Deck 9: Local Government

Question 1

County government is the oldest form of local government in America.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Counties handle many state government functions such as courts, record keeping, and law enforcement.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The legal status of the county is that of administrative sub-division of the state and as such counties do not have the option of home-rule.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

County commissioner's precincts are drawn to make sure that the precincts are equal in geographical size.

Question 5

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Avery v Midland County resulted in county commissioners precincts being equal in population.

Question 6

The county commissioners court is the final court of appeals for cases arising in the county's judicial system.

Question 7

Other than the county commissioners, all other elected county-wide officials in the county are elected at-large in partisan elections.

Question 8

County judges for the constitutional county court are required to have legal experience and a law degree.

Question 9

The only responsibility of the county sheriff is to enforce county ordinances.

Question 10

The emphasis on partisan politics in county government can lead to governance problems.

Question 11

With the exception of a few larger counties, county government in Texas generally utilizes the spoils system to hire employees.

Question 12

Most counties in Texas utilize a unit road system which pools equipment and personnel to build and maintain roads.

Question 13

The lack of ordinance power makes it difficult for county government to protect citizens in unincorporated areas.

Question 14

Given that most Texans live in urban areas, the prospects for the reform of county government are good.

Question 15

Significant changes in the structure and function of county government in Texas will require amendments to the Texas Constitution

Question 16

Cities with a population greater than 5,000 are allowed to have a home-rule charter.

Question 17

The most common form of city government among home-rule cities is a form of the council-manager system of government.

Question 18

The most common form of city government among the smaller cities of Texas is the aldermanic form of city government.

Question 19

In cities which use the council-manager system of city government, the city manager is appointed by the mayor.

Question 20

One of the problems with the city-manager system of city government is that the political problems of the municipality may not be addressed.

Question 21

The strong-mayor form of city government is most common among the nation's larger cities.

Question 22

In the commission form of city government, the elected commissioners are responsible for running a city department and serving on the city's legislative body called the city commission.

Question 23

According to the authors, really large cities often fare best with either a mayor-council or a mayor-manager form of city government.

Question 24

Most cities in Texas utilize non-partisan elections for the selection of their city council and mayor.

Question 25

A special district is a unit of local government created to perform a broad variety of functions.

Question 26

Special districts in Texas are closely supervised by a single state agency located in the Secretary of State's office.

Question 27

Texas has more special districts than any other state in the nation.

Question 28

Most special districts, other than school districts, are profoundly undemocratic.

Question 29

County governments depend heavily on local property taxes as their main source of income.

Question 30

Municipal governments have the broadest source of income of any local governments.

Question 31

School districts depend heavily on local property taxes and state assistance.

Question 32

The state of Texas picks up almost three-fourths of the cost of public schools.

Question 33

County officials are selected in which manner?

A) County officials are elected by the voters in partisan elections in November of the even year
B) County officials are selected in non-partisan elections in the odd years
C) County officials are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate
D) County officials are selected by the mayors of the cities within the county

Question 34

Which of the following is not a required function of county government?

A) administration of justice
B) custody of land titles and deeds
C) conduct of elections for the state
D) provision of sanitary waste disposal facilities

Question 35

Which of the following officials is responsible for recording wills, deed, and property records?

A) county judge
B) county clerk
C) county tax assessor-collector
D) county attorney

Question 36

Which of the following officers of the county is responsible for preparing a budget for county operations and submitting it to the Commissions Court in counties of less than 225,000?

A) County Auditor
B) County Treasurer
C) County Judge
D) County Tax-Assessor Collector

Question 37

Among the problems not created by the partisanship of county government is which of the following?

A) citizens have a difficulty time determining who is responsible for solving a problem
B) commissioners often squabble over petty problems
C) politics may inhibit solving difficult problems because no one wants the blame for problems
D) county government is more bureaucratic than other levels of government

Question 38

Most county governments in Texas utilize a personnel system in which

A) employees are hired on the basis of who they have supported in political races
B) employees are not always treated fairly on salary and job related issues
C) employees are not always required to possess professional qualifications for their jobs
D) all of the above are problems

Question 39

Which of the following have been suggested to improve management practices for counties?

