Local Government and Finances

Chapter 14

Municipal Government in North Carolina

Section 1

                                                                                                             

      

 

Services Provided by Counties and Municipalities (pg 408)

What services does your city, town, or village provide???

Activity!

Local governments help people in the community every day. For each situation, decide what government service the citizen needs.

• A woman wants to report that people are driving too fast on her street.

• A girl is interested in finding a baseball league for children.

• A teacher would like her class to learn more about fire safety.

• A home builder needs to connect a house to the water system.

• A woman wants to report a bear in her backyard.

• A boy needs to find a reference book for a school report on spiders.

• A baby needs to get a vaccine to protect her from mumps and measles.

Municipalities

Municipalities

• Municipalities= may be called cities, towns, or villages

• NC has more than 540

• More than half of NC 8 million people live in a municipality

Examples of Municipalities

• Town of Cary- 90,000 residents

• Village of Pinehurst- 8,000 residents

• City of Charlotte

Carteret County Municipalities

• Town of Morehead City• Town of Beaufort• Town of Cedar Point• Town of Cape Carteret• Town of Emerald Isle• Town Newport• Town of Pine Knoll Shores• Town of Indian Beach

Created by the State

• Local governments are created by, and dependent upon, the state.

• The state may take control or even do away with them. (EX. School district)

• Most states define a municipality as an incorporated place–a locality with an officially organized government that provides services to the residents.

Created by the State

• Urban communities can create a city by incorporating.

• To do this, they apply to the state legislature for a city charter that grants power to a local government and outline the basic rules.

• To obtain a charter, the community must include a population of a certain minimum size and submit petitions signed by residents supporting a charter.

Charter Home Rule

• The charter describes the type of government, its structure, and its powers.

• Recently state legislatures have begun to grant home rule, allowing cities to write their own charters, choose their own type of government, and manage their own affairs, within state laws.

Annexation

• The process of bringing unincorporated land and its residents into an existing municipality.

• Request annexation because the people may need municipal services

• Can annex areas even if the people don’t want to be annexed.

City, Town, or Village?

• An urban community may be called a city, town, or village, depending on local preference or charter specifications. Regardless of size, most city governments provide the same basic services.

Governing Municipalities

• Each municipality elects a governing board (council, board of commissioners, board of aldermen)

• 5-7 members

• Passes laws or “ordinances”

• Approve budgets

• Set tax rates

• Elected by the people!

Mayor

• Mayor presides over the meetings of the governing board

• Spokesperson for the municipality

• Who is the mayor of Morehead City, NC?

Town or City Manager

• Responsible for the “day to day” operations of the municipal government.

• Hires and fires municipal employees

• Proposes a municipal budget

• Reports to the Board!

Town and City Manager

• Have a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA)

• Join the International City/County Management Association

• Can not get involved in local politics

The Mayor-Council Form

• In a mayor-council form of government, power is divided between legislative and executive branches.

• Voters elect a mayor and the members of the city council.

• The mayor is the chief executive and often appoints the heads of departments.

• The council acts as the city’s legislature. It approves the budget and passes city laws called ordinances.

The Mayor-Council Form

• Councils usually consist of fewer than 10 members who serve four-year terms.

• Council members are usually elected in city-wide at-large elections.

• Some cities are divided into voting districts called wards.

• Each ward elects a council member.

Council-Manager Form

• The council-manager form is a popular form of city government today.

• The elected council are responsible for making policy.

• Council members are usually elected in city-wide at-large elections.

• A professional administrator appointed by the council or board is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the government.Called the City Manager!!!

The Council-Manager Form

• City managers are experts at running city departments

• They play a major role in policymaking but can be fired (or hired) by the city council.

Council-Manager Form

• Although the city council makes the policy, the manager carries it out.

County Governments

Section 2

County Governments

• The county is normally the largest territorial and political subdivision of a state.

• Counties vary greatly in population and land area.

• In the 1800s, the county courthouse was the center of government.

• The towns where the county courthouse is located are called county seats.

County Government Functions

• Many counties provide water, sewer, and sanitation services.

• Many operate hospitals, police departments, and mass transit systems.

County Government Functions• County governments have a variety of

organizational structures across the country.• A board of 7 elected commissioners governs

most counties. Most serve four-year terms. • Boards serve as the legislature, but some

also have executive powers.

County Commissioners

• Elected by the voters– Chairperson

• Select the counties tax rate

• Approve county budget

• Establish many of the counties policies

• Appoint a Clerk to keep records

County Manager• Just like the City and Town Managers

• Report to the County Commissioners

• Draft of county budget—coordinate with other agency heads

• Appoint people to head the county departments

Independent Boards

• Oversee specific services that the state requires counties to provide

• Set local policy and hire administrators for education, elections, mental health, social services, and soil and water conservation

Local Education Authority

• Pay for school buildings and their maintenance

• Costs of operating the schools comes out of the LEA’s budget.

• North Carolina has 100 counties, but 116 public school systems.– 100 are county units– 16 are city units

School System or Local Education Authority (LEA)

• Hire teachers

• Textbooks

• Make Calendar

• Attendance Policies

• Budget

• Teacher Bonuses

Local School Boards• Voters elect people to serve on the local

school board.

