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There are two major forms of city government in Texas: (1) Mayor-Council and (2) Council-Manager. The Mayor-Council category can be even further broken down to strong-mayor versus weak-mayor. The difference between the forms is the authority of the Mayor, City Council, and the City Manager.
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- General Powers
- Types of Texas Municipalities
- Mayor-Council vs Council-Manager Cities
- Eminent Domain
- Zoning
- Municipal Taxes
- Creation of New Municipalities
Municipalities provide certain public services like police, fire, and utilities, and they may levy taxes to pay for these services. Municipalities have the power to adopt ordinances governing certain matters. Ordinances are the equivalent of a local law and deal with matters not already covered by federal or state law. Violations of municipal ordin...
In Texas law, there are three types of municipality: general-law, home-rule, or special-law. General-law municipalities operate under powers given to them by the state, while home-rule municipalities also operate under a city charter. Legally, there are no “townships” or “villages” in Texas, as there are in some other states, though some municipali...
Another key distinction is between the mayor-council form of municipal government and the council-manager form. Municipalities of both types are found in Texas. In the former, the mayor is the chief executive and chief administrator of city government and exercises substantial executive powers in the day-to-day affairs of the city. This is also som...
Municipalities may exercise the power of eminent domain–that is, they may seize private property for a “public use,” provided they compensate the owner. Acceptable uses of this power include the building or enlarging a city hall, police station, jail, school, airport, park, or roadway, among others, according to the Local Government Code.
Zoning is the practice of dividing a city into districts with prescribed building regulations for each district. Usually, a city that implements zoning is divided into residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural districts. Zoning may regulate the height of buildings, percentages of a lot that may be occupied, the size of yards and open sp...
Municipalities are entitled to collect both property tax and sales tax. Maximum sales tax rate: The maximum sales tax rate for a Texas city is 2%. However, local governments collectively are entitled to a 2% maximum sales tax rate, which means that a city may not be able to collect the full 2% if other taxing entities already have set a sales tax r...
In order to form a general-law municipality, the residents of a community may file an incorporation application with the county judge, signed by at least 50 qualified voters who are residents of the community. A judge who receives such a petition must order an incorporation election to be held on a specified date and at a designated place in the co...
SUBCHAPTER A. TYPES OF MUNICIPALITIES. Sec. 5.001. TYPE A GENERAL-LAW MUNICIPALITY. A municipality is a Type A general-law municipality if it: (1) has incorporated as a Type A general-law municipality under Subchapter A of Chapter 6 and has not acted to change to another type of municipality; (2) has changed to a Type A general-law municipality ...
Nov 20, 2021 · There are two major forms of city government in Texas—the Mayor-Council and Council- Manager (Table 10.1). A third from of city government was the commission form, devised in Galveston in 1901 after the Galveston hurricane of 1900.
City Government Forms in Texas Classification and Forms. Texas cities classified as general-law cities or home-rule cities; Home-rule cities have more autonomy and power; Three primary forms of city government in Texas: Mayor-Council; Council-Manager; Commission
Introduction. This section discusses the structure and function of municipal government in Texas. General Law and Home Rule Cities. While every square inch of Texas is included in one of its 254 counties, not all of Texas falls inside the limits of a city.
Jun 5, 2024 · Texas Statutes Title 2, Organization of Municipal Government; Subtitle A, Types of Municipalities; Chapter 5, Types of Municipalities in General. Refreshed: 2023-08-19.
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