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TAMU POLS 207 - The First Government
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90,000 Local GovernmentsCounties 3,000Remained the same throughoutHistorical – created when state was created.May increase because of the new state.Municipalities 19,000Increasing until about 1987 – leveled off now.Population increases caused the number of cities to growTownships 17,000Remained stableNormally in the North-EastCan’t create anymore because they are already congestedSchool Districts 15,000Number has drastically fallenMany have merged because small school districts are inefficient.Special Districts 37,000Single purpose – school districts are a type of special districtsNear airportsCommunity colleges are special districtsCreated by problems or some need that is bigger than a county or city can handle.Property tax is higher in special districts.Increased rapidly from 1952-1990s – now increasing at a slower rate.States are trying to spread costs and one way of doing this is having a lot of special districts.Different administrations have different grantsPay lower federal taxes but higher local taxesIncreased population = increased local government.Texas is drawing in a lot of immigrants.More municipalities due to this.Want to control the growthLocal Government ExpendituresHuge chunk is educationFacilitiesAdministrationHospitalsHighwaysPaying off debtsState of Texas cannot borrow – must have a balanced budget but many local governments don’t have this ruleWelfare – health and servicesCorrectionsCounty governmentCounties are the oldest form of government in AmericaBOARD or Legislative body – in Texas – Commissioners Court.Elected executives – Sheriff, Constable, County Clerk, Tax Assessor, Treasurer, Country AttorneyAppointed Executives – Individuals and boards. Auditor, Health officer, Coroner, Library board.Don’t exist in some small countiesAppointed by Commissioners CourtBureaucracy: No Civil Service RequirementCountry RevenueProperty tax >50%If government is efficient this will be lower.Licenses and feesGrantsFinesTexas County Revenue:Huge chunk comes from local taxes – property taxNext largest amount from intergovernmental transfer – federal government and state.Expenditure:ServicesSecond largest is public safety.Then interest from loansCounty BudgetLaw enforcement – 50%Roads and Bridges – 10-30%Health and Welfare – 10%Cities: Managed EnvironmentHistorical Development of City GovernmentFrom the middle ages, cities have been granted charters that have established a measure of autonomy for them.American states, including Texas, originally chartered cities under general laws in order to avoid disputes over city politicsThe inflexibility of the general laws prompted Texas to permit beginning in 1912, home rule for cities with a population over 5,000Traditionally, municipalities were organized into one of three types of governments –mayor-council, commission, and council-manager—and today hybrid forms of government that combine mayor-council and council-manager are growing in popularity.The Mayor-Council FormIn this form of city government, which has two variants known as the weak mayor-council form and the strong mayor-council form, council members are elected at-large or by districts and the mayor is elected at-large.In the weak mayor form, other executives such as the city attorney and the city treasurer are also elected.In the strong mayor form, the mayor appoints other executives and has more significant budgetary and veto powers.The terms "strong" and "weak" in this context refer to the formal powers given the mayor by the city charter and do not address an individual mayor's ability to influence local politics in informal ways.The strong mayor form is most common among the nation's largest cities, while in small communi­ties the weak mayor form is more prevalent.Among the largest cities in Texas Houston is the only ones that operate with mayor-council government.In order to overcome problems associated with its status as an "unreformed" or "political" model, some mayor-council cities (particularly larger ones) have an official appointed by the mayor to tend to the internal business of the city while the mayor attends to political matters.Many political scientists prefer this form of city government because it seems most likely to provide the kind of leadership needed to deal with the problems of major urban areas.POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 16 Outline of Last Lecture I. Political Parties, Interest Groups etc.Outline of Current Lecture II. The First Active Local GovernmentA. County governmentsIII. Local Government ExpendituresIV. County BudgetV. County RevenueCurrent Lecture← 90,000 Local Governments- Counties 3,000o Remained the same throughouto Historical – created when state was created.o May increase because of the new state. - Municipalities 19,000o Increasing until about 1987 – leveled off now. o Population increases caused the number of cities to grow- Townships 17,000o Remained stableo Normally in the North-East Can’t create anymore because they are already congested- School Districts 15,000o Number has drastically falleno Many have merged because small school districts are inefficient.- Special Districts 37,000o Single purpose – school districts are a type of special districtso Near airportso Community colleges are special districtso Created by problems or some need that is bigger than a county or city can handle.o Property tax is higher in special districts. o Increased rapidly from 1952-1990s – now increasing at a slower rate.o States are trying to spread costs and one way of doing this is having a lot of special districts.o Different administrations have different grants Pay lower federal taxes but higher local taxes← Increased population = increased local government.← Texas is drawing in a lot of immigrants.- More municipalities due to this.- Want to control the growth←← Local Government Expenditures- Huge chunk is education- Facilities- Administration- Hospitals- Highways- Paying off debtso State of Texas cannot borrow – must have a balanced budget but many local governments don’t have this rule- Welfare – health and services - Corrections←← County government- Counties are the oldest form of government in America- BOARD or Legislative body – in Texas – Commissioners Court.- Elected executives – Sheriff, Constable, County Clerk, Tax Assessor, Treasurer, CountryAttorney- Appointed Executives – Individuals and boards. Auditor,


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TAMU POLS 207 - The First Government

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