US Local Governments & City Charters

• In 1900, approximately one-third of the US population of 76 million resided in urban areas, which has increased to about three-fourths of the 300 million Americans today.
• The United States has largely become an urban nation over the last century.
• Local governments lack legal independence, despite being the closest governmental units to the people.
• Local governments owe their existence and dependence to the state.
• State constitutions typically define the authorities and responsibilities of local governments.
• The U.S. Constitution does not mention local governments.

City Charter

• Most states define a municipality as an "incorporated place," meaning a locality with an officially organized government providing services to its residents.
• A city operates as a municipal government.
• New cities form each year as urban communities incorporate.
• A community needs to meet specific criteria to secure a city charter.
• A city charter is similar to a constitution and outlines the structure, powers, and type of city government.

Home Rule

• Home rule allows cities to draft their own charters, select their type of government, and manage their own affairs.
• Home rule is subject to state laws.
• There has been a multi-decade movement towards giving home rule to cities.

Basic Forms of Municipal Government

• Municipal charters define the type of government a community will have.
• Three basic forms of municipal government are used today in urban areas of the United States: mayor-council, commission, and council-manager forms.

Mayor-Council Form

• The mayor-council form is preferred by the largest cities and follows the traditional concept of separation of powers.
• Executive power is held by a mayor, and legislative power is held by a council.
• Voters elect a mayor and city council members.
• The mayor serves as the chief executive, overseeing administrative offices.
• Frequently, the mayor appoints department heads for areas such as public works, planning, police, and fire protection.
• City councils usually have fewer than 10 members serving four-year terms, acting as the legislature by approving the city budget and enacting city laws known as ordinances.
• Some cities divide into voting districts known as wards, each electing a representative to the city council.
• Some cities elect all or some council members as "members-at-large," chosen by the entire city.

Types of Mayor-Council Government

• Two main types of mayor-council government exist: the strong-mayor system and the weak-mayor system.
• Mayoral power determines the form.

Strong-Mayor System

• In this system, the mayor has strong executive powers, including the power to veto council ordinances, appoint city officials, and draft the city budget.
• Council members elected by wards focus on issues relevant to their areas.
• The mayor typically works full-time, has assistants, and represents the entire city.
• Strong mayors often dominate or control city government.

Weak-Mayor System

• The mayor's authority is limited.
• The council, not the mayor, appoints department heads and makes the majority of policy decisions.
• The weak-mayor system originates from the nation's early days.
• Colonists, weary of the British government's injustices, hesitated to grant too much power to any official.

Mayor-Council Government Success

• The success of the mayor-council form largely depends on the individual serving as mayor.
• A politically skilled mayor can provide effective leadership in the strong-mayor system.
• Success in the weak-mayor system, where responsibility is widely distributed, relies on cooperation between the mayor and the council.

Council-Manager Form

• This form is popular in modern city government.
• The city council, as the legislative body, appoints the manager.
• It parallels a school board appointing a superintendent.
• The manager recommends a budget, oversees city departments, and handles personnel matters.
• The manager can be hired and removed by a majority vote of the council and reports to the council.

At-Large Elections

• Many smaller cities with managers elect council members in at-large elections, which means they run in citywide elections rather than representing only one district.
• This system is believed to encourage members to consider the city's interests, not just their neighborhood's concerns.

Commission Form

• The commission form has no separation of legislative and executive powers.
• Separate departments, each handling different responsibilities, govern the city.
• The commission form was invented a few years before the council-manager form.
• Departments include police, fire, finance, and health.
• Only a small number of cities continue to use it.
• The department heads, known as commissioners, perform executive duties for their departments and meet as a commission to pass ordinances and make policy decisions.

Flaws

• Each commissioner tends to focus on their own department, potentially overlooking the city's overall problems.
• Cities have found commission governments to be inefficient to run a city.
• A commission often struggles to set and meet goals without distinct leadership.
• Most cities using a commission system have switched to a council-manager or mayor-council form of government.

Special Districts

• A special district is a governmental unit focused on a specific function like education, water supply, or transportation.
• A board or commission, either elected or appointed, manages the special district.
• The local school district represents the most common special district example.

Metropolitan Area

• A metropolitan area consists of a central city and its surrounding suburbs, which are communities near or around cities.
• A metropolitan area may include small towns lying beyond the suburbs.
• Since the 1950s in the United States, suburbs have expanded around central cities, causing the suburban population to grow considerably more than the central city's population.
• For example, Detroit's population decreased from about 2 million in 1950 to under 1 million in 2003, whereas its suburbs now encompass more than 3 million people.
• The growth in population and business expansion in metropolitan areas has created issues in transportation, pollution, law enforcement, and land management.
• Some metropolitan areas have created councils where the central city and suburbs make area-wide decisions about growth and services, like mass transit.
• Today, mass transit systems are being considered in many cities due to fuel supply and cost concerns.