Local
Governments
Chapter
3
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All
rights reserved.
1
Learning Objectives
3.1 Explain the relationships that
exist between a local government
and all other governments,
including local, state, and national
governments.
3.2 Describe the forms of
municipal government
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All
rights reserved.
organization.
2
Local Politics in Context
§
Local Governments and Federalism
§
Cities, counties, and special districts
§
Are on the bottom rung of the
government ladder
§
Dillon’s Rule-local governments have
only those powers granted by their state
government
§
Cooley Doctrine-local government is a
matter of absolute right; and the state
3
may not take it away
Local Politics in Context
§
Local Governments and Federalism
§
Local governments face mandates from
both the national and state governments.
Some are funded by the higher levels of
government, but some are not (providing
access to the disabled)
§
Almost 5,000 local governments
§
Territories often overlap
4
Local Politics in Context
§
Grassroots Challenges
§
More than 80% of Texans reside in cities.
Concerns of crime, infrastructure (roads streets
and bridges, public schools and threat of
terrorism
§
Providing access to public services for all
communities
§
§
SpeakupAustin! social media portal
Widespread voter apathy
§
Typical to have fewer than 10% voter
participation
5
Local Politics in Context
§
§
§
Questions:
Do local governments have more
flexibility to make their own
decisions under Dillon's Rule or the
Cooley Doctrine? Which one does
Texas follow?
Are intergovernmental relations
marked by conflict, cooperation, or
6
both?
Municipal Governments
§
Legal Status of Municipalities
§
Two legal classifications
§
General law a municipality with a charter
prescribed by the legislature (900) . If
population exceeds 5000, must petition to
become a home rule city. Not automatic.
Charter prescribed by general law enacted by
the general legislature (state)
§
Dillon's rule- Local governments can do only
those things permitted by the state
7
Municipal Governments
§
Legal Status of Municipalities
§
§
Two legal classifications
Home-rule cities (locally drafted charter)
§
§
A city of more than 5,000 may be incorporated as
a home rule city. Must vote to become a city
350 home rule cities, many small, but most larger
cities tend to have home-rule charters ( Houston)
§
Greater flexibility in structure and operation
8
Municipal Governments
§
Legal Status of Municipalities
§
Greater flexibility in structure and
operation can be seen through the city
charter, which are unique to the homerule cities. They are the following:
§
Establish powers of municipal officers
§
Set terms of office for council members
§
Provide procedures for passing ordinances
(laws) within the city (not for all Texans in the
state
9
Municipal Governments
§
Legal Status of Municipalities
§
Home-rule cities
§
Three powers not held by general-law
cities and are held by home-rule cities
•
•
Recall- removing elected officials through
a popular vote
Initiative-a citizen drafted measure
proposed by a specific number or
percentage of qualified voters which
becomes law if approved by popular
10
vote.
Municipal Governments
§
§
Legal Status of Municipalities
Referendum- A process by which issues are
referred to the voters to accept or reject. Voters
may also petition for a vote to repeal an existing
ordinance.
§
Red-light cameras
§
Changing the election system
11
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Strong mayor-council- Houston
§
Separately elected legislative body
(council) ( Houston(16): 5 at large, 11
elected from single districts)
§
Mayor is the executive head
§
Mayor elected at large (everyone in city is able
to cast ballot) with the power to appoint and
remove department heads: fire and police
12
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Mayor has power to veto ordinary
majorities in city council
§
Budgetary power(preparation and
execution of a plan for raising and
spending city money) exercised by the
mayor, subject to council approval before
the budget and may be implemented
§
In Houston, the strong mayor aided by a
strong appointed chief of staff and an 13
elected controller
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Advantage: best form for large cites
because it provides strong
leadership in a diverse community
and is more likely than the councilmanager form to be responsive to
the full range of the community.
People know who to go to if something
goes wrong (accountability)
14
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Weak mayor-council
§
§
§
Mayor has limited administrative
powers
City council can override mayor’s
veto
Smaller cities more likely to have a
weak-mayor council form
15
Strong Mayor-Council Form of
Municipal Government (Houston)
16
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Council Manager
§
Most home-rule cities use (Dallas, San Antonio El
Paso) council manager form. Houston, though a
home rule city is the exception with the strong
mayor form
§
City council members elected at large or in single
member districts (Dallas all are single member)
to make general policy for the city.
