POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I Plea Bargaining in Courts II Trial by Jury and Reversible Error III Court Tier System in Texas IV Selecting Judges in Texas Partisan Elections Interim Appointments by Governor V Court Procedures in Texas Grand Juries Petit Juries VI Federal State and Local Police Protection VII Crime Reform Three Strikes and You re Out VIII The Death Penalty Furman v Georgia in 1972 Supreme Court Issues Guidelines in 1976 Death Penalty in Texas Money and Public Support Outline of Current Lecture I Local Government Entities a Counties i deal with state concerns ii types Board of Commissioners Elected Executive Council Administrator b Municipalities Cities i deal with local concerns ii Charter of Incorporation iii Home Rule vs Dillion s Rule iv Mayor Council City Commission City Manager c Special Districts i deal with issues that other units of government cannot meet II Multiplicity of Local Governments Fragmented Local Government III Tiebout Model of Local Government Competition Topic Today s Lecture LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES Local Government Entities Three Basic Types 1 Counties 2 Municipalities cities 3 Special districts 1 Counties How many 3100 across US 250 in Texas Purpose counties serve as administrative appendages extensions of the state counties are set up to deal with and manage activities of a state wide concern at the local level example car registrations elections if outside the city the county takes care of law enforcement with a county sheriff Organization types o Board of commissioners supervisors enact county ordinances laws at local level approve county budget appoint county officials basically they are running the county as a group main criticism no one person in charge if don t like something the group is doing who is actually the person you want to target o Elected executive plan one person mainly in charge elect board of commissioners but elect a head executive of the commission who is the main person who proposes the budget hiring firing officials operating the county etc o Council administrator plan Board of commissioners chooses or hires a person to run the county still one person mainly in charge but rather than elected the leader is chosen or hired by the board 2 Municipalities cities differ from counties in focus o counties meet state wide concerns o municipalities meet local concerns police protection transportation sewage etc Charter of Incorporation o process to form a city o municipalities need legal recognition of settlement which is from a charter of incorporation o charter of incorporation issued to legally recognize by the state that a certain area is a city o an unincorporated area is a city o when an unincorporated area wants to become a city they start with a petition need a certain amount of signatures file the petition with the state the state holds an election everybody in city limits can vote if people vote in favor yes in the referendum the state issues charter of incorporation and we become a city o Why vote no city taxes o Government has to raise taxes provide police protection garbage pick up transportation fire protection sewage service etc Home Rule o allows a local government to run its own affairs subject to state oversight o can determine own local laws as long as does not contradict state laws city can pass law to ban firearms in city limits as long as state constitution law doesn t say anything o greater flexibility or freedom Dillion s Rule o local government can only exercise powers expressly given to them in the constitution or law o if the state law says nothing about firearms then cannot ban the use of firearms because state law must say that yes city can decide on firearms o powers must be given to them in state law or constitution MOST STATES FAVOR HOME RULE 80 of states follow Home Rule Municipalities cities generally deliver MORE services than counties Municipal Governing Structures 1 Mayor Council a most major cities with more than 1 million in population b elect a council and elect a mayor c strong mayor responsible for submitting the budget to city council can fire hire top city officials might have vetoes power over council decisions d weak mayor less powers 2 City Commission a key city departments Public Safety Parks and Recreation etc headed by a commissioner b individually elect the head of Departments c problem each head is worried only about their own department and own interest d not that common today not that common in large cities e need commissioners to work together which is difficult when each commissioner is worried about own department not about what is best for city as a whole 3 City Manager or Council Manager a voters elect a city council but council hires a professional city manager b city manager is hired by city council that we elect c city manager runs gov proposes budget zoning changes makes key hiring firing decisions d hire a professional who has experience doesn t run the city gov based on politics but on what is best e NEBRASKA UNICAMERAL LEGISLATURE f just because you have a mayor the form of gov may not be Mayor Council but City Manager g College Station has a mayor goes to council meetings but our form of gov is City Manager because Council hires a city manager who runs the day to day operations mayor has very little power besides going to meetings Single Purpose Governments Special Districts What are they o special districts created by state or state legislatures to meet service needs that other units of government cannot or will not do o example mass transit district flood control district sports authority district Powers given by the state can tax borrow spend etc Why created o 1 MONEY cities are limited in how much they can tax and spend so how to go beyond spending limits setting up a different unit of government created with own taxing and spending authority created with a special user fee to help cover cost o 2 Refusal of Municipalities to supply services to unincorporated areas for example when suburbs need transit to a city Does city want to spend city money to set up transportation out to suburbs no does not want to spend money outside of city limits beyond city limits often need special districts to help create solutions that go across city limits or boundaries Multiplicity of Local Governments Fragmentation of local government about 5000 units of gov o Drawbacks 1 Issue of Responsibility responsibility becomes blurred if lots of local
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