Forms of Local Government in Texas (Essay Sample)

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Local Government and Political Parties
Question 1 a.
Council manager plan of governance refers to the form of local government where the city council has the mandate to make certain policies, set the city budget and oversee the general administration. Besides, the council also has the mandate to appoint a professional manager who carries out routine administrative operations within the city. Council manager forms of local governance combine both the political leadership and the managerial experience from the appointed professional manager. The elected officials assume the role of the governing body, while the appointed manager is assigned the role of overseeing the delivery of public services.
Some of the advantages of this system include the efficiency, the professional approach in the management and delivery of services to the public through qualified city managers improves the efficiency. Secondly, the council management office has few employees, and this makes it easy to run and maintain because of the reduced cost of operations. Finally, in the council manager form of local government, both the elected officials and the appointed manager must consult before any decision is reached, and this improves the quality of service delivery. Despite all the advantages associated with this form of local governance, one of the major shortcomings is the resistance to change. Many a times, an ambitious city manager will always face resistance from the political class and other employees as well as the taxpayers who are not willing to embrace the new ways of operations introduced by the new city manager, and this may lead to inefficiency in service delivery.
Question 1b.
The local government in my hometown is a Council – manager form of government where the city council is elected by the public. The city manager is appointed by the members of the council, and he or she assumes the role of the chief executive officer. The functions of the city manager are subject to the directions and policies of the elected city council in place. Some of the responsibilities of the city manager in my hometown include; supporting the city council in coming up with policy priorities, coordinating the assignments of various city departments, taking part in the budget preparation and administration as well carrying out any other duty as my be assigned by the city council.
The main advantage of this governance system is the efficiency and professionalism that comes with the employment of a trained city manager. The disadvantage is that the city manager is appointed by the city council through a non elective process and this may make him focus on serving his masters, who in this case are the council members as opposed to service the public.
Question 1c.
Houston City uses a mayor-council form of local government. In this arrangement, the city has elected officials who serve two year terms concurrently. The officials include; the Mayor, city council members who are sixteen in numbers. The mayor assumes the role of an executive officer of the city while the city controller takes the role of the city’s chief financial officer. Finally, the sixteen member board of city council oversees the legislative activities.
The strength of this governance system is an elected central authority, and the management of the city government is entrusted to one individual. Besides, there is no hesitation in decision making since little or no consultation is involved and this hastens the service delivery to the city residents. The disadvantage of the mayor- council system of government is the incompetency of the elected mayor. Often, the mayors are elected based on their political relevance, but not their managerial skills. In an event that a mayor with poor managerial skills is elected, the service delivery and as well as the development of the city may be compromised
Question 2 a.
Public education in Texas is overseen by the special district governments; however, the quality of education in Texas is low due to factors such as inadequate funding among others. Funding of the public education in Texas is a mandate of the state, and in attempts to improve the funds, the house leaders and state education committees are coming up with a school finance bill which will see an increase in funding for the public schools in Texas. In addition to the school finance bill, the house leaders are also working towards an improved budget and an appropriate formula for distributing money to public schools within Texas.
Generally, the funding of education in Texas is low compared to other states, and this has led to poor quality of education, particularly in the public schools. One of the major reasons for the low funding of education is the existing finance system which is both inadequate and inequitable, and cannot educate all the students properly. Besides, the state suffers from very low average expenditure per pupil and the average salary for teachers is equally very low, and this leads to lack of motivation among the pupils and teachers, hence low quality education.
Question 2 b.
The school districts may face numerous problems such as the inequity, but that does not mean that the state should take control of the education. The main problem facing the district schools in Texas is inadequate financing, and if the state can facilitate the funding and come up with ways of reducing the taxes, the management of the special – district governments can competently oversee the education. The main problem associated with the state managed schools is lack of political goodwill. There is a lot of politics involved in decision making among various leaders depending on their political orientation, and this may jeopardize the quality of education in schools.
Question 2 c.
One of the school districts in Texas is the Accelerated intermediate Academy, which is located in Houston City. It offers education services ranging from the elementary through middle school to campus levels to students who hail from Houston city and East Texas. The revenue for the Accelerated Intermediate Academy amounts to an annual average of $ 4,905,000. The sources of the revenue include, but not limited to the local sources which raises an annual average of $149,000. Additionally, the revenue from the state sources, amounts to an annual average of $ 3,842,000.
The other revenue sources for the district are the federal sources which contribute an annual average of $ 4, 905, 00. This school district falls under the nonprofit organization, and is therefore tax exempted since it falls under the 501c3 category. Presently, the trending topic on the school district’s website is the education on drug abuse and its effects on both the individual and his or her relations.
Question 3 a.
There is a clear difference on the approaches and platforms of both the Republican Party and the Democrats Party. The Republicans believe that their number one obligation is the national defence through the preservation of all the available defence options. Besides, they believe that the United States of America should invest in the most advanced nuclear weapons for the purposes of securing the nation. Republicans also believe that the government should spend their revenues only on what is necessary in order to avoid an unnecessary increase on the taxes.
On the contrary, the Democrats believe in a free and safe world, and they strive to be part of the solution to the threats and security issues in other parts of the world. Additionally, democrats oppose the use of nuclear weapons as it has devastating effects not only on the target, but also other innocent people as well as their crops. Finally, the Democratic Party believes in innovation, thus they invest in other activities and technologies that might be considered irrelevant by their opponents, particularly the Republicans.
Question 3 b.
Some of the key issues from that receive a lot of attention from both the Democrats and the Republicans include; the climate change, the jurisdiction of the international criminal court over the Americans and the abortion. In matters climate change, the Democrats believe that the fluctuations in weather are normal geographic occurrences that warrant no attention as the cycle will come to pass. On the other side, the Democrats believe that climate change is due to anthropogenic activities and a change in the way of utilizing the natural resources is necessary.
The Republicans believe that there should be no jurisdiction of the international criminal court over the Americans. In their opinion, American soldier in other countries should not be tried outside their country as there may be no fairness in the judgment. On the contrary, the Democrats oppose the Republicans on this as they believe that the jurisdiction of the international criminal court over the Americans as this will not only improve the international relationship between America and other countries, but also make the American citizen behave responsibly when they are out of their country.
Finally, the Republicans believe that abortion should be completely outlawed as it leads to loss of lives and this against the bill of rights. The Democrats believe in the opposite. Democrats believe that a there comes a time when the pregnancy may compromise the health of the mother and the only way to rescue the mother is through termination of the pregnancy. In Texas, safe and legal abortion is constitutional provided that the expectant mother meets the constitutional and medical requirements.
Question 3 c.
The strengths of the Republican Party fall on their stand on the taxes as well as the healthcare. The Republican Party believes that the government needs to direct its expenditure to only activities that are necessary, as this will reduce...