1. Neal Tannahill Texas Government: Policy and Politics, 10th Edition Chapter Twenty Eight CITY GOVERNMENT Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

2. Slide 2 City Government  In This Chapter We Will Cover:  Legal Status Of Texas Cities  Forms Of City Government  Election Systems  Public Policies In Texas Cities  City Politics In Texas Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

3. Slide 3 IntroductionIntroduction  The city of Farmers Branch in Northwest Dallas County passed a number of ordinances designed to deal with a variety of problems resulting form a large and growing number of illegal immigrants in the city.  The city’s ordinance calling upon apartment owners and managers to ensure the legal residency status of their renters was struck down in federal court after lawsuits were brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union.  This chapter deals with the role of cities in the policymaking process. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

4. Slide 4 Dillon’s Rule  The Power of Local Government  The prevailing constitutional theory on the relationship of local governments to the state is the unitary system. This theory holds that local governments are the creations of the state. The powers, functions, and responsibilities that they exercise have been delegated or granted to them by the state government, and no local government has sovereign powers. This principle is referred to as the Dillon rule. The Dillon rule is applicable to local governments in Texas which are viewed as creations of the state with only those powers granted to them by the Texas Constitution and statutes.

5. Slide 5 Legal Status of Texas Cities  City Government  City governments have broad authority to provide public services, enact regulations, and levy taxes.  They adopt city ordinances, which are laws enacted by the governing body of a municipality to regulate such matters as building construction, land use practices, and driving habits.  City and other units of local government are subordinate units of government, subject to the constitutions and laws of the United States and the state of Texas. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

6. Slide 6 Legal Status of Texas Cities  City Government (cont.)  The Texas legislature and the governor frequently adopt legislation designed to define and limit the policymaking authority of city government.  For example, Texas is 1 of 40 states that prohibits cities from suing the firearms industry.  The legislature and the governor have also adopted legislation prohibiting city governments from establishing their own minimum wage, which is the lowest hourly wage than an employer can pay covered workers. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

7. Slide 7 Legal Status of Texas Cities  Incorporation  Texas law sets the requirements and procedures under which an unincorporated urban area may become an incorporated municipality.  Incorporated municipality is a city under the laws of the state.  Voters of a newly incorporated municipality must also approve a city charter.  City charter is the basic law of the city, which defines its powers, responsibilities, and organization.  Texas cities are classified as either general law or home rule cities. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

8. Slide 8 Legal Status of Texas Cities  General Law and Home Rule Cities  General law city is a municipality that is limited to those governmental structures and powers specifically granted by state law.  Municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants  General law cities are bound by Dillon’s rule, which is the legal principle that a city can exercise only those powers expressly allowed by state law.  Home rule city is a municipality that can take any action not prohibited by state or federal law or the constitutions of the United States and the state of Texas.  Municipalities with 5,000 inhabitants or more  Home rule cities are not burdened by the limitations of Dillon’s rule. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

9. Slide 9 Legal Status of Texas Cities  General Law and Home Rule Cities (cont.)  Compared to general law cities, home rule cities enjoy more freedom in organizational structure, annexation, ordinance- making authority, and election processes.  Home rule cities can annex without the approval of the people living in the annexed cities; whereas, general law cities cannot annex unless the residents of the targeted area vote to accept annexation.  Home rule cities may include both recall and the initiative process in their charters.  The legislature has the power to pass laws limiting the home rule authority. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

10. Slide 10 Forms of City Government  Mayor-Council Form  The major-council form of city government is a structure of municipal government in which the voters elect a mayor as the chief executive officer of the city and a council that serves as a legislative body.  Together, the mayor and city council are responsible for raising and spending revenue, passing local ordinances, and supervising the city’s administrative departments.  Cities using the mayor-council form of city government differ in the amount of power the mayor enjoys. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

11. Slide 11 Forms of City Government  Mayor-Council Form (cont.)  Strong Mayor-Council Form  Mayor is the foremost figure acting as both political leader and city’s chief administrator.  Mayor prepares the budget, vetoes council actions, hires and fires department heads, and essentially runs city government.  Advocates of this form believe that the system provides for efficient city government because it concentrates power and responsibility for policy leadership and policy implementation in the hands of a single elected official, the mayor.  Critics, however, argue that this form of city government gives the mayor too much power; they worry that the mayor will create a personal empire and become a political boss. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

13. Slide 13 Forms of City Government  Mayor-Council Form (cont.)  Weak Mayor-Council Form  Political authority is fragmented because the mayor shares power with the council and other elected officials.  The mayor and council together appoint administrative officials, supervise city administration, and adopt the budget.  Proponents of the weak mayor system contend it prevents the mayor from becoming too powerful, by creating a check and balance system; critics argue it invites corruption and dilutes accountability.  The mayor-council system is the traditional form of city government in America.  It is the most common form of city government among general law municipalities in Texas. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

