Serving Localities
Key Terms
zoning, mass transit, metropolitan area, suburbs, real property, personal property, assessment, market value
Find Out
• How do special districts and regional arrangements help local governments serve the needs of communities?
• What are the major issues surrounding the services local governments provide?
Serving Localities
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes What are some examples of changes in local government structure or function that helped address issues of concern to citizens?
Section Objective
Explain how local governments provide a range of services to residents of the community.
The Texas Board of Education recently asked the Texas Education Agency, which administers the public schools, to consider replacing classroom textbooks with laptop computers. If Texas adopts this plan statewide, it may lease laptops for the state’s 3.9 million students and use computer technology to update or even replace textbooks.
A. Local school districts provide most of the money and make most of the decisions regarding the operation of public schools.
I. Local Government Services (pages 669–671)
B. Local governments use zoning to regulate the way land and buildings are used.
C. Police and fire protection make up a large part of the local budget.
D. Local governments make vital decisions regarding road maintenance, water service, and sewage disposal and treatment.
E. Many local governments offer important services to citizens who have special needs and provide recreation and cultural programs for their residents.
Name the local government services that you think are most necessary. Explain.
Answers will vary. Students may mention education, fire protection, water supply, etc.
I. Local Government Services (pages 669–671)
A. Urban communities differ greatly in size.
II. Metropolitan Communities (pages 671–672)
B. Cities are densely populated areas with residential, commercial, and industrial sections.
C. Cities in the southern and western United States are the fastest growing.
D. In the nation’s early years, most Americans lived in small towns. After the 1860s, cities grew faster than towns and villages. Between 1950 and 1990, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas again attracted many Americans.
II. Metropolitan Communities (pages 671–672)
What shifts in population, if any, have occurred in your community in the past 10 years?
Answers will vary. Discuss causes of growth, decline, or change.
A. Local governments frequently establish special districts to solve problems.
III. Special Districts (page 673)
B. The school district is governed by the school board.
III. Special Districts (page 673)
What are some ways that students below voting age can participate in school board elections?
Campaigning for a candidate; helping get out the vote.
A. In the 1990s, local governments joined to develop new approaches for handling regional problems.
IV.Regional Arrangements (page 673)
B. Cooperative efforts have solved land use, water supply, waste management, and law enforcement problems.
IV.Regional Arrangements (page 673)
What are some examples of cooperative efforts among local governments?
Answers will vary. See Regional Arrangements on text page 673.
A. Local governments finance services by levying taxes, such as property taxes.
V. Financing Local Government (pages 673–675)
B. Most Americans view property taxes as unfair: they place a heavier burden on those with low incomes and may result in unequal public services.
C. Revenue sources for local governments include local income taxes, sales taxes, fines and fees, government-owned businesses, bonds, and state grants.
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to compare the advantages of using mass transit with those of driving personal automobiles.
Checking for Understanding
Mass transit: more efficient, less polluting, uses less energy. Personal auto: independence.
___ zoning
___ suburbs
___ real property
___ personal property
___ assessment
___ market value
A. movable belongings such as clothes and jewelry, as well as intangibles such as stocks and bonds
B. the amount of money an owner may expect to receive if property is sold
C. the means a local government uses to regulate the way land and buildings may be used in order to shape community development
D. the process involved in calculating the value of a property to be taxed
E. a densely settled territory adjacent to a central city
F. land and whatever is attached to or growing on it
Checking for Understanding
C
E
F
A
D
B
Match the term with the correct definition.
3. Identify Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
Checking for Understanding
Metropolitan Statistical Areas are large urban areas.
4. Analyze three goals of zoning.
Checking for Understanding
Students should discuss planning for regulated growth, preserving the character of neighborhoods, and preventing the decline of land values.
5. Why is the property tax considered by some people to be an unfair tax?
Checking for Understanding
It is regressive and results in unequal public services. In addition, determining property values on a fair and equal basis is difficult. Property that some institutions own is exempt from property tax, so nonexempt property owners pay a larger share of the tax burden.
6. Analyzing Information Why do local governments, with state and federal assistance, provide social services to residents?
Critical Thinking
People without jobs, without proper health care, or without money for food, clothing, or shelter need assistance.
Political Processes Obtain a copy of the most recent budget of your local government. Write an article identifying the services that account for most of the budget. Also, identify the main sources of your local government’s revenue. Include your suggestions for change, either in spending priorities or in sources of revenue.
