If you’re the kind of person who likes to work in a fast-paced office with a wide variety of duties facing you at every turn, a career as a city clerk might be right for you. The role of the city clerk is a demanding one that gathers all the loose ends of administration and pulls them together. The city clerk plays an important role in service to the mayor, the city council, the city manager and all city administrative departments. Some people equate the role of the city clerk in local government to that of the U.S. Secretary of State in the federal government. In larger cities, city clerks … [Read more...] about What Is a City Clerk?
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What Are the Primary Functions of U.S. Local Government?
A basic review of United States history will help you to recall the authority of federal, state, and local government functions. Specifically, the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants all powers not given to the federal government back to the people by way of state and local government. Citizens tend to use many of the local government departments every week without thinking about them. The federal government consists of three branches of government including the executive, legislative, and judicial departments. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t require the state governments to follow … [Read more...] about What Are the Primary Functions of U.S. Local Government?
How to Become an Adaptable and Effective Local Government
Local government offices manage a wide variety of citizen services and needs. If you’ve ever taken a trip to your local government offices, you will most likely have seen that they were bustling with activity. It’s a place where citizens expect to see effectiveness and efficiency in action, as local government leaders should always be good stewards of the community’s tax dollars. With so many tasks to complete every day – and every week – some local government employees may have an inclination to do things the way that they’ve always been done rather than look for new and innovative ways to … [Read more...] about How to Become an Adaptable and Effective Local Government
How to Report Corruption in Local Government
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to visit Chicago, Illinois, you’re sure to have heard someone refer to this major city as the “Windy City.” What you may be interested to know is that Chicago didn’t get its nickname from the gusty winds that blow across the city from Lake Michigan. In fact, Chicago is only the 12th-windiest city in the nation among major cities. According to the Chicago Tribune, the most likely source of the nickname dates back to the 1800s and originates from long-winded politicians. The University of Illinois found that the northern district of Illinois had 1,642 … [Read more...] about How to Report Corruption in Local Government
Incorporating Your Community’s Needs Into Your Budget Planning
Developing a local government budget is a standard, annual process. What makes the process so difficult is that it has many components and many stakeholders. It’s helpful to learn from how other communities approach their budgeting processes, including how they best deliver community services, how much they allocate toward various parts of the budget, and how they communicate their planning to their stakeholders. While it’s helpful to have some sense of a template, each local community is different and has a different culture, and those are important factors to consider in budget planning. … [Read more...] about Incorporating Your Community’s Needs Into Your Budget Planning
The Importance of Effective and Efficient Local Governments
Local governments were designed with the purpose of creating order in ways that serve the general public democratically. The general public elects the leaders that they have the most faith in to run an effective local government. In electing leaders, the public gives these elected officials the power to do whatever is necessary to perform its functions and to achieve the municipality’s objectives, including giving the officials the power to levy taxes on citizens. In exchange for their power, local citizens expect their government to be fair and to spend their tax dollars wisely and without … [Read more...] about The Importance of Effective and Efficient Local Governments