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TAMU POLS 207 - Local Government Entites
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Lecture 18 Outline of Last LectureI. 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 OutVIII. 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 LectureI. Local Government Entities a. Counties i. deal with state concerns ii. types = Board of Commissioners, Elected Executive, Council Administratorb. Municipalities/Citiesi. deal with local concerns ii. Charter of Incorporation iii. Home Rule vs. Dillion’s Rule iv. Mayor Council, City Commission, City Manager c. Special Districtsi. 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 LectureLOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES Local Government Entities Three Basic Types:1. Counties2. Municipalities/cities3. 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 POLS 207 1st Edition- 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 targeto 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 concernso 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 incorporationo 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 taxeso 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-Councila. most major cities with more than 1 million in populationb. 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 powers2. City Commissiona. 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 interestd. 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-Managera. voters elect a city council but council hires a professional city manager b. city manager is hired by city council that we electc. city manager runs gov, proposes budget, zoning changes, makes key hiring/firing decisionsd. hire a professional who has experience & doesn’t run the city gov. based on politics, but on what is best e. NEBRASKA = UNICAMERAL LEGISLATUREf. just because you have a mayor, the form of gov may not be Mayor-Council, but City Managerg. 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 littlepower 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


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TAMU POLS 207 - Local Government Entites

Type: Lecture Note
Pages: 4
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