local governments in texas
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Local governments in Texas. Municipalities, Counties, Special Districts, Councils of Government. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
In a previous section we covered federalism and mentioned, briefly, the
various types of local governments that exist in the nation and the state.
This section is designed to expand on that material and provide more detail on the nature of local government in
the state and in this region.
You might find these sources of information online helpful:
- Texas Local Governments.- Local Governments in Texas.
- Thomas Dye: Local Governments in Texas.- TML: Local Government in Texas.
- Pearson: The Legacy of Local Government.
Here’s a key point, made before, that explains the relationship
between state and local government in Texas.
It is a unitary system. Texas dominates the process, though it can carve out areas
where local governments have discretion over what they can do.
This means that local governments are created by the state, and are
subject to its jurisdiction.
Remember that local governments have no independent authority under the US
Constitution. They are not mentioned in the document. States can create them
under their reserved powers.
The federal rule which establishes this is Dillon’s Rule:
"Municipal corporations owe their origin to, and derive their powers and rights wholly from, the legislature. It breathes into them the breath of life, without which
they cannot exist. As it creates, so may it destroy. If it may destroy, it may abridge and control."
- A (Very) Brief History of Dillon’s Rule.- Dillon’s Rule: Good or Bad for Local Government?
The alternative (but not accepted) conception of local government is contained in the Cooley Doctrine. There is an inherent right to local
self determination: “[L]ocal government is a matter of absolute right; and the state cannot take it
away.”
The conclusion: local governments are not sovereign, autonomous
entities. They have legal authority because states grant it to them.
This is true for cities, counties, and special districts.
The only exception is the capitol.
Washington DC is a federal city. It’s legal authority comes from the US
Constitution and its rule is overseen by Congress.
But local governments fight for the right to rule themselves with
minimal interference from the state as well as the nation.
This is especially true in Texas where local government is
considered to superior to state or national government.
The Texas Constitution establishes counties, special districts, and creates the
conditions whereby additional ones can be created as well.
It also establishes the process by which cities are recognized and granted the
ability to collect taxes and make laws that are binding on its residents.
Despite Dillon’s Rule, the Texas Constitution grants discretion to local governments and delegates many responsibilities to them.
Here’s a definition: An urban entity defined by the following characteristics:
1. Permanence2. Large population size3. High population density4. Social heterogeneity
A city is a larger version of a town or a village.
All of which are areas where groups of people choose to live in close proximity to each other
and receive certain benefits by doing so.
Often people these people choose to live together because economic opportunities exist in these urban settings that are not available in
rural areas.
By the way, conflict between rural and urban areas (the town and the country) has existed
throughout American history.
Smaller towns and villages often retain rural characteristics and
bear little in common with larger cities. Note: Townships and villages
are not recognized in Texas.
For an overview of their concerns you might want to check out the Association of Rural
Communities in Texas.
Additional detail from The Texas Municipal League:
Among all of the different types of local governments, cities perform the greatest number of functions, both governmental and proprietary.
State law specifically defines and lists certain activities as eithergovernmental or proprietary. The law lists 36 functions that are
governmental. Included among them are police and fire protection, health and sanitation services, street construction and design, transportation
systems, establishment and maintenance of jails, and enforcement of land use restrictions under Chapter 229, Local Government Code. Three functions are listed as proprietary: the operation and maintenance of a public utility,
amusements owned and operated by a city, and any activity that is abnormally dangerous or ultra-hazardous. Functions that are listed as
governmental are not included as proprietary functions.
FYI: The Texas Municipal League is a lobbying organization that
represents Texas cities in the Texas Legislature. The National League of
Cities represents cities at the national level.
The legal status of cities (the fact that they are subservient to states) is peculiar if you consider that they
are the oldest entities in the U.S.
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. See:
History of local government in the US.
As opposed to states, cities are economic enterprises. Their
viability rises and falls with their economic vitality.
Case in point: Galveston.
