Local Governments in the US
Local governments serve as the states' legal frameworks in the US. According to state statutes and constitutions, they were established. The establishment of local governments and the scope of their powers are both covered by state laws. In the US, counties, municipalities, townships, and school and special districts are the four main types of local government.
The municipal government, in my opinion, is the local government structure that responds to constituent needs the best. This is due to the fact that municipalities offer public services to a particular population within a specified area in addition to those offered by counties and special districts. They provide services like hospitals, airports, parks, libraries environmental protection and highways, in addition to county services such as law enforcement, courts, jails, public health, vital statistics, land records, roads, welfare, and education. Today almost 80% of the US population resides in municipalities (Kasner, 2017). They are led by elected mayors or managed by appointed managers.
Schools and Special Districts
From my point of view, schools and special districts are the most responsive in meeting the needs of the employees. This is because they are organized local entities authorized by the state act to provide limited and designated responsibilities and with sufficient fiscal and administrative autonomy. All the employees are focused towards attaining certain specific or common objectives and hence it is easy to ascertain and meet their needs while addressing their issues.
Role of Local Government in Politics
Forms of local government provide platforms for political interactions amongst interested groups, executive officials and legislature. According to Tavares & Camões (2010), the local government system plays a critical role in arbitrating the competing constituency demands, the constraints and incentives of intergovernmental competition and the ambitions of the local government officials in the political market. Political issues influence or affect the delivery of local government services and other objectives like environmental sustainability. Therefore, politics affects the processes of local government directly or indirectly.
Town Government
According to my opinion, the town government is the only system that can be insulated from politics. The town government is administered by an annual meeting where the entire town's populace is eligible to partake. In large towns, the residents elect representatives to participate in the meetings. During the town meetings, the residents establish the budget and enact ordinances without any political interference. Elected board of trustees implements the ordinances and the budget.
References
Kasner, A. J. (2017). Local government design, mayoral leadership, and law enforcement reform. Stanford Law Review, (2), 549.
Tavares, A. F., & Camões, P. J. (2010). New Forms of Local Governance. Public Management Review, 12(5), 587-608.
