Chapter 11Local Government: Structure and Leadership

Five Types of Local GovernmentsLeadership in Local GovernmentCommunities and Governance

Local Government

Citizens want local governmental structures that work and leaders who are effective . . . they want LEADERSHIP.

Local governments need to be distinguished between general-purpose and single-purpose.

General-purpose local governments: those that perform a wide range of functions.

Single-purpose local governments: a local government, such as a school district, that performs a specific function.

Numbers of Local Governments, by Type of Government: 1952 Versus 2002

Counties

State governments have created 3,034 general-purpose subunits called counties.

Counties were created by states to manage activities of statewide concern at the local level.

Traditionally, their basic functions included property tax assessment and collection, law enforcement, elections, record-keeping and road maintenance.

Modernization and population growth have added to their functions to include health care and hospitals, mass transit and social services.

Organization of County Governments

The traditional structure of county government is based on an elected governing body, usually called a board of commissioners or supervisors, that is the central policymaking apparatus in the county.

One of the board members acts as the presiding officer.The two types of criticism involving county governments

are that they have no elected central executive official, and that there is no single professional administrator to manage county government.

Two alternative country structures are county council-elected executive plan and the council-administrator plan.

Traditional Organization of County Government

Municipalities

Municipalities are cities typically operating under a charter from the state government.

Nearly all city governments operate with one of three structures:

A mayor-council formA council-manager formA city commission form

In each structure, an elected governing body, typically called a city council, has policymaking authority.

Mayor-Council Form

In the mayor-council form of government, executive functions such as the appointment of department heads are performed by elected officials.

In a strong-mayor-council structure the mayor is empowered to perform the executive functions of government and has a veto over city council actions.

In a weak-mayor-council structure the mayor lacks formal executive power; the city council is the source of executive and legislative power.

Mayor-Council Form of Government

Council-Manager Form of Government

The council-manager form of government emphasizes the separation of politics (the policymaking activities of the governing body) from administration (the execution of the policies enacted by the governing body).

Under this structure, the council hires a professional administrator to manage city government.

The administrator appoints and removes department heads, oversees service delivery, develops personnel policies, and prepares budget proposals for the council.

Council-Manager Form of Government

City Commission Form of Government

Under the city commission form of government, legislative and executive functions are merged.

Commissioners make policy as members of the city’s governing body, and also head the major departments of city government.

They are both policymakers and policy executives.

City Commission Form of Government

Towns and Townships

Towns and townships are general-purpose units of local government, distinct from county and city governments.

Only twenty states have official towns or townships.Town meeting: an annual event at which a town’s

residents enact ordinances, elect officials, levy taxes, and adopt a budget.

The demise of townships is expected, because as rural areas become more populated they will meet the population minimums necessary to become municipalities.

Special Districts

Special districts are supposed to do what other local governments cannot or will not do.

Special districts can be formed in one of three ways:

States can create them through special enabling legislation

General-purpose local governments may adopt a resolution establishing a special district

Citizens may initiate districts by petition, which is often followed by a referendum on the question.

Why Special Districts Are Needed

Special districts address deficiencies in existing general-purpose local governments. These deficiencies are:

Technical conditionsFinancial constraintsPolitical explanations

State governments are looking closely at special districts because of the high costs associated with them and their lack of accountability.

School Districts

School districts are a type of single-purpose local government. They are a distinct kind of special district and are therefore considered a type of local government.

The trend in school districts follows the theory that fewer is better.

One persistent problem of school districts is how to secure sufficient funding for public education.

Leadership in Local Government

Terms associated with leadership in local government include:

Initiative, persistence, entrepreneurship, innovation, and vision.

Elite theory: a theory of government asserting that a small group possesses power and rules society.

Pluralist theory: a theory of government asserting that multiple open, competing groups possess power and rule society.

Leadership Roles

Mayors – true leaders can take a structurally weak-mayor position and transform it into a strong mayorship.

City managers – exemplify the movement toward reformed local government. They have become key leaders whose job is to run the day-to-day affairs of the city.

City councils – local legislatures include city councils, county commissions, town boards of alderman, special-district boards and school boards.

City Councils

City councils are less white, less male, and less passive than they were in the past.

Many cities have abandoned at-large elections in favor of district (ward) elections.

At-large elections: citywide (or countywide) contests to determine the members of a city council (or county commission)

District (ward) elections: elections in which the voters in one district or ward of a jurisdiction (city, county, school district) vote for a candidate to represent that district.

Nonprofit Organizations in the Community

Nonprofit organizations are private sector groups that carry out charitable, educational, religious, literary, or scientific functions.

Four types of governmentally active nonprofit organizations are:

Civic nonprofitsPolicy advocatesPolicy implementersGoverning nonprofits

Communities and Governance

The question will always remain – how do we know when a community is well governed?

Many communities restructure in hopes of improving governance.

Local governments and their leaders are confronting governance problems and challenges by trying out new ideas, exploring alternatives, and reaching out for solutions.