Here are the cities and towns in Brazoria County:
AlvinAngleton
Bailey's PrairieCity of Hillcrest Village
CluteFreeport
Lake JacksonManvel
PearlandRichwood
Surfside VillageSweeny
West Columbia
And here’s economic information about some of Texas’ largest cities:
AustinDallasEl Paso
Fort WorthHouston
San Antonio
Currently more than 80% of the people of Texas live in cities.
Six of the 20 largest cities in the United States are in Texas. This includes two of the five largest
metropolitan areas.
But this has been a recent development. In its early history Texas was dominated by farmers – including
tenant farmers – and ranchers. Agriculture was dominant and the
early political landscape reflected that fact. It has only been recently that the
political power of urban areas has matched that of rural areas.
While Texas was primarily an agrarian state for its early history,
populations centers began to develop in Galveston, San Antonio,
Nacogdoches, and elsewhere.
The Greater Houston area contains some of the oldest cities in the state
since this was, from the start, a major commercial center in the state.
Galveston Bay – as well as Galveston island – offered convenient ports.
Commodities produced in the state could be exported easily from these
ports.
But cities were not politically powerful in the 19th Century. Recall that members of
the Texas Grange – farmers – had tremendous clout in the Constitutional
Convention of 1875. Half of the delegates were members of the Grange. Rural affairs dominated the legislature. Few executive agencies dealt with urban matters early
on.
But Texas began a slow process of urbanization in the late 19th Century.
Urban areas are increasingly powerful in the state.
25 out of the 150 House districts in the Texas Legislature are in Harris
County.
The interests of urban and rural areas are reflected in a handful of
committees in the Texas legislature
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Urban Affairs.
The House Committee on Urban Affairs.The House Committee on County Affairs.The House Committee on Agriculture and
Livestock (rural affairs).
“In 1850 only 3.6 percent of the Texas population lived in cities of more than 2,500 people, whereas the national level was 15 percent. In
1900, when Texas moved from seventh to sixth largest state in the nation for population, the urban percentage was 17.1, while for the United States the urban rate was 39.6 percent. The oil discoveries in the early twentieth century uncovered a major resource, scattered small boomtowns across the state, and later supplied a sprawling petrochemical industry along the coast from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur-Orange. In 1950 the census counted 59.8 percent urban for Texas; for the United States it was 58.6 percent. In 1940 Texas had
posted 45.4 percent, but World War II industry and military training camps pushed Texas across the half-way point and close to the
national average. In 1990 in Texas, now the third largest state, the urban population reached 81.6 percent, compared to the 77.5 percent for the United States. Only slightly more than 1 percent of the people, however, actually worked on farms and ranches. The remainder simply
lived outside a defined urban space.” – TSHA “Urbanization.”
Note that by the mid 20th century Texas was more urban than the nation as a whole. Prior to
that it was more rural. This has had a consequence for the political culture of Texas:
“Cities, for better or worse, have been deeply
involved in developing the main characteristics of civilization-literacy, government, high arts,
commerce, technology. Urban places have been focal points for action and ideas, and gateways
for trade and migration.” – TSHA “Urbanization.”
The needs of cities are very different from the needs of rural
areas.
As cities grew in strength, they began pushing for more autonomy and political
clout. In the early 1900s a movement swept across the nation to increase the
autonomy of cities: the home rule movement.
Article 11 of the Texas Constitution outlines Municipal Corporations.
As originally written, it did not grant much independence to cities.
Initially, the state legislature was responsible for writing city charters and placed limits on what rules they could
pass, but a nation wide movement sprung up to grant home rule charters to cities to
allow them to do so.
This allowed cities to write their own charters, subject to approval by the state.
SEC. 4. Cities and towns having a population of ten thousand inhabitants or less, may be chartered alone by general law. They may levy, assess and collect an
annual tax to defray the current expenses of their local government, but such tax shall never exceed, for any
one year, one-fourth of one per cent. and shall be collectable only in current money. And all license and
occupation tax levied, and all fines, forfeitures, penalties and other dues accruing to cities and towns
shall be collectable only in current money.
