UNDERSTANDING LOCAL GOVERNMENT

If someone asked you to come up with a symbol or picture of "government," what would you think of? The White House? Perhaps the state flag? Your local courthouse?

You probably wouldn't think of a school building, a sewage plant, the local library, or even City Hall. These buildings, however, are just as much symbols of government as the White House and are the result of actions by local government.

Citizens pay a lot more attention to the actions and words of the President of the United States, members of Congress, or even to the Governor at the state level. But local government actually plays a very significant role in your daily life, in ways you may not have thought about.

The MY LOGO (Missouri Youth Engaged in Local Government) Program will help students learn what local government is and what it does, particularly in your very own community. Through MY LOGO they will get a better appreciation and understanding of the important jobs carried out by local government officials such as the mayor, county commissioner, county clerk, alderman, council men/women, city manager, city administrator, county executive, sheriff, police chief, coroner, or assessor to name a few.

The MY LOGO Program will inspire kids to get involved in their local community in ways that will help them better understand their community’s strengths --- those unique characteristics that make it a great place to go to school, work, and play. They will also find out about problems facing the community and learn steps in how to solve those problems.

As a responsible, active citizen and member of your community, you have an important role to play in helping your community build and maintain its core values and identify and address its problems.

Scroll down to learn about:

  • County Government

  • Municipal or City Government

  • Special Purpose Government

  • Planning & Zoning

  • Exploring Your Community

  • Analyzing Community Issues

  • Establishing an Action Agenda

  • Writing an Action Plan

COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Counties are the oldest form of local government in America. The first counties in Missouri were established in 1812, even before Missouri became a state. Today, counties operate under state authority, providing public services to people and businesses.

Functions...Counties are general-purpose governments. This means that they are responsible for a large number of different activities. These activities or functions include:

  1. County Finance (example: collecting taxes)

  2. Law Enforcement (example: operating county jails)

  3. Road Building and Maintenance (example: snow removal)

  4. Land Use (example: planning and zoning)

  5. County Administration (example: operating voting booths)

Organization... The Missouri State Constitution divides its counties into four classes based on the total value of all property in the county. Generally, all counties within the same class have the same powers and duties under state law. First class counties can design their own governmental structure under a home rule charter.

Although every county government is somewhat unique, each county has both legislative and administrative positions. The two most common organizational models of county government in Missouri are described below.

  1. County Commission Model: Most counties in Missouri have a County Commission composed of three elected officials. One, the presiding commissioner, is elected county-wide and serves for four years. The other two associate commissioners represent half county districts and only serve a two year term. Commissioners have both legislative and executive functions.

  2. County Executive Model: Charter counties, which include Jackson, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. Louis Counties, divide legislative and executive authority between a county council of 7 to 9 members; all have an elected County Executive. Under the County Executive model, the council makes the laws for the county, while the executive carries out the law. The County Executive is elected into office by voters of the entire county. Most of the council members are elected from districts within the county.

 Many other administrative positions, both elected and appointed, are necessary to run a county government. Some of these positions include: Director of Highways and Traffic; Director of Public Works; Director of Parks; Director of Revenue, Director of Health; and many more.

County websites contain valuable information related to government and community. The St. Louis County website, for example, has wonderful information about the County Executive, County Council, and all its departments. The St. Charles County site shows its charter. 

For a complete listing of all Missouri's county websites go to www.mocounties.com/ or you can simply “google” the county you’re trying to look up.

MUNICIPAL OR CITY GOVERNMENT

Municipal governments are also called city governments. Like counties, they are also general purpose governments, providing many public services to their residents. How do municipal or city governments differ from counties? Historically, counties developed as local agents of the state government. They provided certain key services, such as law enforcement (the county sheriff), justice (the county courthouse), and road maintenance for a mostly rural population covering a large geographic area.

Municipalities served a smaller geographic area within an urban population; municipal governments were incorporated (or recognized by state law) primarily because the residents of a community wanted to have a city government that could provide a wide array of services, such as sidewalks, street lighting, and water and sewer systems. Thus, the answer to the question of how cities differ from counties is this: cities are incorporated (counties are not), cities cover a small, urban area (counties a large, often rural area), and cities provide a range of services (counties only a few).

