Local Governments
Chapter 7
Roots of Local Government
Municipalities and Counties created when Texas
was a part of Spain and Mexico.
Under the Republic, counties (36) and municipalities
(53) were created.
After 1845, additional counties were created.
1876 Constitution continued county governments,
adding more offices and number of counties until
1931, when Loving County became the 254th
county.
Home rule for Texas cities came with a
constitutional amendment in 1912.
Counties
Administrative units of the state
Collect taxes
Keep records
Conduct trials
Conduct elections
General purpose government
Provide public safety
Public works
Parks, libraries, etc.
Government Structure
Commissioners Court
County judge and 4 commissioners
Adopts the budget and sets the tax rate
Legislative body for county
County Judge
Presides over commissioners court
Performs executive functions
Sheriff
Law enforcement
County Jail
Government Structure
Tax Assessor-Collector
Collects taxes
Automobile registration
County clerk
Records of the county: births, deaths, marriages,
divorces, transfers of property
Elections
District clerk
records of state district courts
Government Structure
County Treasurer
County’s banker and pays bills
Records of revenues and expenditures
County Auditor
Counties with population greater than 35,000
Same functions as treasurer
Chief budget officer and finance officer
Audits county financial records
Approves accounting system
Checks monetary claims against county
County Finances: Taxing and
Spending
Revenues
Property tax
Sales tax
Bonds: general obligation and revenue
Fees: automobile registration
Expenditures
Law enforcement
Roads and bridges
Services: parks, libraries, etc.
Criticisms of County Government
Structure inflexible
Plural executive inefficient
No home-rule authority
Patronage hiring
Roads and bridges responsibility of county
commissioner in his/her precinct
Types of Cities
General law cities
Operates under the state’s general laws: can only
do what the state allows
Fewer than 5,000 residents
Property tax rate limited to $1.50/$100 assessed
valuation
Sunset Valley
Types of cities
Home-rule city (Adopted under a constitutional amendment
of 1912)
Creates its own charter: can do anything unless
prohibited by the state
More than 5,000 residents
Property tax limited to $2.50/$100 assessed
valuation
Austin
Forms of City Government
Mayor-Council
Most common for general law cities
Mayor is chief executive; council is the law-
making body
Strong Mayor-Council
Mayor is sole executive authority
Weak Mayor-Council
Mayor shares executive powers
Forms of City Government
Council-Manager
Most common in home-rule cities
Council is the law-making body
Mayor is member of Council but has no executive
authority
Manager is the executive authority; hired by the
council; hires and fires department heads;
prepares budget
Reform during the Progressive Movement
Forms of City Government
Commission
Council is the law-making body
Mayor is member of Council but has no executive
authority
Each council member has authority over a specific
function of city government, e.g. police
department, fire department, etc.
Originated in Galveston, Texas after the hurricane
of 1900 destroyed the city, and killed 8,000-
10,000 people
No examples in Texas presently
Forms of City Government
Citizen Advisory Boards
Advise council in various areas
Temporary or permanent
Planning and Zoning Commissions
Recommendations on changes to zoning and
subdivisions ordinances and exceptions to
subdivision ordinance
Boards of Adjustment
Grant exceptions (variations) to the zoning
ordinance
Types of Council Elections
At-large elections
Voters cast number of votes equal to number of
council members being elected. Top vote getters
win council seats
At-large-by-place elections
Council divided into numerically designated
places. Candidates file for a place. Voters choose
candidates in all places being contested in a
citywide election. Majority of votes necessary to
win. Runoff if no candidate receives a majority.
Types of Council Elections
Single-member districts (wards)
City is divided into geographic zones that are
equal in population, compact, and do not dilute
minority voting strength.
Voters choose only council member in their
geographic zone.
Mixed system
Some council members elected at-large, and
other council members elected from single-
member districts.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Methods of Election
At-large elections
Council members act in interest of city as a whole
Minorities may not be represented fairly
Works well in small, homogeneous cities
Single-member and mixed systems
Council members have more parochial outlook
Minorities more likely to be fairly represented
Works in large, heterogeneous cities
Alternative Election Systems
Proportional Representation
Council elected based on proportion of vote for
political parties
Cumulative Voting
Like at-large systems EXCEPT voters can
allocate their votes as they wish.
For example, if four council seats were being
contested, each voter would get four votes. A
voter could distribute the four votes as s/he
wished: all four to one candidate, three to one
candidate and one to another candidate, etc.
City Ordinances
Laws passed by city to provide services and
regulate activities in the city’s corporate limits
Most important are zoning and subdivision
ordinances
Zoning ordinances involve height restrictions, use
restrictions, and density restrictions.
Subdivision ordinances provide restrictions for an
entire area
Growth of Cities
Annexation
Process by which city increases its size
Typically, a city annexes for several reasons:
provide services, increase tax base, extend its
regulations
City council usually makes the decision on
whether to annex an area
Area annexed is usually an unincorporated area
Growth of Cities
Limits on annexation
Annex up to 10 percent of its area per year with
maximum of 30 percent in any one year.
Annexation plan (100+ tracts residential) three
years prior to annexation. Annexation occurs
within 31 days of the 3-year anniversary. If not,
must wait five years.
Annexed area contiguous to current city limits.
Municipal services within 2 ½ years
Land use grandfathered
Strip annexation: 1000 feet swath 3.5 miles long
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
Area immediately surrounding a city
Extent of ETJ determined by the city’s
population: ½ mile to 5 miles
Area within a city’s ETJ cannot incorporate
without the city’s consent
Some regulations possible in a city’s ETJ, but
not zoning ordinances
Municipal Finances: Taxes and
Spending
Revenues
Property tax
Sales tax
Issues bonds: general obligation or revenue
Expenditures
Police and fire protection
Public works: water, wastewater, streets, signs,
traffic control
Parks, libraries, health facilities, etc.
Special Districts
Single purpose government (3,000 in number)
Formed by state legislature, state boards or
commissions, constitutional amendments,
county commissioners court, city councils
Formed because general purpose
governments can’t or won’t act
Funded by tax and fees
Types of Special Districts
Educations districts
Independent School Districts (ISDs) (1033)
Community College Districts
Water Districts
Hospital Districts
Rapid Transit Authorities
Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs)
Problems with Special Districts
Ease of creation
Developers create MUD
MUD issue bonds
Homeowners pay through cost of home or
property tax and through fees for services
Obscurity to Public
People may not realize they’re in a special district
Districts operate with little regulation
Resolving Metro Problems
Metrogovernments
Regional government combining county and city
services
Offers economy of scale
Problems of eliminating positions and how to
integrate local governments
Intergovernmental contracting
Government contracting with another government
to provide service
Resolving Metro Problems
Privatization
Turning over government functions to private
companies
Controversial issue – police protection to security
firms, deed restrictions in subdivisions,
homeowners associations
Councils of Government
Planning and Coordinating organizations for
other governments
No authority over members – similar to a
confederation
24 COGs in Texas
Provide technical and managerial assistance,
process applications for federal grants, and
run state and federal programs for the region