Chapter 11

Local Government: The Basics

• not limited to only this type of organization

• includes various districts

  • The very idea of local govt

• Lack of strong county government

  • counties are made by the state to they all have the same structure

• High number of local governments

  • city govt

  • County govt

  • Schools

  • MUD (municipal utility district)

    • common in rural areas

    • not quite a city

  • The reason there’s so much local govt in Texas

    • tradition of individualistic culture

• Dillon’s Rule

  • Idea that whatever type of local govt you have, the authority that the govt has is given by the state

    • State gov is more powerful and can overrule

• Responsibilities in the Texas constitution

• Systems of the U.S. local governments

• Complex relationship between local and federal

COunty - finger of the state gov (extension of the state)

City

County Government in Texas

• History and Function of Counties in Texas

  • Municipality system of Mexican Republic

    • Inspired the spirit of independence

  • 254 Texas counties today

  • Extensions of state government

    • They do state work

    • fingers of the state

    • they do the state’s will

  • Programs to provide assistance

    • public health

    • suing

    • maintain vital records

    • Conducts elections

    • counties are only as rich as the people residing in it

• Governing Texas Counties

• counties aren’t subject to gerrymandering

  • districts are subject to change and gerrymandering

  • Commissioners court

    • The leadership structure of the Texas County

  • Partisan election

  • Partisan election: A type of election in which candidates’ names and
    party affiliations appear on the ballot.
    3. Sheriff: The elected county official who oversees county law
    enforcement.
    4. County clerk: The elected county official who maintains county records
    and, in some counties, oversees elections.
    5. County attorney: The county official representing the county in legal

    • activities and offering legal advice to the county government.
      6. Tax assessor: The elected county officer who collects county taxes and
      user fees.
      7. Justice of the peace (JP): An elected county officer who acts as a
      judicial officer for minor criminal and civil cases. (elected fool)

  • 8. Constable: An elected county officer who acts as a judicial officer for
    minor criminal and civil cases; assists the justice of the peace (JP) with
    their duties.
    9. Auditor: A county officer appointed by the district judge to oversee
    county finances

  Blue= elected

  • County clerk

  • County attorney

  • Tax assessor

    • money

  • Justice of the peace (JP)

    • elected fool

  • Constable

    • works closely with JP

  • Auditor

    • works with county funds

  • Patronage system

    • the governer makes A LOT of appointments in his run in office

    • All those poeple working through this when the elected official that put them there leaves office then you’ll prolly get kicked unless their replacement likes you

    • some jobs work under patronage system logic

  • Merit-based civil service system

  • County Civil Service Commission

• County Finances and Operations

  • Property taxes

    • number 1 source of income for the city

  • Other sources of revenue

    • crossing the border 👀

  • Privatization

    • contracting private businesses to do stuff

    • Auditor helps to oversee justice in terms of awarding contracts to appropriate businesses to get the job done

  • Contract outsourcing

    • money comes with strings attached

    • Fiscal federalism ☹

      • Double edged sword

Cities

• Requirements to create a city

  • people get together and go “we would like to be a city”

  • 25 signatures/250 people in the area

• General law versus home rule cities

  • General law - structured according to Texas State law

  • Home rule - charter

• Ordinance

• City charter

  • defines and limits the powers, duties and responsibility of local government based on local preferences and desires.

  • amended every so often

  • can only be amended by the people

• Annexation

  • city council votes to expand

• Forms of City Government

  • Weak mayor-council system

    • shared power

  • Strong mayor-council system

    • Depends on the quality of person in the position of Mayor

  • Council-manager system

    • Current Laredo City Govt (in 2024)

    • Mayor is pretty much another member of the council

    • And then a manager that’s hired by the council

    • point is to take the politics out of management

  • City council heads of departments

    • more popular in rural areas

• City Election

  • Four systems for home rule cities

    • At large election - the largest possible unit is eligible to vote for that position

    • At large by place -

    • Single-member district (SMD) -

    • Cumulative voting -

  • SMD system and plurality system (SMDP)

  • Single-member district majority system (SMDM)

  • Machine politics - just a concept that shows how voting CAN work at the local/state/national level

    • a system (not official) and a leader and many followers (followers are typically ill-informed) and they vote according to what the leader wants

    • hard to study because it’s unofficial

  • Change and transition

• Issues in CIty Government

  • Zoning and Planning Policies

  • Annexation and economic Development

  • City Government versus State Laws

  • Immigration Policy

  • LGBTQ+ Righting

  • City Budgets

  • Municipal bond

• City and County Compared

  • County created by state

  • City created by citizens

• Homeowner Association: Not Quite a Government, but Close

  • Similar powers

  • Chartered institutions

  • Provide services to residents

  • Homeowners elect board

Other Forms of Local Government

• Public Education as Local Government

  • Local school districts

  • ISDs

  • State control over specific areas

  • State Board fo Education (SBOE)

• Special districts