Selden, Sally Coleman creator Brudney, Jeffrey L. Brewer, Gene A. text xu| 1999 continuing ng p.124-48 This study uses a survey of 1,135 city managers to evaluate the contemporary city manager role and to evaluate its consistency with principal-agent theory. The findings are mixed. It appears that city councils can control city managers as principal-agent theory suggests, but that most city councils opt for less complex solutions involving trust and role sharing with the city manager. In other words, principal-agent theory does not fully explain the council-manager relationship. In an effort to understand this relationship more thoroughly, this study develops a typology of city manager roles based on the extent of their involvement in policy and the degree of autonomy exercised. - Reproduced Civil service Local government American Review of Public Administration 180718