Hello again friends, and welcome. I am Caroline. You know, everyone knows about the presidential
elections. They're such big news. But have you ever noticed those signs during election season,
with all those other names on them? You know what I'm talking about? People's yards filled with tons
of signs that have so many other people's names, besides their presidential candidate of choice.
Many of these signs are there to bolster local representatives and local politicians,
and while the movement to shop local has grown so big,
the movement to focus on local politics still lags behind. And that's a shame,
because as we will see in today's lesson, local politics often does more to affect the everyday
lives of citizens than politics up at the top. After this lesson, you should be able to discuss
the key principles and structure of county government, as well as municipal governments.
Well folks, we've worked our way all the way down from Capitol Hill in Washington DC,
down to the governor's mansion at the state level,
and today we knock on the doors of city hall. Let's begin our exploration of local government.
The county. If you live in America, you live in a county.
Counties are the largest geographical and governmentally designated areas
that exist within states. Excuse me, not all states have counties. Actually,
Alaska does not have any counties, for example. In Louisiana, counties are called parishes, and
in Alaska they are called boroughs. Fancy that! So why do we have these things called counties?
Well, the short answer is this. States created counties in order to better serve citizens.
You must remember, America in its early days was a vast frontier where there were a lot more
trees than people. These large distances made it difficult for folks to travel to their state
centers of government, and even further away were the bigger centers of government, most of
which were located along the eastern seaboard. So counties were set up with administrative centers
to help facilitate these needs of citizens. Once established, a county could administer
and adjudicate state law, as well as create local rules and regulations. The county is responsible
also for establishing rule of law, a key principle at the local level. But the law must be accessible
in order to adhere to the principle of equality and justice. County governments are, like the rest
of the American government, run on the principle of popular sovereignty, which means that the
people have the rights to determine who their representatives and county officials are. And
that's what you're seeing with all those different signs in your neighbor's yard. Typically,
each county has a county seat. A county seat is basically like the capital of the county. In the
county seat, you will find all the administrative institutions that make up the county's government.
Most counties have something called a county board. The name for these groups isn't always
county board, but the group functions pretty much the same across the board,
despite differences in name. The board is a group of people charged by the state to legislate over
specific areas. These areas include taxes, zoning, and the county budget. The county
budget determines services provided, which is crucial for areas to operate efficiently.
Word alert! Zoning or zoning codes determine what type of development can occur in an area. Now,
county boards may have even more lofty executive duties over specific county commissions
in such areas as agriculture, transportation, and election. You may see names on those yard
signs for these boards, because county boards are elected through popular vote. Most counties have
a number of lower positions as well. These are hired positions and are there in order to assist
the administration of government. These people are the professional bureaucrats. In some counties,
these non-elected officials can actually have quite a bit of power.
For instance, some counties hire county managers that have important executive duties. Time to
show what you know! Grab a pen and paper, and let's do this thing. What key principles
inform the structure of county government? Explain the structure of county government.
How is the county judicial branch structured? What officials are elected?
Everybody loves a hometown hero, but what makes a town a town,
or a city a city? Well for starters, a community must first apply for incorporation. Word alert!
Incorporation is the process by which a group of people request to become a municipality.
A municipality refers to a city or town. Requirements for incorporation differ from state
to state, but there is typically a minimum amount of population required, as well as a number of
petitions. Sometimes a special election is held to determine if the people in the area want to become
incorporated. If the incorporation is granted, then the state issues a charter. Word alert!
A charter is like a constitution. It delegates to a municipality certain powers,
as well as responsibilities. So cities are based on social contract theory.
In the past, states would grant very specific and unique charters to each municipality. The type of
charter each municipality receives is based on population size, which reminds you of what
principle? Republicanism. I know that's what you were thinking! And the larger the municipality is,
the more authority it has. And this authority ends up in a municipal government. These government
structures vary across the U.S. in their sizes and structures. There are large cities like
New York City that have many districts within their municipality. There are mid-sized cities,
such as Charlotte, North Carolina. There are small cities that usually end up as the county
seats of their counties, and then there are small towns. One phenomena that has occurred over time
is something called urban sprawl. You see, urban sprawl refers to the fact that urban areas tend
to expand over time. What happens when the city starts sprawling out toward the rural areas, and
small towns that surround it? You get referendums, and eventually annexation. Word alert!
A referendum is a special election in which people vote directly on an issue. Annexation
is the process in which a city incorporates areas surrounding it. In these scenarios, smaller towns
remain separate from the city. However, these small towns can grow in population over time,
and become almost indistinguishable from the city. Examples of this happening can be
seen in the great Philadelphia area, and also the research triangle area of North Carolina.
What happens is that rural areas outside of a city slowly become suburban areas. Other times
they become cities unto themselves, like in the case of the Silicon Valley area of California,
an area outside of the city of San Francisco. As we've covered before, there are different forms of
government across the cities and towns of America. For an in-depth look at the different ways city
governments are structured, take a look at the PDF. Let's check to see what you picked up there!
Grab a pen and paper, and let's do this. How do the key principles of American government shape
the structure and growth of municipal government? Please use the principles in your answer.
Recap! Popular sovereignty, rule of law, and separation of powers are all key principles
that help to create local government as the place where democracy happens in America.
Local government is a legal entity created by the state,
and it is divided into two subdivisions called counties and municipalities. That's all for us
today! In our next lesson, we will analyze the local government in terms of its power
and scope. Have a wonderful rest of your day. Please remember to vote, debate, and participate!