Vocabulary #1
A unit of local government usually larger than a village and smaller than a city
Town
Law making body of the city
City council
Who enforces the law at the county level?
The Sheriff
Where did early townships begin in the 1800's?
Midwest
What is the largest form of local government?
A City
A local government body that has both legislative and executive powers
Commission
Federal funds given to state and local governments for broad purposes
block grants
What happened at early town meetings?
They would discuss the town's business
If people in a certain area have a special need, the state legislature can set up what?
Where did the town form on government begin?
New England States
the powers of a city to write its own municipal charter and to manage its own affairs
Home Rule
Mayor
What are federal funds given to the state and local governments for specific projects called?
grant-in-aid
What are most states divided into?
Do governments compete for citizens tax dollars?
Yes
A form of government in which all citizens meet regularly to discuss town issues
Town Meeting
Who tries minor cases in a county?
the district attorney
Where do local government establish and receive their powers from?
State Governments
In a county, where there is no leader for the executive branch who does it
Several elected county officials share the responsibility
Describe each level of governments role in building roads, and how these roles have changed over time
-In early years, building roads was a local responsibility
-As the West opened up, the U.S. government began to pay for the construction of some roads.
-In the late 1800's New Jersey became the first state to use state funds to help counties improve local roads.
-in 1893 established state highway commission to build roads.
- In 1956 President Eisenhower signed legislation that funded the creation of the U.S. interstate highway.
- Today the Federal government pays 90% of the cost of building and maintaining the system
Regulations that govern a local governments units
ordinances
A unit of local government that is incorporated by the state and has a large degree of self government
municipality
What are the different forms of local government?
Cities
Towns
Villages
Boroughs
Under home rule, what does a city have power to do?
Write and amend it's own municipal charter
Compare and contrast the mayor-council and council-manager forms of city government
-In the mayor-council form of government, the mayor is the chief executive of the city government.
-The Mayor and the members of the city council are elected by the voters of the city.
-The city is divided into wards which the council members represent
-In Council-Manager form of government, the voters elect the council but the council hires a city manager.
-Because the city manager is not an elected position, the job does not involve politics, but rather to the council's assessment of the manager's competence.