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Administrative divisions of the state, created
by state law
Known as parishes in Louisiana and boroughs
in Alaska (not all areas of Alaska are organized
political units)
Virginia has independent cities in addition to
counties
In New England, the county is a judicial circuit
and government functions are performed at the
city, town or township level
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Generally provide the following functions:
Keep public records
 Assess and levy property taxes
 Maintain local roads
 Administer local elections
 Sheriff provides local law enforcement
 Maintain criminal court and jail
 Administer state welfare programs
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All counties have elected councils or
commissions (this occurs at the township level
in some states)
Council or commission may exercise both
legislative and executive functions.
Some also have a separately elected or
appointed executive
Counties are more likely to elect council
members in partisan elections, while cities are
more likely to use nonpartisan
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Under the Lords Proprietors (founders of the
Province of Carolina), the Episcopal Church
was the official church and the church parishes
were used as organizing units of government.
Counties were established in 1785 as judicial
districts, and the name “county” was returned
by the Constitution of 1868.
There are now 46 counties in SC
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County legislative delegation – the members of the
General Assembly who represent a particular
county
Traditionally, one senator per county (total of 46)
and a number of representatives based on
population (total of 124)
Prior to 1975, the county delegation, led by the
senator, was the governing authority for the
county, and the county’s governmental functions
were funded by a “supply bill” authored by the
delegation and passed by the General Assembly
each year
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Change to single-member districts which no
longer conform to county lines (one senator per
county violates equal population standards)
The legislative delegation system is still used,
but it may include people who represent part
of a county but don’t actually live there, e.g.,
Rep. Greg Delleney of Chester represents a
district which includes southeastern York
County and so he is a member of the YC
legislative delegation even though non-resident
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Article VIII of state Constitution (1973)
Local Government Act of 1975
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Provides for structures of county government
County power to enact three types of taxes
established in 1996
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Temporary local-option one-cent sales tax to pay for
capital projects (York County Pennies for Progress)
Accommodations tax for tourism-related projects
Hospitality tax (restaurant meals) for tourism
purposes
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County commission (ruled unconstitutional in 1975)
Each county has an elected council ranging from 2 to
12 members
Council (used in 7 counties)
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Council-supervisor (5)
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Council has both legislative and executive power
Supervisor elected countywide, is chair of the council and chief
administrative officer of the county
Council-administrator (32)
Council-manager (2)
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In both of these, the council hires/fires a professional to
perform the executive functions of the county
In the manager form, the county auditor and treasurer may be
appointed rather than elected; otherwise, council-administrator
and council-manager are identical
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Other elected county officials (in SC or
elsewhere) may include
Sheriff
 Attorney
 Judge (Family Court, Probate Court, etc.)
 Clerk of Court
 Coroner
 Treasurer
 Auditor
 Assessor
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Granted a charter by the state to provide certain
services to a defined geographic area; the charter limits
and specifies their powers
Home Rule (originated in MO, 1875) gives cities power
to adopt governmental forms and provide services as
they see fit without state intervention
Generally provide the following functions within their
areas:
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Police
Fire
Street maintenance
Sewage
Sanitation
Parks and recreation
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Commission or Council
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Used by some cities in SC
 In SC, council has 5, 7 or 9 members including the Mayor
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Exercises both legislative and executive functions. The Mayor is
a commission/council member but has no extra powers.
Commissioners/council members supervise the operation of
city government.
Council-Manager
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Used by over 30 cities in SC, mostly larger ones
In SC, Mayor plus 4, 6 or 8 councilmembers
Council/commission chooses a professional city manager who
administers the city government and reports to the council
(who hire/fire him).
Generally found in medium-sized cities, where it’s easier for
the manager to resolve conflicts.
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Mayor-Council
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Used in a majority of cities in SC
 In SC, council has at least 4 members in addition to
Mayor
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Nationally, generally found in larger cities requiring
stronger political leadership to resolve conflicts. The
mayor may have authority over the city budget and
personnel (hiring/firing)
Town meeting (not used in SC)
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Direct democracy as still practiced in small towns in
New England. The entire community participates in
decision-making.
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Political party organizations, generally Democratic
Found in large cities of the 19th Century and early
20th Century (existed in Chicago until the death of
Mayor Daley in 1976)
Helped immigrants assimilate into their
communities and find jobs in return for political
support
Your ability to get city government employment
was dependent on your work for the “machine”
and support for its candidates
Winning elected officials hired supporters for city
jobs – police, street sweepers, etc.
Frequent political corruption
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The Progressive movement of the early 20th
Century replaced machines in many cities with
professional city employees (civil servants
hired on the basis of professional qualifications
and not political connections)
Introduced nonpartisan and at-large elections
to most cities, which weakened the power of
the machines since they no longer controlled
patronage and couldn’t elect their candidates
out of city wards (electoral divisions).
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Most cities now have nonpartisan municipal
elections. This has not removed conflict over
public policy; interest groups may replace
parties as vehicles for the articulation of
interests and political organization.