Still, in some places at least, counties and cities are more similar than different. These differences are not so great as they used to be. Some counties, such as St. Louis and Jackson in Kansas City, are as densely populated as many cities and the county governments provide as many services as major cities. In addition, these large, urban counties have home rule charters, making them even more like cities. The range of services provided by city governments varies depending primarily on city population. Larger cities generally demand more services than smaller cities.

Organization...Missouri currently divides cities into two classes, based on its population at the time it incorporates. Third class cities have a population of 3,000 to 29,999 people, while fourth class cities have a population of 500 to 2,999 people. (Missouri law also recognizes villages--places with fewer than 500 people.) When a city gains population, it does not automatically change classes. Because of this, a city may have a population well above the limits set for a particular class.

State law sets out the form of government and powers of cities in each class. However, the Missouri Constitution allows a city with population of over 5,000 people to write a home rule charter, in which the city can decide for itself what structure of government it will have and what kinds of powers it will exercise.

The home rule charter becomes effective when the voters of the city approve it. Most of Missouri's larger cities now operate under home rule charters (there are now about 38 home rule cities in the state).

Needless to say, not all cities have the same form of government. Most of Missouri's smaller cities (with population under 5,000) and its second largest city (St. Louis) have the mayor/council form of government. Most of its larger cities (those with a population of 25,000 or more) and most of its home rule cities use either the mayor/council/administrator model or the council/manager form.  Kansas City, the state's largest city, uses the council/manager form.

Mayor/Council/ Form... More than 80 percent of Missouri's cities, including the city of St. Louis, have this "traditional" form of government. A city council or board of aldermen makes the city's laws or ordinances. The mayor administers the law. The mayor and council members are all elected officials.

People who study government often distinguish between two kinds of mayor/council government: the strong mayor plan and the weak mayor plan. Under the strong mayor plan, the mayor can appoint most important city department heads and has substantial control over the city's budget. Under the weak mayor plan, the mayor shares appointive authority with the council and other elected officials and may have only modest budgetary power. The difference between the strong and weak plans is not clear-cut. Of Missouri cities, the city of St. Louis comes closest to the strong mayor plan.

Council/Manager Form...Under this plan, an elected city council makes laws for the city and hires a professional city manager to carry out the law. The mayor in this plan is merely another member of the council. The city manager appoints and removes department heads.

Mayor/Council/Administrator Form... This plan is a "compromise" between the mayor/council and council/manager forms described above. An elected council makes laws for the city, and the mayor has important executive responsibility to carry those laws out. But the council and mayor appoint a city administrator  to look after the day-to-day affairs of the city. More than 100 Missouri cities use this form of government.

Follow-Up Activity:  Students may want to research their city and find out what form of government their city operates under.  Students can then make a chart showing various cities in Missouri and list the form of government that is used.  Students may want to lead a class discussion as to which form of government best serves the people.  

SPECIAL PURPOSE GOVERNMENT

Unlike general purpose governments, special purpose governments offer only one or two major services. Two kinds of special purpose governments are school districts and special districts.

School Districts: Public education is one of the most important functions of government. Both state and federal governments provide money and make rules for public education. But local school districts have most of the day-to-day responsibility for running the schools. Each district has an elected school board that decides what the budget should be, determines where schools should be built, sets the curriculum, and hires the superintendent to run the schools. In Missouri, most school boards have seven members who are elected for three-year terms. The city of St. Louis, however, has a twelve member board elected for six-year terms. In addition to its elected Board, the St. Louis Public School District is also under the governance of a three-member Special Administrative Board. One member is appointed by the Governor, one by the Mayor of St. Louis, and one by the President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. It is a policy making body with the primary function of establishing and monitoring rules, plans, and procedures for the school system. The Board appoints a superintendent to manage its budget, supervise the staff and students, and make recommendations for the operations of the schools and support services.

Special Districts: Special districts are little known, but they are often the only way to provide a necessary service. For instance, a fire protection district may be set up to serve the needs of residents in one area of a rural county. A special district usually has the power to tax. It is run by a governing board, which may be elected or appointed. There are 29 different types of special districts in Missouri. They provide such services as:

  • fire protection

  • ambulance services

  • libraries

  • sewers

  • roads

  • parks

  • water

EXAMPLES OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS IN MISSOURI:

  • Afton School District

  • Ferguson-Florissant School District

  • Hazelwood School District

  • Jackson County Sports Complex Authority

  • Lindbergh School District

  • Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

  • Missouri Department of Transportation

  • Nixa School District

  • Ritenour School District

  • Webster Groves School District 

Follow-Up:  Why is special purpose government necessary for governments to operate?  How are special purpose governments funded?

