了解公共部门的各专业领域；（3）分清民选和受任命的地方政府官员的不同角色和职责。

Course Description: Local government in the United States is considered the most responsive of all forms because it is closest to the people it serves.  Citizens feel most connected to their municipal/city government because it is designed to meet their most common, basic needs – health, safety, infrastructure, etc.  In addition, citizens have the ability to routinely interact with the elected officials who represent them.  They do not have this same opportunity with state and federal officials.  We will examine the makeup of local government operations in the US including the various services that are provided, common organizational structures, and general governance that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the various elected and appointed officials.  Students will be asked to review various local government websites from cities in the US as part of their research throughout the course.  Research findings will be discussed in class and will also be the basis for presentations that will be shared with the group.Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: a..Understand the structure of local government organizations; b. .Recognize the areas of specialization within the public sector; and C. Discern the different roles and responsibilities of various elected and appointed government officials.

主讲老师：詹姆士·尼科尔斯(James Nichols）

詹姆士·尼科尔斯现任内华达州道格拉斯县的市政官，之前担任过拉斯维加斯市等地的市政官职务，具有15年以上的地方政府管理经验。他的专业领域包括公共事业、市政工程、公共安全、社区服务、公园与休憩事业、开发审批程序、绩效管理等。 尼科尔斯取得了东北大学的土木工程本科学位（1989年）和康涅狄克大学的环境工程硕士学位（1994年）。 他还获得了国际城市管理协会的市政官认证资格，亚利桑那州、内华达州和华盛顿州的注册专业工程师资格，以及“全美工程和科技委员会”主席等专业协会头街。尼克尔斯曾在华盛顿首首府奥林匹亚市建立并教授《美国社区治理》的学位课程。

James Nichols is currently serving as the County Manager of Douglas County. He previously acted as city managers in other places including Las Vegas and he possesses more than 15 years executive experience in local government. His expertise expands to public works, engineering, public safety, community services, parks and recreation, development review processes, performance management and CIP’s. James Nichols received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University in 1989 and master of science in environmental engineering from University of Connecticut in 1994. He also earned the designation of Credentialed Manager from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) as well as being a licensed Professional Engineer in Arizona, Nevada, and Washington.  He serves on many public works professional associations such as the chairmanship for National Engineering and Technology Committee.He taught the course of Community Governance in US Cities in Olympia city of Washington State.

课程大纲：美国地方治理实践 Local Government Operations in the US.pdf