SEC. 5. Cities having more than ten thousand inhabitants may have their charters granted or
amended by special act of the Legislature, and may levy, assess and collect such taxes as may be authorized by law, but no tax for any purpose shall ever be lawful for any one year, which shall exceed two and one-half per cent. of the taxable property of such city, and no debt shall ever be created by any city, unless at the same time provision be made to assess and collect
annually a sufficient sum to pay the interest thereon and create a sinking fund of at least two per cent.
thereon.
Note: Just because the state wanted to place limits on cities it did not necessarily
follow that they could enforce those limits.
State law enforcement was somewhat limited. More on this in a later section. For
a great story regarding a renegade city read up on the Free State of Galveston.
Texas cities were granted home rule authority in 1912. They have broad
discretion regarding why policies they can establish within their borders.
Part of the rationale in doing so was so that the Texas Legislature could
reduce its work load. It wanted to not have to deal with local matters.
The passage of an amendment allowing for home rule charters allowed cities to pass their own
laws.
The changes modified language in Article 11 of the Texas Constitution.
Sec. 4. CITIES AND TOWNS WITH POPULATION OF 5,000 OR LESS; CHARTERED BY GENERAL LAW; TAXES;
FINES, FORFEITURES, AND PENALTIES.
Cities and towns having a population of five thousand or less may be chartered alone by general law. They
may levy, assess and collect such taxes as may be authorized by law, but no tax for any purpose shall ever be lawful for any one year which shall exceed one and one-half per cent of the taxable property of such city;
and all taxes shall be collectible only in current money, and all licenses and occupation taxes levied, and all
fines, forfeitures and penalties accruing to said cities and towns shall be collectible only in current money.
Sec. 5. CITIES OF MORE THAN 5,000 POPULATION; ADOPTION OR AMENDMENT OF CHARTERS; TAXES; DEBT RESTRICTIONS.
(a) Cities having more than five thousand (5000) inhabitants may, by a majority vote of the qualified voters of said city, at an election held for that purpose, adopt or amend their charters. If
the number of inhabitants of cities that have adopted or amended their charters under this section is reduced to five
thousand (5000) or fewer, the cities still may amend their charters by a majority vote of the qualified voters of said city at an election held for that purpose. The adoption or amendment
of charters is subject to such limitations as may be prescribed by the Legislature, and no charter or any ordinance passed under said charter shall contain any provision inconsistent with the
Constitution of the State, or of the general laws enacted by the Legislature of this State. . . .
. . . Said cities may levy, assess and collect such taxes as may be authorized by law or by their charters; but no tax for any
purpose shall ever be lawful for any one year, which shall exceed two and one-half per cent. of the taxable property of such city,
and no debt shall ever be created by any city, unless at the same time provision be made to assess and collect annually a
sufficient sum to pay the interest thereon and creating a sinking fund of at least two per cent. thereon, except as provided by Subsection (b). Furthermore, no city charter shall be altered,
amended or repealed oftener than every two years.(b) To increase efficiency and effectiveness to the greatest
extent possible, the legislature may by general law authorize cities to enter into interlocal contracts with other cities or counties without meeting the assessment and sinking fund
requirements under Subsection (a).
Section 4 establishes the concept of a general law city.
Section 5 establishes the concept of a home rule city.
In addition to the language in the Constitution, local governments in the state are impacted by the Local
Government Code. This can be best thought of as an organized
compilation of the various statutes passed by the Texas legislature dealing with local governments
over Texas’ history.
“A general law city is a municipality that is limited to governmental structures and powers specifically granted by state law. General Law
cities are bound by Dillon’s rule which is a doctrine that says that a unit of local
government may exercise only those powers that the state expressly grants to it. A city with more than 5,000 people can choose to become
a home rule city.” – Source.
“Most general-law cities have a mayor-council form of government, as mandated by the state’s Local
Government Code. In the mayor-council form, the mayor is elected at large. Council members or
aldermen may be elected at large, but are usually chosen from wards or aldermanic districts. The mayor serves as chief executive officer, presiding at council meetings, heading the police force, and acting as the
budgetary officer of the city. The council serves as the legislative body and has some approval powers over
actions of the mayor.” – Source.
