Texas Government Lesson 3: Local Government EESSENTIAL ...

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Texas Government Lesson 3: Local Government

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

Why do people form governments? Why do people make economic choices?

Terms to Know

municipal of or relating to the government of a city or town home-rule city municipality with the power to set up its own system of governing general-law city town or city whose power is limited to governmental structures and powers

specifically granted by state law commissioners court the governing body of Texas counties function purpose conform to follow the rules property tax a tax levied on real property (land, houses, buildings) or personal property

(cars, farm equipment, airplanes)

Where in the world?

36?N

New Mexico

West Texas A&M U

Oklahoma

Arkansas

Midwestern State U

Texas A&M U--

0

200 miles

Texas Tech

Texas Woman's U U of North Texas

Texarkana Texas A&M U--Commerce

0

200 kilometers

Albers Equal-Area projection

The U of Texas at Dallas The U of Texas at Arlington

U of North Texas at Dallas UNT Dallas College of Law

32?N 28?N

The U of Texas

Tarleton State U

The U of Texas at Tyler

The U of Texas at El Paso

of the Permian Basin

Stephen F. Austin State U

Louisiana

Angelo State U Texas A&M U--

T e x a s Central Texas

Sam Houston

Texas A&M U--

State U

Sul Ross State U

College Station

Lamar U

The U of

Lamar Institute of Technology

Texas at Austin

Lamar State College--Orange

Texas A&M U-- San Antonio

Texas State U

The U of Texas at San Antonio

Lamar State College-- Port Arthur Prairie View A&M U

Texas A&M U at Galveston

MEXICO

Sul Ross State U Rio Grande College

U of Houston-- Victoria

Texas A&M U-- Corpus Christi

Texas Southern U U of Houston U of Houston--Clear Lake U of Houston--Downtown

State University system Texas A&M University system University of Texas system Other public university

104?W

Texas A&M U--

Texas A&M

Kingsville

International U

Gulf of Mexico

N

100?W

96?W

The U of Texas-- Pan American

The U of Texas at Brownsville

W

E

S

Reading Essentials and Study Guide 351

Copyright ? McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Texas Government Lesson 3: Local Government, continued

Determining Word Meanings

1. What do you think the term municipal means?

Contrasting

2. What is the difference between a home-rule city and a general-law city?

Types of Local Government

Guiding Question How do city, county, and special district governments differ in structure?

There are three types of local government in Texas. They are municipal government, county government, and special districts.

Municipal government is the government of a city or town. The state legislature establishes, or incorporates, a city government. Until 1912, the legislature also granted charters to cities that wanted to incorporate. Charters set up the form of the city's government.

By the early 1900s, the state legislature was spending too much time writing charters. A constitutional amendment was ratified in 1912 to let cities with more than 5,000 people write their own charters.

Cities that wrote their own charters

home-rule cities

Cities that did not write their own charters

general-law cities

Marking the Text

3. Circle the two forms of city government in Texas.

Explaining

4. What does a mayor do in a council-manager city government?

Two forms of city government are found in Texas: the mayorcouncil and council-manager forms. In a mayor-council government, voters elect the mayor and council members. The mayor is elected by all voters in the city. Council members are usually elected from a district. The mayor is the executive, and the council is the lawmaking body.

In what is called a strong-mayor system, the mayor runs the city's day-to-day operations, names department heads, and can veto the council's actions. Some city governments have a weak-mayor system, where the mayor shares duties with the city council.

The council-manager form is the newest and most common form of municipal government. Like the mayor-council form, this system also has council members. That council makes laws and sets policy for the city. It also hires a professional manager, who runs the city based on the council's decisions. The manager prepares the budget and can hire and fire employees. The council can fire the manager. The council-manager form can still have a mayor, who may be elected or be chosen by the council. Although the mayor in this system has limited powers, he or she may run council meetings and have a vote in those meetings.

352 Reading Essentials and Study Guide

Copyright ? McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Texas Government Lesson 3: Local Government, continued

The state constitution describes the structure and function of the 254 county governments. These are the local administrative arms of the state. County governments run elections, provide public safety, and operate jails. They maintain roads and bridges. They keep records of property deeds, births, deaths, and marriages. They collect taxes. Some counties provide public transportation and emergency services.

A commissioners court runs the daily business and finances in each county. A commissioners court has five members. Four are commissioners, each elected from a different precinct, or district. The fifth is the county judge elected by county voters. The commissioners court decides on the county's budget and what taxes are needed. It is responsible for county roads and county buildings.

The county judge has a variety of responsibilities. The judge presides over the commissioners court meetings and oversees county elections. In some counties, the judge has judicial functions, too, such as deciding criminal cases.

Other elected county officials include:

? sheriff

? county attorney

? justices of the peace

? tax assessor-collector

? district and county clerks

Texas has more than 2,000 special districts. These units of local government are created to address specific kinds of public services. These services include hospitals, utilities, public libraries, crime, and flood control. Special districts are independent of county or municipal governments. Some special districts collect property taxes or sales taxes.

The most common type of special districts are school districts. Texas has more than 1,000 school districts. Each is run by an elected group called a school board. The board makes school policies, hires teachers, selects school superintendents, sets salaries, maintains school buildings, and provides transportation to students.

Decisions made by school boards must conform to, or follow, rules set by the state Board of Education and the Texas Education Agency (the TEA). The state board sets education policy for the state. The TEA carries out those policies.

Defining

5. What is a commissioners court?

Marking the Text

6. Highlight information about the county judge's responsibilities.

Explaining

7. What is a special district?

Reading Progress Check

8. What are the roles of the council and the manager in the council-manager form of municipal government?

Reading Essentials and Study Guide 353

Copyright ? McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______

Texas Government Lesson 3: Local Government, continued

Defining

9. What is a property tax?

Explaining

10. What are district bonds used for?

Reading Progress Check

11. What is the most important source of funding for public education in Texas?

Financing Local Governments

Guiding Question What are the sources of funding for county services and public education?

Local governments repair roads and bridges, ensure that the water supply is safe, build and maintain parks, provide police and fire protection, and pay for public education.

Public schools have many sources of revenue:

? Property taxes, the largest source of funding, are based on the value of real estate, such as homes, buildings, and land.

? The Permanent School Fund, established by the Constitution of 1876, sets aside the profits from the sale of public resources, including mineral rights in the Gulf of Mexico, for schools.

? Districts bonds are used to pay for such things as land and new schools, improvements, and buses for schools.

? The Available School Fund draws on a vehicle fuel tax.

? The federal government supplies about one-eighth of the funding for Texas schools.

Local, state, and federal governments, as well as students, fund higher education. Student tuition accounts for a quarter of the community college budgets. The rest comes from the state, local property taxes, and other sources. Texas's large state college system of more than 40 colleges and universities relies on funding from tuition, fees, and money from the state for two-thirds of its funding. The rest comes from federal funding and the schools' own sources.

Writing

Check for Understanding

1. Expository How are the mayor-council and council-manager systems alike and different?

Copyright ? McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

2. Expository What are the sources of money for the Texas state college system? 354 Reading Essentials and Study Guide

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