PLANNING & ZONING

What Is Planning and Zoning? Two of the most important functions of local government are planning and zoning. In Missouri, both cities and counties undertake planning and zoning. A plan is a blueprint or guide for the orderly growth of a community. The goal of planning is to create a community that is a good place for its residents to live, work, go to school, and play.

A good city plan will provide for the following:

  • sound infrastructure - a term that refers to the streets and highways, railways, and water and sewer lines within a community

  • safe, attractive residential areas that promote family life

  • shopping areas along major streets easily accessible to the public

  • industrial areas that are close to major highways and rail or river terminals, but removed from residential areas

  • open space and parks that preserve the beauty of the community and provide recreational opportunities for residents

  • special areas for hospitals, schools, and other public buildings

The city itself may be responsible for implementing or doing some parts of the plan such as building streets or laying water lines. But much of "the doing" under a plan is not done by governments, but by individuals and businesses that buy property and build houses, stores, and factories. The plan is intended to guide the land use decisions of individual property owners in order to promote the general well-being of the community. But while the typical resident of a community is likely to support the general idea of planning, specific planning decisions are often highly controversial since they affect what people can do with their property and what others who live nearby can do with theirs.

A city tries to make sure that the land use decisions of individual property owners are consistent with the plan. The city does this by zoning. Zoning refers to the city's laws or ordinances that tell the community what kinds of land use can occur in various parts of the community. In other words, cities use zoning as a way to make sure that development in the city fits within the plan. Like planning, zoning is intended to protect the health and safety of the city's residents, preserve property values in the community, and promote the city's economy.

The idea behind zoning (and planning as well) is that land use decisions in a particular area or neighborhood should be consistent or fit together. You probably would not like to live in house located beside a smoke-belching factory or a noisy mall subject to heavy traffic. Zoning aims to prevent such "inconsistent" uses by keeping residential areas (such as homes and apartments) apart from areas of industry (factories and warehouses) and commercial areas (office parks and shopping centers). Thus, a city will divide up its land area into zones or zoning districts.

What Are Zoning Districts? There are three main kinds of zoning districts: (1) residential; (2) commercial; and (3) industrial. Each of these is described below.

1) Residential Zoning Districts - The typical city not only designates particular areas as residential, but divides up the residential areas for particular kinds of housing. Thus, a city may have four kinds of residential districts, such as:

  • R1: for single family homes;

    1. R2: for duplexes (up to 2 families);

    2. R3: for apartments and condominiums

    3. R4: for retirement centers

Notice that as the R number gets larger, the type of residence will "house" more people.

By having these different kinds of residential zoning districts, cities can control the zoning "density" of where people live. "Density" refers to the number of people living on each acre of land.

R1 does not mean the same thing in every city. In the City of Ellisville, R1 zoning requires that homes must be built on lots one-half acre in size or greater. Thus, six homes can be built on three acres. In the City of Wildwood, R1 zoning says that homes must be built on lots three acres in size or greater. In Wildwood, the city population will never become very large because only one home can be built on every three acres. Wildwood has zoned in this way to cut down on its population growth in order to avoid many of the problems which come with more population (such as more traffic and overcrowding problems in the schools).

2) Commercial Zoning Districts - Commercial zoning is very much like residential zoning. There is a group of commercial zones ranging from C1 to C4, with the higher number indicating greater density.

  • C1: districts allow for small business offices, such as dentists and attorneys, that have few customers. These are "low impact" businesses that create few traffic or noise problems.

  • C2: districts allow land uses of greater impact than C1. C2 businesses might include medical buildings, small libraries, and museums - businesses that create more traffic than C1 businesses, but are not viewed as disruptive to neighborhoods.

  • C3: land uses, such as grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, have a large impact on surrounding areas; they generate lots of traffic, noise, and trash, and so are placed well apart from residential areas.

  • C4: businesses include movie theaters, shopping malls, and automobile dealerships. They require very dense, large-scale land use, and are seldom located next to residential areas.

