Deck 11: Local Government

Question 1

The county judge presides over and participates fully in the decisions of the commissioners court and receives,presents,and forwards to the secretary of state all election returns.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Annexation has been used by Texas cities as a means of avoiding the erosion of the tax base caused by the migration of the middle class to the suburbs.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In most urban counties,the commissioners court does not require the county judge to carry out real courtroom responsibilities.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Decentralized purchasing and the road and bridge system are two features of county government that illustrate its tendency toward inefficient management.

Question 5

Because county officials are responsible for administering state laws and programs,they are carefully supervised by state officials.

Question 6

The U.S.Supreme Court ruled in Avery v.Midland County that the precincts from which members of the county commissioners courts are elected must conform to the one person-one vote rule.

Question 7

The Texas Association of County Officials (TACO)generally supports a major structural redesign of county government to promote more efficiency in government.

Question 8

County governments in Texas are no longer the bastions of the spoils system,a system in which people are appointed to government jobs on the basis of whom they supported in the last election and how much money they contributed.

Question 9

The ability of counties in Texas to exercise home rule means that county governments have the option of forming a government with an appointed professional administrator.

Question 10

Counties are much more bureaucratic than other levels of government and so the average citizen has a more difficult time dealing with a county office.

Question 11

The qualifications for county judge include five years experience in the practice of law.

Question 12

About 10 percent of the counties in Texas have a countywide unit system that enables commissioners to achieve purchasing and management efficiencies.

Question 13

County politics is characterized by partisanship,precincts,and a long ballot.

Question 14

Every county in Texas is divided into four precincts,each of which elects a commissioner.

Question 15

An ad valorem tax is a tax on property.

Question 16

According to the 2010 Census,Loving County has fewer than 100 residents.

Question 17

The county commissioners court has important judicial functions.

Question 18

Extraterritorial jurisdiction permits city governments to exercise some control over development in areas just beyond city boundaries.

Question 19

State legislatures traditionally have been more sympathetic to the problems of cities because of urban bias and their desire to address critical issues relating to city politics.

Question 20

The mayor-council form is the most commonly used form of city government among home-rule municipalities in Texas.

Question 21

When cities are allowed to write their own constitutions in the form of a city charter they are called

A) home-rule cities.
B) general-law cities.
C) constitutional-law cities.
D) common-law cities.
E) "special districts."

Question 22

Among the largest cities in Texas,only Houston operates with a mayor-council government.

Question 23

Which of the following officials presides over the county commissioners court?

A) County judge
B) County clerk
C) County attorney
D) County tax assessor-collector
E) Sheriff

Question 24

Except in the few counties using a unit system,the construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges is the responsibility of

A) the county judge.
B) individual county commissioners.
C) the assessor-collector of taxes.
D) the county engineer.
E) the county clerk.

Question 25

Under a "spoils system" of selection,public employees are chosen based upon

A) their scores on a "merit" exam.
B) their education level.
C) their civil service classification level.
D) affirmative action quota systems.
E) who they supported and gave money to in the last election.

Question 26

The form of municipal government in which the council acts as a policymaking body and appoints a chief administrator for the city is the

A) strong mayor-council.
B) weak mayor-council.
C) commission.
D) mayor-manager.
E) council-manager.

Question 27

A significant advantage of special districts is that,because they are closer to the people,they are more democratic than other forms of local government.

Question 28

Which of the following is the most commonly used form of home-rule city government in Texas?

A) Council-Manager Form
B) Mayor-Council Form
C) Mayo-Manage Form
D) County Commissioners Court
E) Commission Form

Question 29

Proponents of council-manager government claim that it allows at least a partial separation of politics and administration and is,therefore,efficient.

Question 30

Which of the following county officials is responsible for recording all legal documents?

A) County judge
B) County treasurer
C) County clerk
D) County tax assessor-collector
E) Sheriff

Question 31

All city council elections in Texas are partisan elections.

Question 32

School districts,like other types of special districts,are usually hidden governments.

Question 33

COGs are designed to provide coordination between governments in metropolitan areas.

Question 34

Cities in Texas with a population over ____ may choose to form their own city charters.

A) 1,000
B) 5,000
C) 10,000
D) 20,000
E) 50,000

Question 35

A special district is a unit of local government designed to perform limited functions.

Question 36

County commissioners in Texas are

A) appointed by the county judge.
B) elected by precinct in partisan elections.
C) chosen in an at-large election.
D) elected by precinct in nonpartisan elections.
E) chosen by the county elections administrator.

Question 37

Criticisms of council-manager government include which of the following?