17
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Council Manager
§
§
A mayor, elected at large, who is the presiding
member of the council but who generally has
few formal administrative powers and votes on
general policy with the city council members
Under the council-manager form, the mayor
and city council makes decisions after debate
on policy issues, such as taxation, budgeting,
annexation, and services
18
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Council Manager
§
§
Elected city council hires and appoints a
manager (can also fire him) to coordinate
budgetary matters and supervise
administrative departments (hires/fires)
Weakness: The lack of a leader to whom
citizens can bring demands and concerns
(accountability).Powers are diffused so
hard to pin down who is responsible for the
19
decision
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Council Manager
§
Mayor weak, city council composed of a
number of members (who might be
interested in their own areas instead of entire
city)
§
manager is supposed to “stay out of politics”
§
According to book, the council-manager
cities respond to elite and middle-class rather
than working class concerns
20
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Council Manager
§
Works well in cities where most
people are of the same ethnic
group and social class, and thus
share common goals. Few central
cities fit.
21
Council-Manager Form of
Government (San Antonio,
2014)
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All
rights reserved.
22
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Commission
§
A type of municipal government in which
each each government department is the
responsibility of a single commissioner.
Commissioner is a member of the city's
policymaking body, but also heads an
administrative department (e.g. public
safety with police and fire division. Used
in Galveston (1900). Lacks a single
executive. Very few use this form of gov.
23
Municipal Governments
§
Forms of Municipal Government
§
Questions:
§
Name the two legal classifications of
cities in Texas and indicate which has
more flexibility in deciding its forms and
the way it operates
§
Which form of municipal government is
most common in Texas's larger homerule cities? In smaller cities?
24
Municipal Politics
§
Municipal Politics
§
Rules make a difference
§
Nonpartisan elections (no party labels)
§
At-large, single-member, and cumulative
§
Low voter turnout
§
More personal/less issue oriented
§
Redistrict after every 10-year census
§
Ways to organize municipal elections
25
Municipal Politics
§
Politics
§
Ways to organize municipal elections
§
§
At-large elections-members of a policymaking
body, are elected on a citywide basis rather
than from single-member districts
Single-member district elections-voters in an
area (council district) elect one representative
to serve on a policymaking body. (also state
House and state Senate, and US
representative; US senate entire state)
26
Municipal Politics
§
Politics
§
Ways to organize municipal elections
§
§
Cumulative voting- In an at-large election,
voters cast one or more of the specified
number of votes for one or more candidates in
any contamination (Ex. 8 candidates vie for 4
positions for on city council a person can cast
or all votes for candidate A.
Redistricting-Redrawing boundaries after the
federal decennial (every 10 years) census to
create districts with approximately equal
27
population
Municipal Politics
§
Politics
§
Ways to organize municipal elections
§
§
Home-rule cities may also
determine whether to institute term
limits for their elected officials
Bill White 3 two year terms (6)/San
Antonio 4 two year terms(8)
28
Municipal Politics
§
Socioeconomic and Demographic
Changes
§
Increasing levels of urbanization, education,
and economic development has made state
more diverse
§
Houston most diverse political system
§
Dallas serious black-white racial tensions but
changes in election rules have increase the
number of racial minorities on city council
§
South Texas has Latino leaders at all levels
29
§
Municipal Services
§
§
Government’s major job is to provide
services . . .
§
Police and fire protection
§
Water and streets
§
Sewer and sanitation
§
Parks and recreation
Over time, many Texas cities have added
30
libraries, airports, hospitals, clinics,
§
Municipal Services
§
Scarce resources (money) of local
governments increase competition
between traditional services and
newer services demanded by
citizens or the state and national
government ( homeless, job training
providing elder service)
31
§
Municipal Services
§
Zoning has received more opposition in
Texas than most other states (Houston)
but the city does help enforce deed
restrictions that protect neighborhoods
and uses its control of access to
utilities to control and direct growth
§
Development is also governed by city
codes that address how property can be
subdivided/Requirements on lot size and
32
minimum parking
§
Municipal Government Revenue
§
Low levels of state assistance; local
governments hurt by “Great Recession”
§
Two largest tax sources- (property tax,
sales tax) are limited by state law.