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At-large officials (elected citywide) tend to
focus more on the “big picture,” while district
or ward officials (elected from a division of the
city) tend to focus more on their
neighborhoods
At-large elections have tended to disadvantage
minority candidates, who are much more likely
to be elected under district systems
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Used as a remedy for discrimination in some
areas
Each voter has as many votes as there are seats,
but may cast those votes in any combination
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Candidate A
Candidate B
Candidate C
Top two will be elected
Voter 1 has two votes (11)
Voter 2 has two votes (22)
Voter 3 has two votes (33)
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Candidate A 1 3 3
Candidate B 1 2
Candidate C 2
Top two will be elected
Voter 1 has two votes (11)
Voter 2 has two votes (22)
Voter 3 has two votes (33)
Voter 1 casts one vote for A and one for B
Voter 2 casts one vote for B and one for C
Voter 3 casts two votes for A
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Annexation: Absorption of adjoining areas into
the city – provides those residents with city
services but also with higher taxes. Annexation
is extremely difficult in South Carolina. City
leaders see it as a good way to expand the
city’s tax base. May dilute minority political
influence in the city if the annexed areas are
predominantly white.
Consolidation: A group of overlapping
governmental units (county, cities, school
districts) become a single unit.
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In geographically smaller areas like the New
England states, towns or townships may
provide the services of counties and cities in
larger areas.
In the New England states, counties have no
separate government, they’re just map
designations. The same is true of townships in
South Carolina.
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The goal is to rid metropolitan areas of
ineffective local jurisdictions and fragmented
authority. If different units of government
provide services (city, county, school district)
to overlapping but not identical areas, it’s hard
for people to hold their government
accountable.
Economies of scale: A larger jurisdiction
serving more people may be able to provide
services at a lower cost per person.
Policy coordination
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Economic model developed by Charles
Tiebout: “Vote with your feet” and move to an
area that provides you with the best
combination of services you want.
Governments “compete” for your “business”
as private enterprises do.
This is not possible if there’s only one
consolidated government entity.
Fragmented government (non-consolidated)
may be closer to the people it serves.
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If wealthier residents can “vote with their feet”
and move to the suburbs or other areas, but
poorer residents can’t, the center city is
emptied of wealth while the suburbs get
wealthier (think of a donut)
This promotes crime and other social problems
within the center city, which further accelerates
flight to the suburbs
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Water and sewer for a particular area
School districts
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K-12 education
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46 counties
269 municipalities
85 school districts (down from 1221 in 1952)
310 special districts (police, fire, garbage
collection, water and sewer, parks and
recreation)
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Voter turnout in municipal elections is
significantly lower than in national elections
Nonpartisan elections have lower turnout
because many voters use party as a voting cue
Most municipal elections are held at different
times than national elections (odd-numbered
years)
Traditionally, center cities have been
Democratic and suburbs Republican, but
trends may be changing (suburban voters are
becoming more socially liberal in many areas)
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Progressive reform movement separated
government administration from “politics”
Hired by council, accountable to them, can be fired
by them
Professional, non-political administrator, may not
be a resident of the city at the time of appointment
Career path is frequently to move on to manage a
bigger city
Supervise city bureaucracy and personal staff
Manager may be more important in cities with
part-time mayor and council members
City Manager of Rock Hill is David Vehaun,
Winthrop Class of 1986.
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Housing
Transportation (highways, mass transit)
Economic development – development of
industry, jobs, tax base
Planning and zoning: Public regulation of
property use
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How the local government regulates the use of your
land significantly affects its value, but cities are not
required to compensate property owners for loss of
value caused by zoning restrictions
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Eminent domain: Fifth Amendment to US
Constitution prevents taking private property for
public use without “just compensation”
Ordinarily, private property was taken by
government only for explicitly public use such as
highways
Kelo v. City of New London [CT] (2005): US Supreme
Court upheld the city’s condemnation of a
property in order to sell it to a private developer
who would increase its value to the city – this
enhanced value justified the city’s actions
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Suburbs tend to have larger proportions of white
population, center cities larger proportions of
minority populations (7% vs. 22%)
Suburban populations tend to be wealthier, bettereducated
Problems of center cities: crime, violence, lack of
jobs, inadequate educational facilities, poverty,
substandard housing
All of these present challenges for local governments to
deal with
 Middle-class flight to the suburbs has only exacerbated
these problems within the center cities
 People who can’t leave are the less-well educated with
fewer skills and options
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Suburban populations tend to be able and
willing to pay higher taxes for better schools
Center cities spend considerably more per
capita on social programs for poverty
populations (e.g., housing subsidies)
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Suburbs grew up after WWII – more cars and
highways, no longer necessary to live within
walking distance to work
Unplanned, uncontrolled growth, particularly
of suburban areas
Infrastructure challenges: traffic (lots of singleoccupant vehicles instead of mass transit),
utilities, availability of land, water, sewer
Environmental consequences
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Restrictions on growth
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Zoning laws
Subdivision control projects
Utility regulations
Building permits
Environmental regulations
Restrictions on uses, development or strip malls
Opposition to street widening or provision of utilities
Growth restrictions inflate the value of existing
homes and hurt the poor by restricting availability
of affordable housing and limiting the number of
jobs (construction, etc.) created by development