So now we turn to the "Local" part of the course title.  A major point of emphasis in this unit is that local governments exist BECAUSE THE STATE ALLOWS THEM TO EXIST.  That's a MAJOR difference between State and Local governments.  If you remember from the unit on Federalism, the original thirteen states agreed to form the Federal government, but they retained lots of independent power and authority.   As we're going to find out here, whether it's "Counties", "Cities", "School Districts", "Townships", "Water Management Districts", "Park Boards", etc, all of those entities are creations of the State.  The State governments set them up, and the State governments gave them their powers and authority (and the State can also usually LIMIT that power and authority). 

Textbook Reading

Chapter 7 (Parts 7.G, 7.H, and 7.I only)

Instructor Notes

Local Government - Lecture Notes

Outside Links

County and City Government (Lumen Learning)

Cities 101 (National League of Cities) - recommend the links on Mayoral and Council Powers, Forms and Types, and Elections (one link is broken - see next link)

District v At-Large Elections (from NLC Cities 101 - their link is broken, but the City of Winston-Salem [NC] has posted the same document)

What's the Best Way to Elect a City Council? (Governing Magazine)

Rural-Urban Divide in a Utah County (National Association of Counties)

The Rewards of the Council-Manager Form (ICMA podcast) - no transcript seems to be available

Unit Assignments

Local Government Quiz

Counties v Cities Essay

At-Large v Wards Essay

Forms of Local Government (BONUS Case Study)