Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What are the forms of local government in Texas? |
|
Definition
1. Counties
2. Municipalities
3. Special districts
Each local government covers a certain geographical area and has legal authority to carry out one or more government functions. |
|
|
Term
| Intergovernmental relations |
|
Definition
| relationships between different governments. They may be on the same or different levels. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a local government for an incorporated community established by law as a city. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
municipality with a charter prescribed by the legislature.
- A population with 201 or more. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
municipality with a locally drafted charter.
- 5,000 people or more. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a local law enacted by a city council or approved by popular vote in a referendum election. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a process for removing elected officials through popular vote. In TX, this is only available at the local level. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a process by which issues are referred to the voters to accept or reject. Voters may also petition for a vote to repeal an existing ordinance. In TX, occurs at the local level. |
|
|
Term
| Strong mayor-council form |
|
Definition
| a type of municipal government with a separately elected legislative body (council) and an executive head (mayor) elected in a citywide election with veto, appointment, and removal powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a type of municipal government with a separately elected elected mayor and council, but the mayor shares appointive and removal powers with the council, which can override the mayor's veto. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a system of municipal government in which an elected city council hires a manager to coordinate budgetary matters and supervise administrative departments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| social scientists distinguish between the middle class composed of people from white-collar occupations and the working class composed of people with blue-collar occupations. |
|
|
Term
| What are the four principal forms of municipal government? |
|
Definition
1. Strong mayor-council
2. Weak mayor-council
3. Council-manager
4. Commission |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a type of municipal government in which each elected commissioner is a member of the city's policy-making body, but also heads an administrative department. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an election in which candidates are not identified on the ballot by party label. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the redrawing of districts after every 10-year census to account for shifts in population. this process occurs at local, state, and national levels. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| members of a policymaking body, such as some city councils, are elected on a citywide basis rather than form single-member districts. |
|
|
Term
| Single-member district election |
|
Definition
| voters in an area elect on representative to serve on a policymaking body. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| regulate the use of lang by separating commercial and residential zones, because bringing businesses into residential areas often increases traffic and crime. |
|
|
Term
| who do you love the most? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Municipal government revenue comes from where? |
|
Definition
1. Taxes
2. Fees (i.e. traffic fines)
3. Bonds
4. Property taxes and tax exemptions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a tax property owners pay according to the value of their homes and businesses. At the local level, property owners pay this tax to the city, the county, the school district, and other special districts. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a mechanism by which cities borrow money. General obligation bonds (redeemed from city tax revenue) and revenue bonds (redeemed from revenue obtained from property) are authorized under Texas law. |
|
|
Term
| Tax reinvestment zone (TRZ) |
|
Definition
| an area in which municipal tax incentives are offered to encourage businesses to locate in and contribute to the development of a blighted urban area. Commercial and residential property taxes may be frozen. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Texas is divided into 254 counties that serve as an administrative arm of the state and provide important services at the local level, especially within rural areas. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a citizen elected represent the county in civil and criminal cases, unless a resident district attorney performs these functions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a citizen popularly elected as the county's chief law enforcement officer; the sheriff is also responsible for maintaing the county jail. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a citizen elected to perform clerical chores for the county court and commissioners court, keep public records, maintain vital statistics, and administer public elections, if the county does not have an administrator of elections. |
|
|
Term
| County tax assessor-collector |
|
Definition
| this elected official no longer assesses property for taxation but does collect taxes and fees and commonly handles voter registration. |
|
|
Term
| County tax appraisal district |
|
Definition
| the district appraises all real estate and commercial property for taxation by units of local government within a county. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an elected official who receives and pays out county money as directed by the commissioners court. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a person appointed by the district judge or judges to check the financial books and records of other officials who handle county money. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a certificate of indebtedness issued by a borrower to a lender that constitutes a legal obligation to repay the principal of a loan plus accrued interest. In TX, both state and local governments issue bonds under restrictions imposed by state laws. |
|
|
Term
| What are some revenue sources for TX counties? |
|
Definition
1. Taxation
2. Nontax sources
3. Tax incentives
They are pressured to increase property taxes or to balance their budgets by eliminating or reducing programs and services. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a low-income community, typically located in South TX and especially in counties bordering Mexico, that lacks running water, sewer lines, and other essentials. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a unit of local government that performs a particular service, such as providing schools, hospitals, or housing, for a particular area. |
|
|
Term
| What are the two types of special districts? |
|
Definition
| School districts and noneducation special districts. |
|
|
Term
| Independent school district (ISD) |
|
Definition
| created by the legislature, an independent school district raises tax revenues to support its public schools. Voters within the district elect a board that hires a superintendent, determines salary schedules, selects textbooks, and sets the property tax rate for the district. |
|
|
Term
| Junior college or community college district |
|
Definition
| establishes one or more two-year colleges that offer both academic and vocational programs. |
|
|
Term
| Noneducation special district |
|
Definition
| special districts other than school districts or community college districts, such as fire prevention or water districts, that are units of local government and may cover part of a county, a whole county, or areas in two or more counties. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| consolidation of units of local government within an urban area under a single authority. |
|
|
Term
| Council of governments (COGs) |
|
Definition
| a regional planning body composed of government units functions include review and comment on proposals by local governments for obtaining state and federal grants. |
|
|
Term
| Extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJ) |
|
Definition
| the limited authority a city has outside its boundaries. The larger the city's population size, the large the reach of its ETJ. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| to make an outlying area part of a city. Within a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, the city can annex unincorporated areas without a vote by those who live there. |
|
|
Term
| Which type of municipal government in which type of cities? |
|
Definition
| The council-manager form is most common in larger home-rule cities, whereas smaller cities are more likely to have a weak mayor-council form of municipal government. |
|
|
Term
| Where does most of the revenue for local governments come from? |
|
Definition
| Property tax and sales tax. |
|
|
Term
| How is the structure of county governments decided? |
|
Definition
| by the state constitution. |
|
|
Term
| What is the major policymaking body in Texas counties? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the most important revenue for county governments? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why are special districts so important? |
|
Definition
| Many local needs cut across boundaries of cities and counties; limitations in the state constitution and the unwillingness of some officials to act make it difficult to take on new tasks; and some unscrupulous people seek personal profits. |
|
|
Term
| What are the two primary ways that Texas deals with problems in metropolitan areas? |
|
Definition
| Councils of government and annexation. |
|
|
Term
| What areas want to be annexed? |
|
Definition
| Unincorporated communities lacking servies want to be annexed, but established communities with existing services often oppose annexation. |
|
|
