Warm Up #5 Over the past 20 years Mecklenburg County’s population has nearly doubled. 1.How do you think that this impacts county and city government? 2.What types of adjustments have to be made to account for such a large population increase? Don’t forget to do your MLA State Government News Article Assignment!!

Local Government Counties and Municipalities

Local Government is divided between: – Counties = largest territorial & political subdivision in NC. Created by General Assembly(100) – Municipalities= cities, towns, & villages (504)

County Government Each county has a county seat, which is essentially the counties headquarters. Mecklenburg county’s county seat is Charlotte. – Total population (2010 census): 919,628 Total population (1990 census): 511,481

Board of County Commissioners The BOCC is the governing body of the county. 9 members (Meck.) – 6 elected by district – 3 elected at-large, by the whole county – Serve 2 year terms – BOCC elects a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson Responsible for approving county budget, setting property tax rate, assessing community priorities (welfare, health & human services, education, environment, etc.) Back row L to R: Bill James (District 6), Jim Puckett (District 1), Matthew Ridenhour (District 5), George Dunlap (District 3) Bill JamesJim PuckettMatthew RidenhourGeorge Dunlap Front row L to R: Pat Cotham, (At Large), Dumont Clarke (Vice chair, District 4), Trevor Fuller (Chair, At Large), Ella B. Scarborough (At Large), Vilma Leake (District 2)Pat CothamDumont ClarkeTrevor FullerElla B. Scarborough Vilma Leake

County Manager The County Manager's Office is responsible for implementing policies established by the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. Dena Diorio is the current County Manager. – County Manager acts as CEO of the county – The Manager is supported by an Executive Team of three General Managers and 5,000 other county employees

Where Mecklenburg Co. gets its $

How Mecklenburg Co. Spends its $

Independent State Boards * State requires each county to have these Elected School Board Board of Elections Public Health Mental Health Social Services ABC Board – Note some counties are dry

Warm Up #6 1.Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died Saturday night. According to the constitution what happens now? 2.Compare and Contrast 1.US Supreme Court 2.NC Supreme Court

Municipalities Municipalities are cities, towns, and villages – To be a municipality the area must be incorporated. Incorporation- state declares that a specific geographical area is a municipality. – Gives it a charter (outlines the basic rules and structure for the municipality.) Annexation - process of bringing unincorporated land & its residents into an existing municipality.

Municipalities All municipalities have their own governing board: – Town Council, City Council, or Board of Aldermen – Est. policies, approve budgets, set tax rates, est. ordinances - regulate what people can do within town limits.

Charlotte= Council-Manager Form of Gov. Provides for professional administration of gov. Responsibilities are divided – Elected Council + Appointed City Manager under a council-manager system, the mayor has no special legislative powers City Manager- runs day to day operations of city= CEO of city Mayor- Chief spokesperson for city City Manager- Ron Carlee Mayor Jennifer Roberts

Charlotte City Council Elected every 2 years At-Large Representatives – Mayor – 4 Council Members 7 District Representatives on Council

Duties of Mayor and City Council Together the Mayor and City Council are responsible for estb. general policies These include: – enacting & creating ordinances (city laws), resolutions and orders ordinances (city laws /default.aspx /default.aspx public-discussion public-discussion – Reviewing the annual budget, setting the property tax rate – Authorizing contracts on behalf of the City

Major Services Provided by Local Government County Only – Community Colleges – Court Facilities – Elections – Jails – Mental Health Services – Public Health Services – Public Schools – Register of Deeds – Social Services – Soil & Water Conservation – Tax Assessment – Youth Detention Facilities Municipality Only Cemeteries Electric Systems Gas Systems Sidewalks Streetlights Traffic Control Urban Development

Services Provided by County & Municipalities Airports Animal Shelters Art Galleries & Museums Busses/ Public Transportation Community & Economic Development Emergency Services Environmental Protection Fire Protection Historic Preservation Industrial Development Land Use Regulation Law enforcement Libraries Parks and open Space Public Housing Recreation Programs Rescue Squads Senior Citizen Programs Solid Waste Collection Senior Citizen Programs Tax Collection Veterans Services Water Supply and Protection