Attitudes of Municipal Council Members from six West German Cities that are also Administrative Districts on Questions of Municipal Policy

Orientations and moral concepts of municipal council members. Financial
priorities and information on political influence of others. Acceptance
of voter wishes. Topics: General judgement on living conditions in the
city at the current point in time, ten years ago and in the future;
comparison of living conditions in one´s own city with other cities in
the Federal Republic; assessment of current and earlier financial
situation of the city; management or municipal representation as
primary influencing factor in establishing the budget as well as in the
distribution of expenses in individual areas; areas for reductions or
increases in municipal budget; expenditure preferences; extent of
consideration of wishes of the population in individual task areas;
preferred areas for use of unexpected additional revenues; most
important personal decisions in municipal representation;
re-organizations conducted in local government; initiator of these
changes; attitudes to establishment of advisory councils for foreigners
and seniors; attitude to city partnerships with the Third World,
increased citizen participation, the right for foreigners to vote in
municipal elections and approval of plans to support women in local
government; part of town or entire city as guideline for ballot
decisions in the municipal parliament; postmaterialism index; moral
orientations; identification with position of one´s own party;
self-assessment on a left-right continuum; self-characterization;
open-mindedness regarding new things; intensity of influence of other
parties, groups and organizations (trade unions, clubs, citizen
initiatives, chamber of commerce, local media, churches etc.) on
financial policy decisions; general judgement on these groups and
assessment of the frequency with which the ideas of these groups and
organizations regarding financial policy are given consideration in
council decisions; designation of the most influencial groups and most
influencial persons; areas pushing through most strongly;
classification of the importance of municipal tasks in the past, in the
present and in the future; length of municipal mandate; functions
exercised; religiousness; party affiliation; union membership; length
of local residency.