“Home rule cities are those cities which have adopted a home rule charter for their local self governance. The citizens of a home rule city are
free to choose their own form of municipal government, choose between a large or small city council, fix the terms of office of council
members, decide on the method of election of the Mayor, provide for creation of more boards and commissions which they feel is essential for
proper city functioning, etc. . . .
. . . In Texas, a city with more than 5,000 people can choose to become a home rule city. The
home rule city can take any actions which are not prohibited by the state or federal laws and
the constitution of US and Texas.
Home rule cities are not burdened by the limitations of Dillon’s rule which is a doctrine that says that a unit of local government may
exercise only those powers that the state expressly grants to it.” – Source.
From the Texas Municipal League:
“ . . . the concept of home rule, the principle is simple: home rule is the right of citizens at the
grassroots level to manage their own affairs with minimum interference from the state.
Home rule assumes that governmental problems should be solved at the lowest
possible level, closest to the people.”
Think of the difference between general law and home rule cities this way. The former can only do those things authorized by the
state, the latter can do anything as long as it is not forbidden by the
state.
Home Rule Cities can pass and amend their own city charters
without interference by the state.
Think of it as a city’s constitution.
The people of a city have more control over its government when they have control over its charter.
Here’s a fun read: An Analysis of Texas Home Rule Charters.
While general law cities are restricted in terms of what types of governing systems they can have,
home rule cities can decide this for themselves.
There are four types:
Mayor – Council, which can be either:
1 - weak-mayor, or 2 - strong-mayor.
3 - Council-Manager4 - City Commission
Most home rule cities have chosen the council-manager form of government.
“In Texas this form is even more dominant: 251 of the 290 home-rule cities in Texas operate with a city council as a policy body and a city
manager as the chief executive-administrative officer of city government.” – TSHA.
“The basic structure of the council-manager form of government is similar to
that of a private corporation where the stockholders elect a board of directors which then hires a president to run the company. Under the council-manager
plan, the voters elect a city council which, in turn, hires a city manager to administer
the city’s day-to-day affairs.” – Source.
The effectiveness of this system depends on the hiring of a
qualified city manager who has been educated and trained to
manage cities. He is hired to do so, not voted in to do so.
Some time back League City had to decide whether it wanted to adopt
the council-manager form of government and a presentation
was made about the pros and cons of such a move.
Click here for the power points for the presentation.
The disadvantage was that the people have less direct control
over how the city is run.
The advantage is that the city can be run more professionally, and
city politics tends to be less partisan.
Here is a newspaper editorial arguing in favor of League City’s proposed change to a council – manager form of government.
Under the mayor-council form, city services were inefficiently provided and
favoritism was rampant. Managerial control over city services would be less
likely to engage in favoritism.
A mayor-council form of government contains an elected mayor and an elected city council each with significant powers. The city council can be elected either at-large, by district or by some combination
of the two.
The balance between the two is based on whether the mayor is strong or weak.
“Under the strong-mayor system, most key administrativeand appointive powers are concentrated in the hands of a
full-time mayor who also presides over meetings of the city council. The mayor usually has: (1) the power to appoint and remove department heads and the members of most major
boards and commissions; (2) the prerogative to prepare the city budget and, following its adoption by the council, to execute the
budget; (3) a high enough salary to enable the officeholder to devote full time to being mayor, as well as an office budget
sufficient to hire an adequate staff; and (4) the power to veto actions by the city council. In a strong-mayor city,
councilmembers have no administrative duties. Their role is to enact ordinances, adopt policies governing the operations of the city, and otherwise function as the legislative branch of the city
government.” – Source.
“Under the weak-mayor system, the powers of the mayor are limited. First, the mayor may be selected by
the council rather than being directly elected by the people, which dilutes his or her political influence.
