POLS 2312 1st Edition Lecture 7 Outline of Last Lecture I. AnII.Outline of Current Lecture I. Municipal governmetnII. Revenue III. Counties/officialsCurrent Lecture- Municipal government=city government. - There are increasing responsibilities and limited resources at the city level- TX does well b/c we filter down federal and state responsibility down to city level.- Unfunded mandate: making a city do something without and funds or initiative to do so.- Sales and property taxes are limited by state law- TX has a regressive tax: more income you make, less % of it is taxed- City brings in revenue by fees: liquor license, cable license, franchise fee, zoning fees, traffic fees, building permits.- Bonds are used to finance capital projects. These bonds must be retires or paid off with future city revenue and cannot be sold for capital projects unless voters say yes- Many tax exemptions: homestead, senior citizen, and veteran, disabled. Too many?- Tax reinvestment zones: tax breaks to attract investment in blighted inner city and other areas that need improvement.- Counties are an arm of the state. They serve a need to the state. - County office structure has no “head”-closest=judge- Counties issue: auto license, elections, fees and taxes, and courts administer justice.- Health and welfare programs are issued at county level.- County must have judge and 4 commissioners, county attorney, sheriff, clerk, constable, tax assessor collector, treasurer- Commissioners: major legislative body. Elected in single member districts. Handles policymaking like budgets, tax rates, provide health welfare, courthouse, jail, maintain roads- County attorney=handles legal, civil, and criminal affairs- Clerk-keeps up with paperwork. File legal documents, birth certificates and death certificates. These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a
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