LOCAL GOVERNMENT

City Government How do cities pay for themselves? –Grants from state and federal gov = 40% –Taxes and land and buildings = 25% –Sales tax and other taxes = 10% –Fees and fines from parking, traffic violations, etc. = the rest! How does an area become a city? –Must meet certain standards- population, etc. –Ask the state legislature for a city charter- document granting power to a local government, like a constitution. Describes the government

Who is in charge in a city? City charters describe the duties and responsibilities of mayors, but they differ between cities Run a city as a governor runs the state Mayors carry out day to day administrative tasks and serves as an executive branch leader –Veto laws from city council –Write the city budget Are elected by and represent the whole city Usually have a staff to help with the work Warren R. Copeland, Mayor of Springfield

Who else? Many cities also have a city council City council –Similar to Congress in the Legislative branch –Passes city laws called ordinances –Passes the city budget Usually voters elect the mayor and city council members

Special Districts Units of government that deal with a specific function Education- ex. Northwestern Local Schools Board of Education Water supply- ex. Springfield Utilities Department Transportation- ex. Subway, train, bus systems

Metropolitan vs. Suburb Metropolitan area = large city and its suburbs –Ex. North Hampton is a part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area. Suburbs are communities near or around a city Suburbs have expanded since the 1950s- Why?

County Government The town where the county courthouse is located is called the county seat Focus of towns was the county courthouse. Counties are small so people could easily travel by horse and buggy. Provide services like sewers, water service, and mass transit (in some places these are controlled by the “city”)

Who runs the county? Two million people work for counties across the country! Planning Commissions/Supervisors –Act as the county’s legislature: Pass ordinances, pass budget, levy taxes Sheriff and Sheriff’s Department –Enforces court orders and runs the county jail District Attorney –Investigates crimes County Clerk –Keeps government records- Birth, death, marriage County Coroner –Looks into deaths that may not be natural

Towns and Townships American democracy began in towns Town meetings held in New England colonies allowed colonists to take part in their government Political units smaller than cities, but larger than villages: New England = towns, Midwest = townships In the Midwest, county and township governments share powers In the South and West, there are few towns or townships

New England Town Meetings One of the oldest forms of direct democracy in America As towns grew larger and became more complex, towns needed full-time employees for day to day decisions Some towns still have town meetings to discuss large issues such as taxes, ordinances, etc.

Townships and Villages As the U.S. expanded westward, Congress conducted surveys of the land and divided land into equal square blocks –This helped distribute land to settlers –Settlers set up local governments they called townships Townships in IN, KS, NE, and OH are rural Most townships elect a small group of officials to have lawmaking powers Townships have become less important as counties and cities take over gov. duties