Produce inadequate increases in revenue
as the population grows and are
regressive (heavier burden on those who
make less money)
§
Increased monies at times but also
increased services (recent growth)
33
Municipal Politics
§
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Property Tax (value of property) tax per $100
of the property's value. Pay to city, county,
school district and other special districts
The other major source of city tax revenue is
the 1/1/4-2 percent sales tax that is collected
with the state sales tax (6.25). Ex. $6.25
+2.00(city and metro)=8.25
34
§
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Sales tax fluctuates with the local economy/2%
percent limit the state imposes on local
governments
The hotel occupancy tax is another significant
source of revenue for cities with tourism or
major sports events/Superbowl
35
§
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Fees- Charges for services and
payments required by an agency upon
those subject to its regulations
User fees allow to provide services with
only a small subsidy from the general
revenue
36
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Levy fees on (beer and liquor licenses,
franchise fees on gross receipts of public
utilities (telephone and cable television
companies), water rates, building fees
(building permits) traffic fines, sewage
treatment garbage collection, hospital
care, and the use of city recreation
facilities
37
Municipal Politics
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Bonds and Certificate of ObligationThough taxes and fees normally produce
enough revenue to allow cities to cover dayto-day operating expenses, general
obligation municipal bonds(redeemed from
general revenue) is a mechanism by which
governments borrow money; used for large
capital improvements (construction of city
buildings, parks, airports,emergencies/flood
or hurricane damage/ Redeemed over 1-30
38
years. /voter approval
Municipal Politics
§
Municipal Government Revenue
§
Bonds and Certificate of Obligation-
§
Certificates of obligation
§
Does not require voter approval
§
§
Used for smaller amounts and short-term
financing/maturity 15-20 years
Redeemed from revenue obtained from
the property or activity finance by the
sale of the bond (not from the general 39
§
Municipal Government Revenue
§
Property Taxes and Tax Exemptions
§
§
Homestead exemption-Up to a 20% homestead
exemption on the assessed value of their home
to offset the burden of higher taxes resulting
from reappraisals of property values/ Additional
homestead exemption for disabled veterans/65
years of age
Freeze property taxes for senior citizens and
disabled/ 2013 cost city $43.9 billion
40
§
§
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Bottom Line (increasing property tax rates,
municipal governments sometimes refrain from
increased spending, cut services or programs,
or find new revenue sources
Create new fees or raise fees on services such
as garbage collection
Impose hiring and wage freezes for municipal
employees
41
§
§
Municipal Government Revenue
Cut services (such as emergency room) that
are especially important for inner-city
population
§
Contact with private firms for service delivery
§
Improve productivity, technology
42
One Home but Property Taxes
from Four Governments
(An Example from Walker County on a Home with an Appraised Value
of $120,220; Taxes Paid in January 2014)
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rights reserved.
43
§
Generating Revenue for
Economic Development
§
State and federal appropriations
shrinking
§
Dilapidated housing, infrastructure
sewers and streets, combat decay
§
Attract businesses to blighted inner city
areas with tax incentives; Tax
reinvestment zones (TRZs)
44
§
§
§
§
Questions:
Which of the following election forms tend to
increase the representation of minorities in
local government: non-partisan elections,
redistricting, at-large elections, single member
district elections or cumulative voting?
What are the two largest tax sources that
provide revenue to local governments? Do
these taxes usually provide enough revenue for
local governments to meet the demands place
on them?
45
Counties
§
254 counties (map)
§
Overview:
§
County- serves as an administrative arm of
the state that provide important services,
though their activities are heavily shaped by
whether they are in rural or metropolitan
areas
§
Focuses more on the needs of rural residents
and people living in unincorporated suburbs
who do not have city governments
46
Counties
§
Enforce state law, automobile license, registers
voters, conducts elections, collects certain
taxes, and helps administer justice(sheriff and
county courts)
§
In conjunction with state and federal
governments, the county conducts health
and welfare programs (Ben Taub and health
clinics), maintains records of vital statistics
( births and deaths), issues various licenses,
collects fees, and provides a host of other
public services(Bexar; digital library)
47
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
As required by the state constitution,all Texas
counties have the same basic government
structure, despite wide demographic and
economic differences.