• Local school board receives funding from the board of county commissioners which gets the money from your property taxes.

County Officials• The sheriff’s department= including

deputies and jailers, enforces court orders and manages the county jail.– The sheriff is the county’s chief law

enforcement officer and oversees the county jail.

County Officials

• The coroner= working closely with the police department– tries to establish the cause of unusual deaths.

• The county clerk= keeps government records and supervises elections.

• The assessor= estimates the worth of taxable property and is used to calculate the counties property tax

County Officials

• The treasurer= supervises county funds, makes payments, and may serve as tax collector.

• The auditor supervises= the treasurer’s work to make sure that no county money is spent without the board’s approval.

• Register of Deeds= Keeps records of land ownership, marriages, births, and deaths.

• County departments also provide emergency medical service and support for volunteer EMS squads.

Special Districts

• A special district is a unit of government that deals with a specific function, such as education, water supply, or transportation.

• Special districts may overlap cities.

• A board or commission runs the special district.

• It has the power to collect taxes or charge user fees for the services.

Paying for State and Local Government

Section 3

The State Budget

Adopting the Budget

• Budget begins on July 1 and last to June 30 the following year.

• General Assembly adopts a biennial (2 year) budget for the state of North Carolina in each odd-numbered year.

The Governor’s Role

• Budget planning begins with the Governor.

• His staff prepare estimates of the revenues they expect the state to receive during each of the coming two fiscal years.

• His staff adds up requests for expenditures from all state agencies

• Then the Governor proposes a balanced budget to the General Assembly.

The Governor’s Role• If requested expenditures are more than

estimated revenues the governor can:1. Raise additional revenue

2. Rainy-day fund

3. Cut back spending

The General Assembly Approves the Budget

• After the Governor proposes a budget, the General Assembly studies and revises it.

• The Fiscal Research Staff makes its own revenue forecasts and legislatures propose ways to raise revenue or cut expenditures.

Difficult passing a State Budget

• Often, the General Assembly does not pass the budget before the beginning of the new fiscal year.

• To avoid disaster, the legislature must pass a temporary spending authority

State Expenditures and Revenues

• During the fiscal year 2000-2001 the state of N.C. spent about $26.8 billion.

• State Revenues during 2000-2001 totaled about 26.4 billion.

• NC State Budget

State Revenues

• More than half of all state revenues comes from state taxes that include:

1. Personal Income Tax

2. Sales Tax

3. Gas Tax

Borrowing Money

• N.C. Government can not borrow money for their operating expenses, but they can borrow money for capital projects

ADVANTAGE: can make purchases without waiting to save the full amount needed to do so.

DISADVANTAGE: The state must pay interest to the lender.

Borrowing Money: Bonds

• Bonds are promises to repay debt

• Revenue Bonds: Earns money to repay the loan through fees charges to use the facility that the loan paid to have built.

• General Obligation (GO) Bonds– Government will use tax $ to pay back the

debt– Must be approved by the voters

County and Municipal Budgets

City and County Budgets

• Each North Carolina county and municipality must adopt a budget every year.

• They do so very similar to the way the state adopts its budget.

• The Town, City, or County Manager acts like the Governor.

Balancing Local Budgets

• The Managers proposed budget must be balanced. If not he can use the same options that the Governor has.

• The local governing body considers this budget and can make changes

Municipal Expenditures (pg 88)

• Town of Morehead City Expenditures

• During 2000-2001, N.C. municipalities spent nearly $6.9 Billion:– Utilities (37%)

• Such as water and sewer, electricity, or natural gas

– Public safety (18%)• Police and Fire

County Expenditures

• Carteret County Expenditures for 2007

• In 2000-2001 N.C. counties spend more than $9.3 billion– Education (32%)– Human Services (27%)

• Public Health, Mental Health, and social services

Municipal and County Revenues

• 1/3 of all municipal revenues come from utility user fees

• Both County and Municipal governments rely heavily on Property Taxes (35%).

• Intergovernmental revenues=Funds that one level of government receives from another level of government

• CARTERET County revenues

Setting Property Tax Rates

• Set the property tax rate when they adopt the budget.

• Governments must figure out how much they need to raise revenue from property taxes

• The amount that the government must raise through property taxes is divided by the total assessed value of property in the jurisdiction

Financial Reporting

• Every government in N.C. prepares an annual financial report that summarizes all financial activities.

• Must be audited by an independent accounting firm

• Citizens and public officials better understand the financial situation of their government with this reporting.

ACTIVITY

• Get into groups of 2

• Create a fiction town

• Your group will be responsible for creating a one year budget for your town. You have $1,000,000 to spend.

• Decide how your town will spend the money. Use pg. 88 in your book for guidance.

1. The General Assembly adopts _____ budget for North Carolina in odd-numbered years.

A. an annual C. a biennial

B. a triennial D. a quadrennial

2. Who proposes the budget in North Carolina?

A. The General Assembly C. Voters

B. The Governor D. House

3. The General Assembly must often pass a _______ so that the government can continue to operate.

A. Spending permit

B. General Obligation bond

C. Property tax

D. Temporary spending authority

4. Money spent by the government.

A. Revenues C. Expenditures

B. Interest D. Loans

5. Income that the government collects for public use.

A. Revenues C. Expenditures

B. Bonds D. Interest