A) adoption of a civil service system
B) adoption of centralized purchasing
C) unit road and bridge systems
D) all of the above have been suggested

Question 40

Counties do not possess one of the powers granted to cities. That power is the power to

A) impose taxes on property
B) spend money on improvements such as airports and libraries
C) pass ordinances which govern such things as building codes and stray animals
D) appoint persons to serve as department heads

Question 41

Prospects for reform of county government are made more difficult by which of the following?

A) opposition from big city mayors
B) opposition from urban legislators
C) opposition from state-wide political figures
D) opposition from county officials from smaller counties

Question 42

Which of the following forms of local government best fits the idea of executive integration?

A) strong mayor form
B) county government
C) weak mayor council form of city government
D) commission form of city government

Question 43

The form of government used by nearly all home-rule cities in Texas is the ________ form of government.

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

Question 44

The ability of municipal governments to control areas outside of the city limits is known as

A) annexation
B) city home-rule
C) extraterritorial jurisdiction
D) municipal governance

Question 45

Of the 1,210 municipalities in Texas

A) a majority of the cities are general law cities
B) a majority of the cities are home-rule cities
C) a majority are unincorporated
D) a majority are controlled by the Office of Municipal Government of the State of Texas

Question 46

A city with a population of over _____ in Texas may choose to adopt a home-rule charter.

A) 1,500
B) 5,000
C) 10,000
D) 100,000

Question 47

The form of city government in which the city council acts as the legislative branch and adopts such items as tax rates, budget, and ordinances and appoints an administrator to run the city is called a

A) strong-mayor council system
B) council-manager system
C) mayor-manager system
D) commission form

Question 48

A system in which candidates are voted upon by all of the citizens in the municipality is known as

A) non-partisan system
B) at-large election system
C) district election
D) proportional system

Question 49

Critics of nonpartisan elections argue all but the following:

A) nonpartisan elections rob the voter of the most important symbol that they have for making choices- party labels
B) nonpartisan elections depend on personalities and extraneous matters
C) nonpartisan election undermine the political parties
D) nonpartisan elections make it easier to criticize the administration in power

Question 50

Special Districts do not possess one of the powers granted to cities. That power is the power to

A) impose taxes on property
B) spend money on improvements
C) pass ordinances which govern such things as building codes and stray animals
D) appoint persons to serve as administrative officers

Question 51

Special districts have the advantage of which of the following?

A) they are easy to organize and operate
B) they offer great flexibility to solve problems
C) they are able to remove technical problems from the political arena
D) all of the above

Question 52

Councils of Government (COGs) serve which purpose?

A) they assist in the planning and coordination for local governments
B) they are watchdogs to monitor local government activities for the federal government
C) they are policy-making units for local governments
D) they monitor local governments for the state government

Question 53

Which of the following is not true of school districts in Texas?

A) the decisions of school boards are generally well known
B) there is generally wide-spread interest in the activities of school districts
C) the number of school districts has been steadily increasing in Texas
D) school board members are elected in elections which are often contested

Question 54

The major source of funding for most counties is

A) local property taxes
B) sales taxes
C) state aid
D) federal aid

Question 55

What is the role of the county in local government? Which of the functions of the county are functions which are performed for the state of Texas? To what extend does the state supervise the operation of county government? What factors limit the ability of the state to supervise the operations of county government?

Question 56

Name and explain the main duties of each of the elected county-wide officials in county government.

Question 57

What are the results of the fact that county governments are run on a partisan basis?

Question 58

What recommendations for the improvement of county government have been suggested?

Question 59

What are the two main type of city government allowed by the state of Texas? Which one of these offers the most flexibility?

Question 60

What is the most popular form of city governmental organization for the cities which have a home-rule form of government? Explain how it works?

Question 61

Compare and contrast the at-large and the district election options for city councils?

Question 62

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the nonpartisan election of city officials?

Question 63

What are the main reasons that special districts are created? What are the criticisms of the use of non-school special districts?

Question 64

Summarize the revenue sources available to local units of government. How do school districts differ from non-school districts in the area of finance?