Civics 3.02
Local Gov’t in NC (ch. 14.1-2)
I. Municipalities
A. Creating municipalities
1. Municipalities- units of local gov’t (cities, townships)
2. Each city, town, village incorporated (given
geographical area of rule) by the state
a. Have a charter- basic rules of gov’t
b. Can be adjusted by the General Assembly
3. Cities expand borders
through annexationadding
unincorporated areas
to city limits
4. Zoning- divide a city
into zones (residential,
commercial,
industrial)
5. Metropolitan areascities and the areas
around them (ex:
Charlotte, Matthews,
Concord, etc)
B. Government structure
1. City council- local legislature who pass ordinanceslocal laws
2. Mayor- elected chief executive
3. Council-Manager form of city gov’t
a. Strong city council, mayor is chairman
b. City manager hired by council for day-to-day gov’t
operations
3-2-1
Write:
3 positions in local government
2 types of city government
1 question you have about how local
government works
Then complete the local government
crossword
4. Mayor-Council form of city gov’t
a. Mayor is strong, not a member of council, runs gov’t
b. City council makes laws
c. Model for large cities (uncommon in NC)
II. Counties
A. Gov’t Structure
1. Largest subdivision in NC (100 counties in NC)
2. County seat- city that has county gov’t
3. County commissioners- governing legislature
a. Elected by voters
b. Pass ordinances
c. Hire county manager to do day-to-day business
4. School board
a. Elected independent board to determine educational policy
b. Superintendent- executive of school system, hired by the
school board
B. Other county elected officials
1. independent boards manage many county services
2. Sheriff- runs jail, county law enforcement
3. Register of deeds- registers and organizes
documents
4. Treasurer- keeps and manages county funds
5. District attorney- prosecutes criminal cases
6. Assessor- sets property values, taxes
Civics 3.03
“Branches of North Carolina
Government ” (ch. 13.1-2)
I. Legislative
A. Powers of the General Assembly
1. Make laws
a. General Statutes- laws that apply statewide
b. laws for specific counties or cities
2. Impeachment- governor, judges, members of
Council of State
3. Pass a budget- by law, must be balanced
B. Organization of General Assembly
1. Members
a. NC Senate 50 members
b. NC House of Representatives- 120 members
2. Elections
a. no term limits
b. G.A. redraws district lines each census
c. each district has equal population
3. Qualifications
a. House- 21 years old, lived in district one year
b. Senate- 25 years old, lived in NC two years
4. Leadership
a. Speaker of House
b. President of Senate is Lieutenant Governor, president pro
tempore is leader
II. Executive (Governor)
A. Chief of State- symbolic leader of NC
B. Chief Executive- responsible for making sure policies
are carried out (with Council of State)
C. Qualifications- 30 years old, US citizen 5 years, lived
in NC two years
D. Duties
1.
2.
3.
4.
appoints key officials
proposes state budget
supervises executive branch
veto power
a. includes line item veto- may veto one or more items on bill
without rejecting whole bill
b. GA can override with 3/5 vote
5. judicial powers
a. pardon- release from legal consequence of
crime
b. commute- reduce sentence
c. reprieve- postpone execution
d. parole- release early from prison
E. Lt. Governor
1. elected for 4 years separately from governor
2. succeeds governor if becomes vacant
3. president of Senate
F. Council of State- elected heads of gov’t
agencies
1. Are under the governor but work independently
2. ex: Attorney General- lawyer for the state
III. Judicial (NC Supreme Court)
A. Elected by voters, 7 members
B. highest state court, interprets state constitution
C. major function of reviewing decisions of lower
courts in appeals
D. final say in matters of state law
Civics 3.05-6
“NC Supreme Court Cases and Civil
Rights ” (ch. 13.3)
I. Role of the State and Federal Gov’t
A. Bayard vs. Singleton (1787)- created NC judicial
review
B. 14th Amendment- after civil war
1. every citizen has equal rights
2. Bill of rights apply to the states
II. Civil Rights
A. State vs. Mann (1830)
1. owner charged for beating and shooting a slave
2. Court affirmed right of slavery, Supremacy of the NC
Constitution
B. After Civil War
1. Jim Crowe Laws- laws that segregated public places
(schools, restrooms, etc)
2. de jure segregated- segregation by law
3. laws were affirmed by Plessey (1896) and overturned
by Brown (1954)
Education
• What do you think the greatest problems
are in education in CMS/NC/US?
• If you could change one thing in the
education system in CMS/NC/US what
would you do?
• What do you think can be done to make up
for the achievement gap between low
performing and high performing schools?
C. Swann vs CMS (1965-1971)
1. choice in school and geography created de facto
segregation- segregation in reality
2. US Supreme Court decided that school boards must
actively integrate schools- forced busing
Leandro Reading
1. What is the core dilemma in this debate?
2. How are public schools funded?
3. (Rows 1,3,5) Make a list of arguments for local
control of education
3. (Rows 2,4,6) Make a list of arguments against
local control of education
D. Leandro vs NC (1997-2007)
1. Poor counties sued the state because not equal
education funding
2. ruled that every student receive an adequate and
“sound, basic” education
3. created criteria (state tests) for achieving grade level
Civics 3.08-9
“Revenues, Taxes, and
Expenditures” (ch. 14.3)
I. Non-tax Revenue Sources
A. Federal Grants-in-Aid- federal money goes to
state and local governments (usually for specific
projects)
B. Intergovernmental Revenue- money from one
level of gov’t to another (federal-state, statecounty or city)
C. Municipal Bonds- loans issued by state and
local gov’ts to build highways, libraries, parks,
schools, etc
1. may raise taxes to pay back
2. voters vote on bonds
D. Other sources
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Fees- developers to use local service, use of utilities
Fines- punishment for violations
Licenses- grant permission (hunt, marriage, etc)
Permits- grant permission (construction project)
Tolls- roads, bridges
Lotteries- most states allow
Review
1. What terms are used for the creation and the
expansion of municipalities?
2. What is the Declaration of Rights?
3. What is the difference between initiatives
and referendums?
4. Name three differences between the NC
gov’t and the US gov’t.
5. What were the holdings in State vs Mann
and Leandro vs NC?
II. Taxes
A. Sales Tax
1. easy to collect, dependable
2. regressive- people pay same amount
B. State Income Tax- income of individuals and
corporations
1. progressive- more income, higher percentage
C. Property Tax- biggest source of local money
1. real property- land, buildings, etc
2. personal property- cars, boats, jewelry
D. Excise Taxes
E. Estate Tax
III. Expenditures
A. NC is legally required to
balance the budget
B. Education- (58% budget)
1. local taxes provide much
funding
2. states set curricula,
graduation req., pay for
teachers
B. Public Safety- law enforcement and corrections
system
C. Highways and Roads- speed limits, licenses,
inspections
D. Other- Gov’t buildings, hospitals, libraries, parks