15. Slide 15 Forms of City Government  Council-Manager Form  A council-manager form of city government is a structure of municipal government in which the city council/mayor appoints a professional administrator called a city manager to act as the chief executive of the municipality.  City manager is the chief administrative official responsible for hiring and firing department heads, preparing the budget, and overseeing policy administration.  The mayor and city council make basic policy decisions, but the city manager is a professional administrator responsible for policy implementation. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

16. Slide 16 Forms of City Government  Council-Manager Form (cont.)  It is the most common type of city government among home rule cities in Texas.  Advocates believe that it is an efficient system that keeps politics out of administration and administrators out of politics.  Critics of the council-manager form argue that it may work fine for mid-size, uncomplicated cities, but not for big cities with diverse populations that need the policy leadership of a strong mayor. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

18. Slide 18 Forms of City Government  Hybrid Structures  Forms of city government that do not match the classic mayor-council or council-manager forms, but incorporate features of either classic form Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

19. Slide 19 Election Systems  At-large election system  The at-large election system is a method for choosing public officials in which every citizen of a political subdivision, such as a state or county, votes to select a public official.  Defenders argue that council members chosen at large consider policy issues from a broader perspective than district council members. Furthermore, they believe that city wide campaigns produce better quality officials than do district elections. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

20. Slide 20 Election Systems  District election  A district election is a method for choosing public officials in which a political subdivision, such as a state or city, is divided into districts, with each district electing one official.  Supporters argue that district elections make government more responsive to citizens and increase participation. In addition district elections reduce the role of money in city politics. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

21. Slide 21 Election Systems  Cumulative voting system  It is an election system that allows individual voters to cast more than one ballot in the simultaneous election of several officials.  The difference between at-large and cumulative voting is that the cumulative system allows voters to cast all their votes for a single candidate.  Table 11.1 indicates the methods of council election in Texas home rule cities. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

23. FairVote DeSoto Houston

24. Slide 24 Election Systems  At-large system versus district election  The adoption of at-large council elections in Texas limited the political influence of ethnic and racial minorities, primarily African Americans and Latinos.  Very few minorities were able to win council seats under the at-large system in Texas cities.  The Voting Rights Act provided a means for minority- rights groups to attack elections systems they considered discriminatory.  The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is a federal law designed to protect the voting rights of racial and ethnic minorities. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

25. Slide 25 Election Systems  At-large system versus district election (cont.)  In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the VRA allowed voters to file lawsuits in federal court challenging local election laws and procedures as being discriminatory against minority voters.  The outcome of VRA cases forced many cities to abandon at-large election systems and to adopt district elections.  The introduction of district elections led to the selection of city councils in most big cities that were more ethnically and racially diverse than ever before. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

26. Slide 26 Public Policies in Texas Cities  Urban public policies can be divided into three categories.  Development urban policies  These are local programs that enhance the economic position of a community in its competition with other communities.  They strengthen the local economy, expand the tax base, and generate additional tax revenues.  Redistributive urban policies  These are local programs that benefit low-income residents of an area.  These include such programs as the provision of low-income housing and food assistance to poor families.  Allocational urban policies  These are programs that are more or less neutral in their impact on the local economy.  The best examples include police and fire protection, garbage pickup, and routine street maintenance. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

27. Slide 27 Public Policies in Texas Cities  Urban public policies (cont.)  Economic factors and political factors play an important role in urban policymaking.  For example, cities concentrate on developmental and allocational programs in order to enhance their tax bases and protect the local economy.  City governments frequently adopt developmental policies that entail building entertainment centers such as sports stadiums and convention centers designed to attract visitors from out of town and suburbs.  Urban public policies deal with budgetary policies, tax incentives, and annexation and suburban development polices. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

28. Slide 28 Budgetary Policy  Revenue sources for Texas cities  Property taxes  A property tax, which is also known as the ad valorem property tax, is a levy assessed on real property, such as houses, land, business inventory and industrial plants.  City governments may grant property tax breaks called exemptions to certain categories of taxpayers, such as homeowners, elderly residents, or disabled veterans.  The most common exemption is the homestead exemption, which is a property tax reduction granted to homeowners on their principal residence.  Sales tax  The sales tax is the other major source of revenue for municipal governments in Texas.  A sales tax is a levy on the retail sale of taxable items. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

29. Slide 29 Budgetary Policy  Revenue sources for Texas cities (cont.)  Franchise fees  Permits and licenses  Service charges, i.e., water and sewer service  Fines  Borrowing  City governments borrow money by issuing bonds to cover the cost of capital improvements, such as construction of buildings, airports, roads, and utility plants.  A bond is a certificate of indebtedness.  Figure 11.4 shows the relative importance of the various revenue sources for the city of Houston in 2006. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

