City Government

Vocabulary Foldable Municipality Home Rule Ordinance City Charter Special District Metropolitan Area

Vocabulary Foldable Definition Drawing or Symbol

I. Created by the State A. Local governments are created by, and dependent upon, the state. The state may take control or even do away with them. B. Municipalities provide services to its residents.

C. Urban communities can create a city by incorporating C. Urban communities can create a city by incorporating. To do this, they apply to the state legislature for a city charter that grants power to a local government.

D. The charter describes the type of government, its structure, and its powers. E. Recently state legislatures have begun to grant home rule to cities.

F. An urban community may be called a city, town, or village F. An urban community may be called a city, town, or village. Regardless of size, most city governments provide the same basic services.

Forms of City Government Mayor- Council Form Council- Manager Form Commission Form

Forms of City Government Mayor-Council Form Council-Manager Form Commission Form Branches of Govt: Leaders: Forms: 1. 2. Cities Common In: Branches of Govt: Leaders: Pros: Cons: Cities Common In: Branches of Govt: Leaders: Pros: Cons: Cities Common In:

II. The Mayor-Council Form A. In a mayor-council form of government, power is divided between legislative and executive branches. Voters elect a mayor and the members of the city council. B. The mayor is the chief executive and often appoints the heads of departments.

C. The council acts as the city’s legislature C. The council acts as the city’s legislature. It approves the budget and passes ordinances. Councils usually consist of fewer than 10 members who serve four-year terms. D. Large cities usually have a strong-mayor system, in which the mayor has strong powers such as the power to veto ordinances, appoint and remove officials, and prepare the budget.

E. Even in large cities, council membership is usually a part-time job E. Even in large cities, council membership is usually a part-time job. A strong mayor usually works full time. G. Smaller towns and a few big cities have a weak-mayor system in which the mayor’s power is limited. The council appoints department heads and makes most decisions. The mayor presides over council meetings but votes only in case of a tie.

III. The Council-Manager Form A. The council-manager form is common in medium-sized cities and suburbs. The chief executive (executive branch) is a professionally trained city manager who is not connected to any political party or interest group. B. The council (legislative branch) appoints and can remove the manager.

C. Council members are usually elected in citywide at-large elections. D. City managers are not elected and are therefore free from political pressures. They have expert knowledge and play a major role in policymaking. E. Because citizens do not elect the manager, he may not provide the strong unifying leadership needed in a large, diverse city.

IV. The Commission Form A. A few cities use a commission form of government. They elect usually five commissioners, each heading a department. B. Commissioners perform executive duties for their departments and meet as a commission to pass ordinances and make policy decisions. There is no separation of powers —commissioners are both legislators and executives.

C. The commissioners pick one member to act as mayor, whose role is largely ceremonial. D. The commission system has drawbacks. No one person is in charge, making responsibility hard to pinpoint. When commissioners disagree, it may be difficult to make decisions, even though they can make decisions quickly.

V. Special Districts A. A special district deals with functions such as education, water supply, or transportation. Special districts may overlap cities. B. A board or commission runs the special district. It has the power to collect taxes or charge user fees for the services.

VI. Metropolitan Areas A. If a metropolitan area includes 50,000 or more people, it is a Metropolitan Statistical Area. One that includes more than one central city is a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

B. Growth of population and expansion of industry in metropolitan areas have created many problems in transportation, pollution control, and law enforcement. Uncontrolled urban sprawl has created problems in land-use management.

C. Some large metropolitan areas have a council of governments, in which the central city joins with its suburbs to make area wide decisions about growth.

Create a New City Your group represents a city that the state legislature has just created and granted home rule. Your job is to create a new city and decide what form of government it will have. You should weight the pros and cons of each type of government and rank them from 1-4 (best to worst) according to the type you think is best. Be ready to defend your choice!

Your New City: ______________________ Type of Government Pros Cons Rank Strong-mayor Weak-mayor Council manager Commission