Secondly, the mayor’s pay usually is minimal and few, if any, funds are provided for staff. Third, department heads often are appointed and removed by majority vote of the city council, which diffuses administrative
authority. And finally, few weak mayors have either the authority to veto actions of the council or the exclusive power to develop and execute the budget, since these
powers are collectively exercised by the council.” – Source.
As of 1991, only 31 out of 286 home rule cities have mayor –
council forms of government. No large city has a weak mayor.
Houston has a strong mayor government.
According to one study, Houston is the 38th most powerful city in the
world.
This article suggests why Houston has been growing faster than New York City. This one discusses why
Houston pulled ahead of New Orleans decades ago.
Here is a list from strongmayoucouncil.org of the
largest cities in the United States and what forms of government they have. 17 out of 25 have a strong mayor, the rest have a council manager. None have a
weak mayor – council form.
Click here for an editorial against a past proposal to turn Galveston’s
city government into a strong mayor form.
Cities sometimes change their structures. Here is a recent list.
The city commission form has an interesting, and Texas centered, history. It is also known as the Galveston Plan because it was
developed for Galveston in order to expedite recovery following the
1900 storm.
“Under the commission plan voters elect a small governing commission, typically five or seven members,
on an at-large basis. As a group the commissioners constitute the legislative body of the city responsible for taxation, appropriations, ordinances, and other
general functions. Individually, each commissioner is in charge of a specific aspect of municipal affairs, e.g., public works, finance, or public safety. One of the
commissioners is designated chairman or mayor, but his function is principally one of presiding at meetings
and serving in ceremonial capacities. Thus the commission plan blends legislative and executive
functions in the same body.” – TSHA.
It briefly became a popular plan, especially among reformers and Progressives. The voting scheme made it subject to minority vote
dilution since all votes are at-large and can minimize the
competitiveness of the minority vote.
Many cities, including Galveston, substituted the commission form
for the council manager form.
Very few cities have a commission plan now.
In addition to having mayors or city managers (an executive branch)
and city councils (n legislative branch) cities also have local courts
that adjudicate disputes over violations of city ordinances. These
can be criminal cases and civil cases.
A county is a political subdivision within a state that is assigned some government functions.
They are sometimes referred to as the administrative arm of the
states. Their functions are numerous.
Texas has 254 counties that range greatly in size and population.
- US Census info.- Texas Association of Counties.
- Texas State Data Center.
“Counties are known as "general purpose" governments due to the many different functions they perform. Counties serve the dual purposes of providing governmental services for the benefit of their residents
and administrative services on behalf of the state. Major governmental services include road construction and maintenance, jails and courts, welfare, health, and law enforcement. Administrative services performed by
counties as agents of the state include voter registration and motor vehicle licensing.” – Source.
The functions and organizations of counties are uniform throughout the state. They perform functions
seen as necessary to state governance.
But the electorate in each county is given control over who
implements these functions.
Counties are one of the tools used in the 1876 Constitution to limit state power. The previous constitution allowed the state to
implement many of these laws. The structure of county government allows
these functions – though hey are required by the state – to be implemented by officials elected by the people (the
electorate more precisely) of the county.
So while it serves an administrative function of the state, it does so in a way that is acceptable to the local
community.
Historical Fact: “Practically speaking, the sparse and largely rural population of Texas in the
early decades after independence from Spain made counties the natural building blocks of local government.” – Texas Politics.
Counties are authorized in Article 9 of the Texas Constitution.
This is the original article as written in 1876. This is the article as it is written today after being heavily
amended.
To get a fuller idea of the range of services provided by counties click here for the home page of Brazoria
County and here for the home page of Harris County.
Note that the official responsible for assessing taxes are elected.
This allows for greater local control over this crucial – and
controversial – function.
Brazoria County Tax AssessorBrazoria County Appraisal District
Harris County Tax AssessorHarris County Appraisal District
Counties contain multiple offices to implement their mandates. The
next slides contains a list of major positions and links where you can find descriptions. Most of these
are elected in order to ensure local control over county functions.