A) The manager is not directly responsible to the voters, and the council is chosen by partisan election.
B) The values of the business community tend to be promoted, and the mayor may use the spoils system to staff government with his/her friends.
C) The manager is not directly responsible to the voters, and the values of the business community tend to be promoted.
D) The values of the business community tend to be promoted, and the council is chosen by partisan election.
E) The council is chosen by partisan election, and the mayor may use the spoils system to staff government with his/her friends.

Question 38

Most large cities in Texas are moving to a place system rather than a district system for selecting members of the city council.

Question 39

Every county in Texas,regardless of its size,is divided into

A) four precincts.
B) five precincts.
C) eight precincts.
D) five wards.
E) six districts.

Question 40

As creations of the state,counties are responsible for

A) enforcing state law.
B) keeping many state records such as titles and deeds.
C) collecting many state taxes.
D) conducting state elections.
E) all of the above.

Question 41

The type of municipal election in which voters choose all of the members of the city council and vote for as many candidates as there are positions on the council is called a(n)____ system.

A) at-large
B) place
C) district
D) precinct
E) primary

Question 42

Special districts have the advantage of

A) being easy to establish and operate.
B) offering great flexibility to governmental organizations.
C) being able to remove technical problems from the political arena.
D) bypassing the legal and organizational limitations of existing governments.
E) All of the above are advantages.

Question 43

All of the following are true about school districts except

A) the decisions of school boards are usually well publicized.
B) there is generally considerable public interest in school district politics.
C) the number of school districts has been increasing in recent years.
D) the state shares in the funding responsibilities of school districts.
E) school board members are elected.

Question 44

All of the following issues or developments have affected and will affect local government except

A) the necessity for increased strategic planning.
B) the loss of population in metropolitan areas.
C) the desirability of increased interlocal cooperation.
D) increased needs for funding.
E) the need for ordinance-making power for counties.

Question 45

Which of the following is the only large city in Texas that uses the mayor-council form of municipal government?

A) Austin
B) San Antonio
C) Houston
D) Dallas
E) Lubbock

Question 46

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the council-manager,the mayor council,and the mayor manager types of city government.Explain the reasons that the council-manager form became the most popular type of city government in Texas's home-rule cities.

Question 47

Which of the following is not a major item of expenditure for cities in Texas?

A) Education
B) Police and fire protection
C) Utilities
D) Solid-waste disposal
E) Parks and recreation

Question 48

The most numerous type of government in Texas is

A) general-law cities.
B) home-rule cities.
C) school districts.
D) counties.
E) special districts.

Question 49

In a strong mayor-council form of municipal government,the mayor

A) is elected by the city council.
B) is subject to recall by the city's voters.
C) is unable to influence the city budget.
D) has the power to appoint and remove other city executives.
E) has the power to remove council members.

Question 50

When cities in Texas borrow money to finance government operations,they often do so by

A) levying an ad valorem tax.
B) imposing user fees.
C) relying on intergovernmental transfers of money.
D) issuing revenue bonds.
E) adding an income tax.

Question 51

Describe the differences between partisan and nonpartisan elections and how that impacts city governance in Texas.Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of place systems and district systems for city elections.

Question 52

Arguments against nonpartisan elections include all but which one of the following?

A) Nonpartisan elections rob the voters of the most important symbol that they have for making electoral choices.
B) Nonpartisan elections contribute to low voter turnout.
C) Nonpartisan elections undermine the development of strong state parties because the grassroots are weak.
D) Nonpartisan elections encourage the development of civic organizations that are basically political parties whose purposes are not always clear to the voters.
E) Nonpartisan elections enhance the community's ability to effectively criticize the government in power.

Question 53

Describe the structure of county government in Texas.Explain how this structure reflects the decentralized character of state government.

Question 54

Discuss why special districts are increasing in number more rapidly than other forms of local government in Texas.Explain whether special districts tend to increase or decrease the degree of control that citizens are able to exercise over public policy.

Question 55

Councils of Government (COGs)function as

A) planning and coordinating bodies for local governments.
B) state "watchdogs" to monitor local governments.
C) federal "watchdogs" to monitor local governments.
D) policy-making boards for special districts.
E) a council of county judges that make decisions for a metropolitan statistical area.

Question 56

Which of the following forms of city government is said to have originated in Galveston near the turn of the century?

A) Strong mayor-council
B) Weak mayor-council
C) Commission
D) Council-manager
E) Urban machine governance

Question 57

Advocates of district elections argue which of the following?

A) Minorities and people without personal wealth have a better chance of being elected in district elections.
B) Individuals elected in district elections are more likely to address the problems of the district.
C) District elections are more likely to mean that there will be more diversity on a city council, assuring broad representation of political viewpoints.
D) A and C only.
E) All of the above.

Question 58

Discuss how counties serve as the agents of state government in Texas.Describe some of the factors that tend to impede the ability of the state government to supervise the counties.Describe constitutional changes that might make counties more accountable to the state or,conversely,more responsive to local problems.