Book: Ch. 10

Question 1

Define: county commissioners’ court

Answer 1

the main governing body of each county; has the authority to set the county tax rate and budget

Question 2

Define: county judge

Answer 2

the person in each of Texas’s 254 counties who presides over the constitutional county court and county commissioners’ court, with responsibility for the administration of county government; some county judges carry out judicial responsibilities

Question 3

Define: county commissioner

Answer 3

government official (four per county) on the county commissioners’ court whose main duty is the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges

Question 4

Define: constable

Answer 4

precinct-level county official involved with serving legal papers and, in some counties, enforcing the law

Question 5

Define: county attorney

Answer 5

county official who prosecutes lesser criminal cases in the county court

Question 6

Define: district attorney

Answer 6

public official who prosecutes the more serious criminal cases in the district court

Question 7

Define: county clerk

Answer 7

public official who is the main record-keeper of the county

Question 8

Define: district clerk

Answer 8

public official who is the main record-keeper of district court documents

Question 9

Define: county tax assessor-collector

Answer 9

public official who maintains the county tax records and collects the taxes owed to the county

Question 10

Define: county auditor

Answer 10

public official, appointed by the district judges, who receives and disburses county funds; in large counties, this official also prepares the county budget

Question 11

Define: home-rule charter

Answer 11

the rules under which a city operates; local governments have considerable independent governing power under these charters

Question 12

Define: mayor-council form of government

Answer 12

a form of city government in which the mayor is the chief executive and the city council is the legislative body; in the strong mayor council variation, the mayor’s powers enable him or her to control executive departments and the agenda of the city council; in the weak mayor–council variation, the mayor’s power is more limited

Question 13

Define: at-large election

Answer 13

an election in which officials are selected by voters of the entire geographical area, rather than from smaller districts within that area

Question 14

Define: single-member district

Answer 14

an electorate that elects only one representative for each district

Question 15

Define: commissioner form of government

Answer 15

a form of city government in which the city is run by a small group of elected commissioners who act in both legislative and executive capacities

Question 16

Define: council-manager form of government

Answer 16

a form of city government in which public policies are developed by the city council and executive and administrative functions are assigned to a professional city manager

Question 17

Define: special district

Answer 17

a unit of local government that performs a single service, such as education or sanitation, within a limited geographic area

Question 18

Define: school district

Answer 18

a specific type of special district that provides public education in a designated area

Question 19

Define: nonschool special district

Answer 19

any special district other than a school district; examples include municipal utility districts (MUDs) and hospital districts

Question 20

Define: municipal utility district (MUD)

Answer 20

a special district that offers services such as electricity, water, sewage, and sanitation outside the city limits

Question 21

Define: property tax

Answer 21

a tax based on an assessment of the value of one’s property, which is used to fund the services provided by local governments, such as education

Question 22

Define: user fee

Answer 22

a fee paid for public goods and services, such as water or sewage service

Question 23

Define: hidden government

Answer 23

a term that refers to special districts of which many citizens are unaware

Question 24

Define: council of government (COG)

Answer 24

a regional planning board composed of local elected officials and some private citizens from the same area

Question 25

Define: capital appreciation bond (CAB)

Answer 25

a long-term, high-interest-paying bond that pays off both principal and interest in one lump sum when the bond reaches maturity

Question 26

Define: deferred retirement option plan (DROP)

Answer 26

retirement plan in which local government employees who are eligible to retire have their retirement benefits deposited in an account in which the benefits draw interest until actual retirement. Some of these plans pay high interest and cost-of-living adjustments and may be coupled with very early retirement ages