County Judge County Commissioner
District and County Attorney Sheriff
District and County Clerk Justice of the Peace
Constable Tax Assessor Collector
County Treasurer County Auditor
Some brief information about each is in the following slides.
If you want a comprehensive description of each office, click on the following
document: Guide to Texas Laws for County Officials. It provides not only a list of
responsibilities, but details where that authority is provided in the Local
Government Code.
First: A quick reminder. While cities – home rule cities anyway – have discretion in what types of governments they can establish,
county governments are structured the same across the
state despite the fact that counties vary tremendously in size and area.
County government is overseen by a five member commissioners court. It is
composed of the county judge, that is elected county wide, and four county
commissioners elected from one of four separate districts in the county. The
control the county budget, have administrative duties and oversee general
county operations.
The County Judge presides over the court and is a voting members
of the court.
Depending on the size of the county, the judge can have judicial
responsibilities, often these are appellate functions, they hear
appeals from trial courts.
County commissioners are elected from one of four district – equal in
population – to ensure that the good and services provided by
county government are provided fairly to residents in each district.
The District and County Attorneys represent the state of Texas in criminal
and civil matters. People accused of violating state laws are charged and
processed by county officials. They help develop cases against criminal defendants.
They can also provide legal advise to county officials.
Brazoria County District Attorney Harris County District Attorney
Brazoria County Attorney Harris County Attorney
The sheriff is the county’s chief law enforcement officer. They carry out the decisions made by county courts and conduct “criminal investigations, arrests
offenders, serves warrants and civil papers, and supervises the county jail and prisoners.”
Jurisdictional battles can occur between county officials and city officials. National law enforcement officials can also become involved depending on the nature of the crime being investigated. We will look at this further
when we look at criminal justice policy.
The county clerk is responsible for keeping all records for the county court. This includes land records, births and deaths, marriages and
carries out elections.
The county clerks office generally runs elections for the state, within
the county.
The Justice of the Peace is the smallest legal jurisdiction in the state. It is closest to the citizen.
It can rule on misdemeanors punishable by fine and civil cases
involving disputes of less than $10,000. It can perform other minor magisterial functions as
well.
Constables are peace officers that have enforcement power over a
large range of issues. They ensure that court decisions are carried
out.
Notice that county law enforcement is carried out by elected personnel while law enforcement in cities is
carried out by people hired by the mayor or city manager.
The Tax Assessor calculates the taxes due on property throughout
the state, while the appraiser determines the value of that
property.
The Tax Assessor is also the chief voter registrar in the county.
As voter registrar, the Tax Assessor’s “responsibilities include
accepting applications for voter registration, issuing voter
certificates, maintaining voter registration lists, verifying petitions
for local option elections and submitting required reports to the
Secretary of State's Office.”
The County Treasurer is responsible for managing county funds. This includes overseeing deposits and providing regular
reports t the county commissioner’s court about the state of the county’s finances.
The County Auditor is appointed by the District Judge to maintain the “integrity of
financial administration of county government by overseeing the county’s
financial record-keeping and assuring that all expenditures comply with the county
budge and the law.”
As we proceed into various policy areas, we will note that many government functions on the county level are implemented by people tied
into the general population.
County elections are partisan, which has led some to question whether this means that
county policies are implemented in a way that fairly treats all residents of the county, or is
biased in favor of the majority.
Notice the large number of county courts. We will look deeper into these when we cover the state
judiciary.
Each Texas county has an elaborate county courthouse. 254
Texas Courthouses has information on each.
In addition to general purpose governments (cities and counties)
Texas contains a very large number of special – or single purpose – districts. As the name suggests, they each have
limited mandates. Where cities and counties carry out a variety of
functions, single purpose districts carry out one. These functions vary.
They are governing districts because they have the power to
lay and collect taxes and to implement a specific law.
They are generally overseen by a board of trustees elected by the eligible residents in the district. They have the power to set tax
rates and supervise how the institution operates.
One you may not be aware of is the community college district.
As with all other community colleges in the state, Alvin
Community College is partly supported by property tax dollars
drawn from residents within borders set by area residents.