§
Harris County 4 million residents and Loving
county 82 residents
§
Commissioners Court- Texas Constitution
provides for the election of four county
commissioners and a county judge.
Administrative and legislative (not judicial)
48
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
County Judge- elected county wide and
presides over commissioners court and
has same voting strength as the 4 other
commissioners
§
Four commissioners are elected from
county commissioner's precinct (elected
from their respective single member
precincts). Not elected county wide
49
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Much of the county judge's power and
influence comes from his or her
leadership skill from playing a lead role in
the commissioners court's budge decision
power. No authority over other elected
county officials
§
Has administrative responsibility for most
county agencies not headed by another
elected official
50
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Court's functions:
§
Adopting the county budget and
setting tax rates ( great source of
power and influence over other
county officials)
51
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Court's functions:
–
County judge, prepares the budget,
the commissioners court is
responsible for final adoption of an
annual spending plan (enhances the
commissioners court's power within
county government). They all vote to
adopt the budget (each commissioner
and the one county judge)
52
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Overview of Services
§
Providing a courthouse, jails,and other buildings
§
Maintaining county roads and bridges (“road
commissioner”) Very important in rural areas
§
Administering county health and welfare
programs
§
Administering and financing elections (general
and special elections for the nation, state and
county
§
County decentralized and fragmented
53
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
County Attorney Electedrepresents the county in civil and
criminal cases ( more civil; people
who don't pay property taxes,
criminal is usually taken care of by
the
54
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
District attorney Elected- prosecutes
criminal cases (felonies) gives advisory
opinions and represents the county in civil
cases. Leadership they provide to local
law enforcement
§
County Sheriff Elected- law enforcement
in unincorporated areas (city has own
police force). Responsible for maintaining
the county jail/bailiffs
55
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Law Enforcement and Judges
§
In smaller counties constitutional county
judge handles probate matters, small civil
cases, and misdemeanors
§
In larger counties, county judges involved
with their political, administrative, and
legislative roles so little time for judicial
functions. So they have Statutory county
courts; created by the legislature to handle
56
the civil and criminal jurisdiction
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Law Enforcement and Judges (cont)
§
District court (more serious crimes; felonies)
District clerk- maintains records for the district
courts.
§
Justices of the peace courts (1-8 depending on
size). Can be abolished by commissioners court.
Minor civil and criminal cases, a lot of traffic
cases, including small claims court. “People's
court”( smaller counties can be the coroner and
magistrate (set bail)
57
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Law Enforcement and Judges (cont)
§
Constables- a citizen elected to assist
the justice of the peace by serving
subpoenas and other court documents. In
some cases carrying out security and
investigative responsibilities
58
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
County Clerk- Elected to perform
clerical chores for the county courts
and commissioners court, keep public
records, maintain vital statistics, and
administer public elections
59
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
County Tax Assessor-Collector-
§
Elected
§
No longer assesses property for taxation
(county wide tax appraisal district ) but
does collect taxes (property taxes) and
fees (license tag fees for motor vehicles
and fees for handicapped parking permits)
and commonly handles voter registration
( goes back to the poll tax)
60
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
Treasurer- An elected official who
receives and pays out county money as
directed by the commissioners court.
