Vocabulary
This term names the city or town where a county courthouse and county offices are located.
What is a county seat?
Mississippi has 82 of these local government units, each with a board of supervisors.
What are counties?
Cities, towns, and villages are all examples of this type of local government.
What are municipalities?
A damaged county bridge needs repairs. Which governing board has responsibility for county roads and bridges?
What is the Board of Supervisors?
Students peacefully gather to ask officials to improve a park. Name one constitutional freedom they are exercising.
What is freedom of assembly or the right to petition? Accept either.
A tax bill rises when the assessed value of the property rises. Name this type of tax.
What is an ad valorem tax?
A county has five beats. How many elected supervisors represent those beats on its board?
What is five supervisors?
Residents elect a mayor and a Board of Aldermen. Which municipal government form is this?
What is mayor-council government?
Counties need money for services. According to the chapter, what is their primary tax revenue source?
What are property taxes, or ad valorem taxes?
A citizen follows federal, state, and local laws. Is this a right or a responsibility of citizenship?
What is a responsibility?
A foreign-born person completes the legal process of becoming a U.S. citizen. Name that process.
What is naturalization?
A resident needs the county’s chief law enforcement officer. Which elected official should the resident contact?
Who is the sheriff?
Each elected commissioner oversees particular city departments. Which form of government is operating?
What is commission government?
A homeowner receives a reduction in the taxable value of a primary residence. What benefit is being applied?
What is a homestead exemption?
An accused person refuses to testify against themselves. Which constitutional amendment protects this choice?
What is the Fifth Amendment?
This protection requires government to follow established legal procedures before taking a person’s life, liberty, or property.
What is due process?
One supervisor manages roads, equipment, and a budget independently within that supervisor’s district. Which county system is being used?
What is the beat system?
An elected council wants a professional to manage the budget, employees, and daily operations. Which form should it use?
What is council-manager government?
A town receives money through a share of state sales taxes and charges for services. Name one additional funding source from the chapter besides property taxes.
What are federal grants, fines, local business taxes, gasoline taxes, or road and bridge privilege taxes? Accept any one.
One group decides whether evidence supports formal charges; another decides the outcome at trial. Name the two juries in that order.
What are a grand jury and a trial jury?
A detained person asks a court to review whether the detention is lawful. Name the court order used.
What is a writ of habeas corpus?
A county wants to coordinate daily operations across all five districts. Which system fits, and who manages daily work?
What is the county unit system, with a county administrator managing daily operations?
A city manager runs daily operations while a council sets policy. Identify which position is hired and which group is elected.
The city manager is hired by the elected council. Accept a response explaining both roles.
County supervisors decide to repair bridges and support a library. Explain how taxes connect residents to these services.
Taxes provide revenue that local government budgets and spends to maintain infrastructure and provide community services. Accept an equivalent explanation.
An eighth grader cannot vote yet but wants safer streets. Describe two ways the student can participate in local government or community life.
Attend a public meeting, contact local officials, organize a peaceful petition, stay informed, or participate in community service. Accept any two appropriate actions.
An elected city official represents a district within a municipality. What is that district called?
What is a ward?
Which county official maintains records for both the Board of Supervisors and the Chancery Court?
Who is the chancery clerk?
Once a municipality is approved, this document serves as its basic law. What is it?
What is a charter?
Besides maintaining roads and bridges, name two county facilities or services supported by the Board of Supervisors.
What are a courthouse, jail, or library? Accept any two.
A defendant is promised a speedy trial, an attorney, and an impartial jury. Name the broader legal protection these safeguards support.
What is due process?
A county is divided into five districts, each represented by a supervisor. Name one of those districts.
What is a beat?
A resident has a question about county election administration. Which clerk is the county’s chief elections officer?
Who is the circuit clerk?
Name the process through which an area formally becomes a city, town, or village.
What is incorporation, or incorporating?
According to the chapter, how does the state help local governments recover revenue lost through homestead exemptions?
The state reimburses local governments for the lost revenue.
Explain why a grand jury’s decision to indict does not mean the accused person has been found guilty.
An indictment is a formal charge based on evidence; guilt must be determined through the trial process.
A grand jury issues this formal accusation when it finds enough evidence to charge a person.
What is an indictment?
A court emphasizes treatment, supervision, and testing to rehabilitate people with substance-use problems. Name the court.
What is a drug court?
Which state official issues an approved municipality’s charter, according to the chapter?
Who is the secretary of state?
A local government receives federal money to support a public project. What funding source does this represent?
What is a federal grant?
A student criticizes a local policy peacefully and follows reasonable school rules. Explain how rights and responsibilities can exist together.
The student can express an opinion while also respecting lawful rules and the rights of other people. Accept an equivalent explanation.
Two false, harmful statements damage a person’s reputation: one is spoken and one is published. Name the terms in that order.
What are slander and libel?
Why might a county choose the county unit system instead of having each beat manage separate equipment?
Central coordination can allow districts to share equipment and organize countywide work. Accept an equivalent explanation.
Compare the roles of a commissioner and a city manager in overseeing city departments.
A commissioner is elected and oversees particular departments; a city manager is hired by the council to manage daily city operations.
A town collects a fee for a particular service. Explain how that differs from an ad valorem tax.
A fee is charged for a service or activity; an ad valorem tax is based on the value of property.
A citizen votes but never learns about candidates or local issues. Identify one additional responsibility that would improve the citizen’s participation and explain why.
Staying informed helps the citizen evaluate candidates, understand issues, and make thoughtful choices. Accept an equivalent explanation.
One term means money deposited to help guarantee a court appearance; another means a not-guilty verdict. Name both terms in that order.
What are bail and acquittal?
County supervisors must choose between repairing a bridge and buying new office furniture. Give one reason to prioritize the bridge and identify the board’s role in the decision.
A damaged bridge may threaten safety or transportation; the board sets county spending priorities and supports road and bridge maintenance. Accept an equivalent explanation.
Residents want elected representatives to set policy while a hired professional manages employees. Identify the government form and explain why it matches.
Council-manager government: voters elect the council, and the council hires a manager to oversee daily operations and employees.
A county is planning a bridge repair and needs money to pay for it. Identify one appropriate revenue source from the chapter and explain how it supports the project.
Property taxes, grants, gasoline taxes, or road and bridge taxes can provide revenue for public work. Accept one appropriate source with a clear explanation.
Residents disagree with a council decision. Propose two peaceful civic actions and identify a constitutional freedom that supports one of them.
They may petition officials, attend a public meeting, or organize a peaceful demonstration. Petition is protected by the right to petition; peaceful demonstrations by assembly and speech. Accept two actions and a matching freedom.