How does power flow through our federal system of government?
A savvy Massachusetts politician named Thomas "Tip" O'Neill once declared, "All politics is local." While O'Neill spent much of his career in Washington, D.C., in the House of Representatives, he realized that most of the decisions that directly affect our daily lives are made close to home. Local governments provide such basic services as drinking water, police protection, garbage collection, public schools, and libraries. Despite their importance, local governments are not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. It is left up to each state to establish local units of government for its citizens.
Following British tradition, 48 of the 50 states divide their territory into districts called counties. Louisiana is divided into parishes. Alaska, with its large landmass and small, scattered population, divides its land into large boroughs.
The original purpose of counties was to provide government services to rural residents. Initially, these services included law enforcement, courts, road construction and maintenance, public assistance to the poor, and the recording of legal documents. Over time, some county governments expanded to provide health protection, hospitals, libraries, parks, fire protection, and agricultural aid.
Traditionally, county governments were headquartered in the county seat. This was often the largest or most centrally located town in the county. Ideally, the county seat was no more than a day's wagon journey from any county resident. This made it easier for people to participate in local politics.
With the rise of urban areas, towns and cities have taken over many of the functions that were once county responsibilities. In some areas, the duties of city and county governments overlap. For example, most towns and cities today have their own police forces, but the county may maintain a sheriff s office to enforce laws in areas outside city limits.
Most county governments are headed by an elected board of commissioners or board of supervisors. The board's duties vary depending on the powers granted to the county by the state. Other elected officials typically include the county sheriff, treasurer, tax assessor, and judges. The board may appoint other officials, such as the fire marshal and county coroner.
As the United States changed from a rural to a largely urban nation, new forms of local government evolved to meet citizens' needs. The three most common are illustrated on the diagram "Forms of City Government."
The oldest form of city government is the mayor-council system. In this system, voters elect both city council members and a mayor. The mayor is the chief executive of the city government. The council is the city's lawmaking body. The duties and powers given to the mayor vary from city to city. Some cities have strong mayors with expansive powers. Others have weak mayors with limited powers.
The mayor-council form of government served most cities fairly well throughout the 1800s. In 1900, however, a natural disaster gave birth to a new approach. That year the Gulf Coast city of Galveston, Texas, was destroyed by a massive hurricane. Believing that its traditional government could not manage the rebuilding effort, a group of influential business leaders pressed for replacing the city council with a board of commissioners appointed by the Texas governor. The board's goal was to turn over the rebuilding effort to civil engineers and other skilled professionals.
Galveston adopted this new commission system. However, criticism that it was undemocratic soon led to the election, rather than appointment, of commissioners. Still, commissioners ran for office based on their formal training in civil management rather than on their political popularity.
The commission system worked wonders for Galveston. The new government rebuilt the city on higher ground and constructed a seawall to protect it from hurricanes. Seeing Galveston's success, dozens of other cities adopted the commission system.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many cities (including Galveston) switched to a third form of local government known as the council-manager system. In this system, citizens elect a city council (often led by a weak mayor), but the day-to-day job of running the city government is handled by a hired city manager. This system combines democratic rule with professional management expertise. Today, the council-manager system is the most common form of city government in the United States.
Some functions of government are so specialized that citizens create separate units of government to deal with them. These special-purpose districts may overlap the geographic boundaries of counties and cities, but they operate independently from those other local units of government.
Special-purpose districts have their own elected leaders and taxing authority. Most carry out just one function, such as running a hospital or a park. Your local school board is an example of a special-purpose district. Elected school boards hire school officials, approve school budgets, and establish school policies. Some of the most common functions of special purpose districts include regulating natural resources and providing fire protection.
Local city and county governments and special-purpose districts face serious challenges. Because they provide so many vital services, local governments are usually more closely watched by citizens than are the more distant state and national governments. Yet local governments often lack the resources they need to meet everyone's expectations.
More than other levels of government, local governments depend on citizens who are willing to volunteer their time. People who serve on city councils or sit on boards of special-purpose districts get paid very little, if anything at all. The same is true for people who serve on city or county advisory boards, commissions, and task forces. Finding willing and able volunteers to fill these and other positions can be difficult.
To meet these challenges, local governments must be in close touch with the people they serve. This is good news for you and your family. Local officials usually welcome and listen to input from people in their community. By doing something as simple as writing a letter to your local newspaper or speaking up at a local city council or school board meeting, you can affect how decisions are made. And who knows, you might decide to get involved in local government yourself.