31. Slide 31 Budgetary Policy  Tax incentives to promote economic growth  Tax increment financing  It is a program in which a local government promises to earmark increased property tax revenues generated by development in a designated area called a tax increment financing district to fund improvements in the area, such as roads, parks, sidewalks, and street lighting.  Tax abatement  It is a program that exempts property owners from local property taxes on new construction and improvements in a designated tax abatement district for a set period of time. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

32. Slide 32 Budgetary Policy  Tax incentives to promote economic growth (cont.)  Enterprise zone  Enterprise zones is a state program that allows local government to designate certain areas called enterprise zones in which private investors can receive property tax abatements, local sales tax rebates (refunds), and government-backed low-interest loans. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

33. Slide 33 Annexation and Suburban Development  Annexation  The power of a city to increase its geographic size by extending its boundaries to take in adjacent unincorporated areas  Reasons for annexation  To protect the tax bases of cities  To prevent encirclement by other incorporated municipalities  To reap the political benefits of a larger population  Between 1950 and 1980, Texas cities annexed aggressively, but the pace has slowed down since the early 1980s. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

34. Slide 34 Annexation and Suburban Development  Annexation (cont.)  The annexations of the 1970s produced a political backlash from newly annexed residents who were determined to do their best to vote incumbent mayors and city council members out of office.  City government typically annexes an entire utility district.  Utility district refers to a special district that provides utilities such as water and sewer service to residents living in unincorporated urban areas. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

35. Slide 35 Annexation and Suburban Development  Cities and utility district can negotiate Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPAs).  SPAs are negotiated to provide for limited purpose annexation in which the utility district gives the city permission to collect sales taxes at retail businesses within the district but not property taxes.  In 1999, the legislature and the governor signed a measure overhauling annexation to require cities to adopt an annexation plan that specifically identifies areas to be annexed and details how the city will provide those areas with services. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

36. Slide 36 Annexation and Suburban Development  In addition, the legislature and the governor have revised state laws dealing with the extraterritorial jurisdiction (EJT), which is the authority of a city to require conformity with city ordinances and regulations affecting streets, parks, utility easements, sanitary sewers, and the like in a ring of land extending from one-half mile to five miles beyond the city-limits line. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

37. Slide 37 Land Use Regulation  Building and Housing codes  Building codes are municipal ordinances that set minimum standards for the types of materials used in construction, building design, and construction methods employed in all buildings within the city.  Housing codes are local ordinances requiring all dwelling places in a city to meet certain standards of upkeep and structural integrity.  These codes are designed to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

38. Slide 38 Land Use Regulation  Zoning and Planning  The governmental designation of tracts of land for industrial, commercial, or residential use is known as zoning.  Proponents of zoning and other types of land use regulation believe that they help to create an orderly city. They say that zoning enables city government to separate districts for residential, commercial, and industrial uses, thus preventing nuisances from developing in residential areas.  Opponents of zoning believe that city planning is inefficient and potentially corrupt because it substitutes the judgments of bureaucrats for free-enterprise development. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

39. Slide 39 Land Use Regulation  Deed Restrictions  Deed restrictions are private contractual agreements that limit what residential property owners can do with their houses and land.  Deed restrictions typically allow owners to use their property only for specified purposes.  Deed restrictions force property owners to observe certain standards and refrain from altering their property without the written approval of the neighborhood civic association’s architectural committee. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

40. Slide 40 City Politics in Texas  Elite Theory  Elite theory (or elitism) is the view that political power is held by a small group of people who dominate politics by controlling economic resources.  Before the mid-1970s, politics of the big cities in Texas fit the model of elite theory, in which growth-oriented business leaders dominated the local policymaking process.  Candidates supported by business groups elected to city council were nearly all non-Hispanic white.  The polices of economic growth and development pursued by business groups came with social costs as Texas cities developed serious air and water pollution problems. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

41. Slide 41 City Politics in Texas  Elite Theory (cont.)  The costs of growth mobilized opposition to the growth- oriented business groups that had long dominated city politics.  By the mid-1970s, the rules of the political game changed sufficiently to allow new forces to have an impact on the policy process.  A new model of city politics emerges to describe urban politics in Texas based upon new groups gaining a real share of political power. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

42. Slide 42 City Politics in Texas  Pluralist theory  Contemporary urban politics can best be described as pluralist.  Pluralist theory (or pluralism) is the view that diverse groups of elites with differing interests compete with one another to control policy in various issue areas.  Different groups are active on different issues, but no one group is able to dominate policymaking across issue areas. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

43. Slide 43 City Politics in Texas  Today, the term deracialization is used to describe contemporary urban politics.  Deracialization refers to the attempt of political candidates to deemphasize racially divisive themes in order to garner crossover support from voters of other races/ethnicities while also receiving the overwhelming majority of support from voters of the candidate’s own racial/ethnic groups. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

44. Slide 44 Conclusion: City Government and Policymaking  The next chapter in its conclusion discusses the role of city government in the policymaking process. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.