Industrial Zoning Districts ...Industrial zoning is much like residential and commercial zoning. Industrial zones might be divided between M1 ("M" means manufacturing) for warehouses and truck depots and M2 for factories, smokestack industries, or other large scale manufacturing plants. M2 zones would never be placed next to a residential zone, since a noisy, smoke-belching factory would make residential life miserable and significantly reduce the property value of homes nearby.

Buffering is an important part of zoning. If a commercial zoning district is next to a residential zoning district, the commercial zoning district will require certain buffers to keep residents in their own homes from being exposed to harm from commercial activities such as the revving of car engines and the constant whirring of heating and air conditioning units in a large discount store. Buffering may involve wooden privacy fencing or certain kinds of trees like Evergreens, that always screen the two zoning districts from each other. Certain zoning districts may also have 50-foot or 100-foot "no build" zones that help to keep all commercial buildings at least 50 feet or 100 feet from the nearest home.

Setback requirements for buildings, like buffering, help to lessen the effect of all kinds of property problems. Setback requirements may say, for example, that no home can be built closer than 35 feet from the street, or less than 10 feet from any other property line. If you live in a home next to an open field, setback requirements prevent another person from building a house right "on" your property line, and so put your bedroom window about 10 feet from his bedroom window. Zoning tries to standardize the appearance of the neighborhoods.

What Are the "Politics" of Zoning? In applying its zoning rules, a city usually makes a distinction between permitted uses and conditional uses.  Permitted uses pose no special problems for a particular zoning district, and so all that is needed is a business license from the city.  Conditional uses can pose traffic, noise, or other problems, and so must get special approval from the city's governing body (the board of aldermen or city council).  The following example shows how a C3 zone might distinguish between permitted and conditional uses.

C3-Commercial Zoning District

Permitted Use Single Family Homes General Office Banks Gasoline Service Stations Medical Buildings less than 40,000 square feet Hardware Stores Pet Shops General Retail Sales Sit-Down or Dine-In Restaurants

Conditional Use Grocery Stores Any Liquor Sales Establishment All Businesses with Drive-Through Facilities Fast Food Restaurants Skating Rinks Recreational Facilities Post Office Hospital Utility Facility Convenience Store

Notice that Conditional Uses generally have land uses that are more likely to cause problems than are permitted uses. If a record store wanted to locate in a C3 zoning district, it would come under the category of "General Retail," which is a permitted use. If a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through facility wanted to locate in the C3 zoning district, it would fall under the conditional use heading. The fast-food restaurant could not just open its business, as the record store could. It would first have to apply for a conditional use permit from the city government.

Planning and Zoning Commission. An application for a conditional use permit goes to the city's planning and zoning commission, which holds a meeting or "public hearing" at which anyone can speak for or against the restaurant's proposal for a conditional use. The commission will make sure that that the restaurant has thought about such issues as lighting, traffic flow, noise, and crime. The commission can require that the drive-through stay open only until midnight so that people who live nearby don't have to put up with "WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT" blaring from the loudspeaker at three o'clock in the morning. The commission can even require that the restaurant pay for traffic lights on the street near its entrance. After the hearing, the commission recommends to the city council either that the permit be granted or denied. 

City Council - After the planning and zoning commission has made its recommendation, the city council or board of aldermen (depending on what the city calls it) will hold its public hearing on the application. At this second hearing, the council will make sure that the restaurant has addressed the concerns of all residents and nearby businesses before it is allowed to build and operate its fast-food business. After the hearing, the council will vote "yes" or "no" on the question of whether to grant the conditional use permit. If the council votes yes, the restaurant can open. If no, the restaurant cannot operate.

If the council votes no, it must have a very good reason for not letting the restaurant be opened. If the property owner who wants to build the restaurant feels that the city is being unfair, the owner can sue the city, hoping that the judge who hears the lawsuit will force the city to issue the permit and even pay the owner for lost income for the time the restaurant was not allowed to open.

Summary -  In carrying out zoning and land use policy, city officials must weigh the interests of the property owner against the interests of the entire community. This balancing act is often controversial because the typical resident wants to be able to use her property as she sees fit and to have a zoning policy that produces a safe, attractive community. Achieving both goals at the same time is not always easy.

NOTE: Jeffrey LaGarce, current City Manager of Hannibal, MO, prepared this chapter, with assistance from the CECH staff while he was Assistant City Manager of Ellisville, Missouri.