Some counties have eliminated the office
(Tarrant and Bexar) (Elected)
§
Auditor- A county of 10,000 or more must
have a county auditor appointed by the
county's district court judges. Some areas
auditor pays and audits; conflict of interest
61
Counties
§
Structure and Operation
§
County- All the individuals just discussed (
except the auditor who is appointed) are
elected county wide, (except the
commissioners who are elected from a
commissioner's precinct) every 4 years
in even years in staggered terms, in
partisan election (Republican or
Democrat on the election ballot
§
Municipal (City) -Odd years, Nonpartisan
62
elections, and city wide
Counties
§
County Finance/Revenues-Just as
structure of county governments is
frozen in the Texas Constitution, so is
the county's power to tax and to a lesser
extent, its power to spend
§
§
Taxation-taxes on property, most
important revenue source/
commissioner court's set the tax
rate/ can add 0.5 to 1.5cents unto the
state sales tax (can't exceed 2%)
Can also impose a sales tax
63
Counties
§
§
Revenues from Nontax Sources-fees
on the sale of liquor and they share in
state revenue from liquor sales,
various motor vehicle taxes and fees
and traffic fines
§
Counties are eligible for federal grant
in aid but has decreased. Like the city
they can issue bonds to pay for capital
projects (jail/new sports stadium)...
64
Counties
§
§
But Tx. Constitution limits county
indebtedness to 35% of a county's total
assessed property value
§
Tax Incentives and Subsidiescommissioners court may grant tax
abatement (reductions or suspensions) on
taxable property, reimbursements (return
of taxes paid) or tax increment financing
(TIF; the use of future gains in property
value to finance current development
projects) to attract or retain businesses65
Counties
§
The Bottom Line
§
§
§
Pressure to increase taxes or to balance
their budgets by eliminating or reducing
programs and services
Sources of county revenue are not
expanding as quickly as demand
Expenditures- Hospitals and health
care, public safety, and roads are the
largest expenditures for Texas
counties overall
66
Counties
§
Expenditure
§
§
Texas's largest counties, also spend
smaller but significant amounts on
urban amenities (parks ) and social
programs (housing and welfare)
Smaller counties tend to spend a large
portion of their budget on public safety
and roads and little on social services
and urban amenities
67
Counties
§
County judge, auditor prepares the
budget, the commissioners court is
responsible for final adoption of an annual
spending plan (enhances the
commissioners court's power within
county government)
§
Counties sometime don't have complete
control over spending because state and
federal rules mandate certain county
services and regulatory activities( social
services, legal assistance, and medical 68
care for poor and mental health care)
Counties
§
§
Expenditures (cont)
Over the last decade, counties have
made a major effort to pressure the
legislature to limit unfunded mandates
§
County Government Reform
§
Rigid structure and duties
§
Inefficiency related to too many elected
officials
69
Counties
§
§
§
§
§
Lack of merit systems for hiring and
promoting employees; Merit systems in large
populations
Too little money
County home rule-but too difficult to
implement
Texas strongly against
Many county officials prefer the current
system as do many people served by
counties outside of the metropolitan area 70
Counties
§
Border Counties
§
Unprecedented growth near Rio Grande
§
NAFTA
§
Many live in colonias
§
Extremely poor
§
Government does little to help
§
Undocumented immigrants
71
Counties
§
Questions:
§
§
§
Local residents of each county can
determine the structure of their own
county government.
What is the major policymaking
body in each Texas county?
72
Colonias lack
infrastructure
or utilities
Critical Thinking Question: Should county government, along
the border, work on improving the conditions of colonias? Why?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All
rights reserved.
73
Special Districts- A unit of local
government that performs a
§
particular service such as providing
schools,
hospitals, or housing, for a
§
particular geographic area
§
fastestgrowing form of government
§
Two categories:
§
§
School
districts and noneducation
special
districts
§
74
Public School Districts
§
§
Public Education in the state of Texas is
provided directly by local school districts.
