City Government in Texas  1,209 municipalities in Texas  Municipalities are state creations.  The state can create, merge, or disband them.  Towns with >5,000 residents may apply for “home-rule” status.  City charter recognized by the state  Alternatively, towns may follow the basic rules set out by the state for all municipalities.

Municipal Governments in Texas, 2010

The Largest Home-Rule Cities, 2010

Forms of City Government in Texas  Mayor-council form of city government  City has a mayor and city council  Mayor is elected from city at-large  Council either at-large or single-member districts  Council acts as city legislature  Strong v. weak mayor differences  Personnel: can hire and fire department heads  Budget authority  Degree of power shared with city manager

Forms of City Government in Texas  Council-manager government  Most common in Texas  250 of 291 home-rule cities in the state  City council may select a mayor, or mayor elected  Council hires a city manager to run the city  Manager does not campaign or run for office  Applies for and holds executive public position much like public school superintendents, who are hired by local school boards

Forms of City Government in Texas  Council Commission government  City commissioners select a President  Commissioners oversee specific departments

School Districts  School board of trustees  Adopts a budget and sets the tax rate  Hires superintendent  Most districts, superintendent hires district personnel  Smallest districts, board may take on those duties  Selects textbooks  Sets school calendar

Special Districts  Local government that performs a single service within a limited geographical area

Non-school Districts  Municipal utility districts (MUDs)  Provide services to certain areas outside of cities  Flood control districts  Community college districts  Hospital districts  Water districts

Councils of Government  Councils of governments (COGs)  Regional planning boards that try to coordinate efforts of local governments  Comprised mostly of elected officials  May include other community members  Deal with issues relevant to several local governments  Make sense in large areas where there are many layers of local government and coordination may be useful