Serving Localities Chapter 24 Section 2

Section 2 Local Government Services Providing education is one of the most important functions of government. Local school districts generally provide most of the money and make the key decisions on public school policy. Local funding can contribute to inequality of education across many districts of a state.

Section 2 Local Government Services (cont.) Local governments use zoning to regulate the way land and buildings are used, thus shaping how a community develops. Zoning boards can regulate growth, preserve neighborhoods, and prevent the decline of land values.

Section 2 Local Government Services (cont.) Police protection is the second-largest expense of many American cities, after public utilities. In large cities, professional full-time fire departments provide protection. In small towns, volunteers usually staff fire departments. Sewage and sanitation disposal are very expensive local services. Costs have forced some smaller communities to contract with private companies.

Section 2 Local Government Services (cont.) Local governments spend millions of dollars to maintain more than 3 million miles of streets. Local governments are beginning to encourage people to use mass transit—facilities such as subways, trains, and buses.

Section 2 Metropolitan Communities Cities, towns, and villages are metropolitan communities. The Census Bureau classifies any community with 2,500 people or more as an urban community. A metropolitan area is a large city and its surrounding suburbs—densely settled territories adjacent to one or more central cities.

Section 2 Special Districts Occasionally local governments establish special districts that are better able to respond to specific problems than other units of local government. The water commission and the port authority are two common types of special districts.

Section 2 Special Districts (cont.) The school district is usually governed by an elected local body, the school board. The school board is responsible for setting school policies, hiring a superintendent of schools, and overseeing the day-to-day workings of schools.

Section 2 Financing Local Government Local governments are charged with providing costly services such as mass transit, airports, parks, water, sewage treatment, education, welfare, and correctional facilities. Taxes provide the revenues necessary to supply these services. State and Local Government Expenditures, 2004

Section 2 Financing Local Government (cont.) Local governments draw revenue from other sources such as: property taxes income taxes fines and fees operating government-owned businesses State and Local Government Expenditures, 2004

Section 2 Financing Local Government (cont.) Most local governments receive economic aid from state and federal governments in the form of grants. State and Local Government Expenditures, 2004