More than 1000 Texas independent school
districts (HISD), created by the legislature,
are governed by popularly elected,
nonsalaried board of trustees. Raises tax
revenue to support its public schools
Picks out superintendent (leadership and
day to day decisions of the district's
educational programs, budget, media)
75
Public School Districts
§
§
§
§
Sharp divisions within the community over
volatile cultural issues (sex education,
prayer in school, racial and ethic conflict,
.emphasis on athletic programs, difference
over taxing and spending decisions)
Emphasis on athletic programs, difference
over taxing and spending decisions
Increase in state/federal requirements
(testing)
Increasing ethnic and economic diversity of
76
Texas's school children
Public School Districts
§
§
Equity (fair and impartial) in school finance
and how much should be spent. Poor
districts, relying on property taxes, had to
tax at a high rate to provide minimum
expenditure per pupil. Wealthier districts, on
the other hand, could spend considerably
more with significantly lower tax rates
Increased need for services and the slow
growth of funding
77
Public School Districts
§
§
Property tax is the only local source of tax
revenue for Texas pubic schools. Unlike the
local government, special districts cannot
use the sales tax for revenue (This does not
include
School districts receive more than 50% of
property taxes collected in the state
78
Special Districts
§
Junior or Community College DistrictsCommunity colleges
§
State appropriations
§
Student tuition and fees
§
Federal and private donations
§
Property taxes raised by local district (only
community college)
79
Special Districts
§
§
§
Junior or Community College DistrictsCommunity colleges
Each district is governed by an elected board
that has power to set property tax rates, issue
bonds (subject to voter approval) Pictures out
in the corridor
Adopt an annual budget
§
50 districts with two or more colleges
§
Critical in a region's economic development
§
Improvements in health and reduction in
crime, welfare costs, and unemployment
80
Texas
Communit
y,
Technical,
and State
Colleges
Critical Thinking Question: How will tuition increases affect
student access to and success in higher education?
Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All
rights reserved.
81
Special Districts
§
(2)Noneducation Special Districts
§
Nearly 2,300 found in Texas
§
Flood, water, MUD districts, hospital
district, sewage, parks, fire
protection,housing. (congressional
districts are districts that elects federal
representatives; not a special district)
§
Most governed by board ( many
elected), collect property taxes and
fees, issue bonds and spend money 82
to
Special Districts
§
Noneducation Special Districts
§
Reasons Texas has so many Special Districts:
§
§
Many local needs cut across boundaries (mass
transit, hospitals, flood protection)
Restrictions in the state constitutions provisions or
the unwillingness of local government leaders make
it difficult for an existing government to take on new
tasks
83
Special Districts
§
Noneducation Special Districts
§
Create districts to make money for themselves
§
Ex. Mud districts in suburbs (developers invest
money and paid back by bonds and people
who eventually move into the subdivision
84
§
§
§
Questions:
What are two categories of special
districts?
Why are special districts so
important?
85
Metropolitan Areas
§
Metro government
§
Possible solution to address variances
in urban/suburban governments
§
Consolidation of units of local
government within an urban area under
a single authority
§
Other states/Resisted in San Antonio
§
Not used to deal with problems in
metropolitan areas because of the
86
Metropolitan Areas
§
§
Metro government
Instead, use councils of
government and annexation to
deal with problems in the
metropolitan area
§
Councils of Government-
§
24 created in 1960s
§
A regional planning body composed of
87
governmental units ( cities counties, special
Metropolitan Areas
§
§
§
Council of Governments (COG)
con't.
Reviews and comment on proposals by local
government for obtaining state and federal
grants
Implement state/federal programs
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Texas
Councils of
Government
Critical Thinking Question: Why does Texas have so many
levels of government? Are COGS really necessary?
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89
Metropolitan Areas
§
Municipal Annexation
§
Law enacted in 1963.Cities have extraterritorial
jurisdiction (ETJ)
§
§
§
ETJ- the unincorporated area outside a city's
boundaries into which it may annex. Designed
to improve order and planning so when they
finally annex area they will be in compliance
with the city's building and fire codes
Makes Texas central cities larger than other
states
City can annex contiguous unincorporated 90
areas without a vote by citizens living in area
Metropolitan Areas
§
Municipal Annexation
§
Those with few services (fire, police) want
annexation.
§
Established suburban communities object
strenuously to being “gobbled up” without their
permission. Clear Lake City and Kingwood
§
Woodlands in 2006-2007 worked out a financial
settlement with both cities to avoid annexation
91
Metropolitan Areas
§
§
§
Questions:
What are the two primary ways
that Texas deals with problems in
metropolitan areas?
Which groups want to be
annexed? Which do not?
92
Houston Taps Emergency
Water
Click picture to view video
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rights reserved.
93
Video Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
Which government entity is
responsible for providing water to
Houston residents?
What everyday resources are local
governments responsible for?
Should the state oversee water
allocation? Should the federal
government?
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rights reserved.
94