It is overseen by a nine member board of trustees. Three are elected every two years to a six year term. They
make a variety of decisions regarding college policies, including tuition rates. They meet once a month in the Nolan Ryan Center. You should check them out from time to time and introduce
yourself.
The County Information Project run by the Texas Association of
Counties lists the special districts in each of the counties in the state.
Click here for special districts in Brazoria County. And here for those in Harris County.
The U.S. Census conducts a census of governments every five years to
keep track of the number of special districts created by each
state.
The 3,334 special purpose districts are broken down into
2,245 – special districts1,089 – independent school
districts
According to the TSHA, these districts include:
900 water and utility districts326 housing authorities
210 soil and water conservation districts 86 hospital districts
47 community college districts46 hospital authorities
10 rural fire prevention districts 8 mosquito control districts
8 health districts5 noxious weed control districts 3 three urban renewal agencies
3 wind erosion conservation districts 1 was waste disposal authority
1 ground water subsidence district
For an example: Here’s a list of the Organized Mosquito Control
Districts in Texas.
And one to the Texas Mosquito Control Association.
Many of these have been established in recent years.
Has the spread of special districts been wise? Texas Watchdog
doesn’t think so.
Perhaps the best known special districts are independent school districts. The 1,090 ISD’s around
the state are in charge of overseeing the operations of K-12 schools. Note that general policies are established by the state, but are implemented by individuals hired by authority of the ISD.
As with county government, this gives the local community the ability to fine tune
state policy so that it fits the needs of the local community.
But it can also lead to decentralization, inefficiency and uneven standards. We will look more deeply at education policy later
this semester.
Drainage Districts
These are established “for the construction of canals, drains, ditches, and levees.” Many are located in the Gulf Coast. TSHA,
Drainage Districts.
Angleton-Danbury Memorial Medical Center
“Angleton Danbury Hospital District's (Est. 1967) mission was to provide a general
hospital to serve the residents of Brazoria County. Angleton Danbury General Hospital opened its doors in 1969.”
Sweeny Hospital District
“Located in southwestern Brazoria County, Texas, the Sweeny Hospital District was established by the Texas Legislature in
1963 after a 10-year community effort to expand health care into rural
communities.”
Brazoria County Conservation and Reclamation District #3
The District is empowered, among other things, to construct, to improve, and to maintain facilities
necessary for the control of flood waters and navigation. The area of the District covers 211.55
square miles in the northern part of the county, plus 17,580 acres of water including: Halls Lake, Lost Bayou,
Chocolate Bayou, and West Bay.
Read how they celebrated their 100th Birthday.
Brazoria County Emergency Services District
“The Mission of BCESD is to be a leading emergency service organization meeting the
needs of our community in fire prevention, fire suppression, rescue operations, and emergency
medical first response.”
Like many counties, Brazoria has multiple Municipal Utility Districts. These are “political subdivision of the State of Texas authorized by
the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide water, sewage, drainage
and other services within the MUD boundaries.” – Source.
Here’s a flyer from a title company describing MUD’s and the process used to
establish them. They are used by developers to finance the building of the
utilities necessary in a development. Bonds are sold and repaid by residents.
And here is information about MUD no.26, which covers Shadow Creek.
And click here for the website from the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality that describes their role in supervising utility districts, in addition to
water districts.
Brazos River Harbor Navigation District
“The Brazos River Harbor Navigation District was established in 1925 to govern
development of the Port of Freeport; it opened the harbor on December 11,
1954.” – TSHA.
And here are links to the special, school, airport, hospital, prison
districts located in Harris County.
Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone:
Click here for a description if TIRZs from the City of Houston’s
website.
In order to coordinate the activities of all the governments
(local, state and national) in a region, the state established area councils of government to “deal with the problems and planning
needs that cross the boundaries of individual local governments or
that require regional attention.”
“H-GAC's mission is to serve as the instrument of local government
cooperation, promoting the region's orderly development and
the safety and welfare of its citizens.” – from their website.