tag Show
BackgroundA municipal charter is the legal document that defines the organization, powers, functions, and essential procedures of the city government. The charter also details the form of municipal government, of which there are historically five forms: council-manager, mayor-council, commission, town meeting and representative town meeting. Council-ManagerCharacteristics include:
This is the most common form of government. According to surveys by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), this form of government has grown from 48% usage in 1996 to 55% usage in 2006. It is most popular in cities with populations over 10,000, mainly in the Southeast and Pacific coast areas. Some examples are Phoenix, Arizona; Topeka, Kansas; San Antonio, Texas, and Rockville, Maryland. Mayor-CouncilCharacteristics include:
This is the second most common form of government. It is found mostly (but not exclusively) in older, larger cities, or in very small cities, and is most popular in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Cities with variations in the mayor-council form of government are New York, New York; Houston, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. CommissionCharacteristics include:
The commission form of city government is the oldest form of government in the U.S., but exists today in less than 1% of cities. Portland, Oregon operates under a city commission form of government. Town MeetingCharacteristics include:
Although the town meeting form of government is generally viewed as the purest form of democracy, because it allows all eligible voters a voice in local policy decisions, it is practiced in only about 5% of municipalities. The town meeting form of government is found in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Representative Town MeetingCharacteristics include:
This form of government is found in less than 1% of cities, almost exclusively in small, New England municipalities, such as Lexington, Massachusetts. Current TrendsRecent examinations of government structure indicate that these forms of government are less distinct that they once were. This is due, in part, to the common practice of incorporating structural features from other forms into one’s current form. This mixing is also attributed to local responses to socioeconomic, demographic, and political changes. The most common mixing occurs across the two most prevalent forms, mayor-council and the council-manager. In instances when changes are made to form and structure, the more common reasons for making such a change include increasing or decreasing the number of council members, modifying the method of electing the mayor, and changing the authority of the mayor. The Form of Government in Selected Large CitiesListed below is the form of government for a selected list of large cities in the United States. Note the geographic variation as well as the variation even within an individual state. Northeast Cities and Mid-Atlantic
Southern Cities
Texas Cities
Midwest Cities
Rocky Mountains and West
SourcesBarnes, William R. “Forms and Structure of Municipal Government in the United States.” Presentation to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 24, 1991. DeSantis,Victor S. and Tari Renner. “City Government Structures: an Attempt at Classification.” State and Local Government Review, 34(2) (Spring 2002). Frederickson, H. George, Curtis Wood, and Brett Logan. “How American City Governments Have Changed: The Evolution of the Model City Charter” National Civic Review 90(1) (2001). Frederickson, H. George, and Gary Alan Johnson. “The Adapted American City: A Study in Institutional Dynamics.” Urban Affairs Review 36(6) (July 2001). Krane, Dale, Platon Rigos, & Melvin B. Hill, Jr. Home Rule in America: A Fifty-State Handbook. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2001. Moulder, Evelina. “Municipal Form of Government: Trends in Structure, Responsibility, and Composition.” In The Municipal Year Book 2008. Washington, D.C.: International City/County Management Association, 2008. National League of Cities. Choices of the Citizenry: Forms of Municipal Government. Washington, DC: National League of Cities, May 1989. Svara, James H. “The Shifting Boundary Between Elected Officials and City Managers in Large Council-Manager Cities” Public Administration Review 59(1) (January-February 1999). Svara, James H. Two Decades of Continuity and Change in American City Councils. Washington, D.C.: National League of Cities, September 2003. What was the logic behind the Texas Legislature's passage of the 1912 Home Rule Charter amendments that gave larger cities more autonomy quizlet?Why did the Texas legislature adopt the Home-Rule Charter Amendments in 1912? The legislature was overburdened with managing local affairs. In Texas, county governments are primarily designed to govern - areas, typically serving as the primary - arm of the state government.
What functions do local government serve in Texas?About Texas Counties. Providing public safety and justice.. Holding elections at every level of government.. Maintaining Texans' most important records.. Building and maintaining roads, bridges and in some cases, county airports.. Providing emergency management services.. Providing health and safety services.. What is the purpose of capital appreciation bond quizlet?What is the purpose of Capital Appreciation Bonds? To allow local governments to generate revenue.
What is the dominant structure of city government in major cities in Texas?Texas's most populous cities (Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Fort Worth, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, and Laredo) all have a Council-Manager form of government, except for Houston.
|