Chapter 14 Review Quiz

Multiple Choice

1.  To be a home rule city in Texas, a city must have a population of at least:

  1. 5,000
  2. 10,000
  3. 25,000
  4. 100,000

2.  Texas has about how many unincorporated communities?

  1. 12,000
  2. 5,000
  3. 2,000
  4. 800

3.  The zone of extraterritorial jurisdiction, ETJ, can extend beyond a home rule city’s boundary by up to how many miles?

  1. 5
  2. 3
  3. 2
  4. 1

4.  The chief record keeper for the country is the

  1. County auditor
  2. County treasurer
  3. County clerk
  4. County sheriff

5.  Problems facing county-city consolidation include

  1. Needing the legislature to approve
  2. Needing local governments to approve
  3. Fear of a too centralization of local government power
  4. All of the above

6.  Local government is the level of government which

  1. Is closest to the people
  2. Creates the most interest in the electorate
  3. Is the best understood by voters
  4. Hires the fewest employees nationally

7.  About what percentage of municipal income is derived from the 1 cent municipal sales tax?

  1. 1%
  2. 13%
  3. 35%
  4. 58%

8.  Home rule and general law cities raised about ______dollars to help tourism with a hotel and motel tax.

  1. 250 million
  2. 150 million
  3. 100 million
  4. 50 million

9.  In the council-manager plan, who is responsible for administering city policies?

  1. Council
  2. Mayor
  3. Manager
  4. Mayor pro tempore

10.  The strong-mayor version of mayor-council government is found in which of the following Texas cities

  1. San Antonio
  2. Dallas
  3. Houston
  4. All of the above

11.  In the strong-mayor system, who is responsible for administration of city policy?

  1. Council
  2. Manager
  3. Mayor
  4. None of the above

12.  The commission form of government is

  1. Used by Houston
  2. The most popular form of municipal government
  3. Known for its strong mayor
  4. Unlikely to be used by a home rule city

13.  County government originated in

  1. Texas
  2. The thirteen colonies
  3. England
  4. Germany

14.  The legislative branch of the country is the

  1. County council
  2. County court
  3. County commission
  4. County commissioners court

15.  The “hidden” level of government is

  1. State government
  2. County government
  3. Special district government
  4. Municipal government

16.  At large elections for local governments

  1. Allow a candidate to run in any district
  2. Discriminate against minorities
  3. Ensure that all sections of the city are represented on council
  4. All of the above

17.  Decentralization of authority in local government can lead to a negative result where

  1. There is fragmentation of authority
  2. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few
  3. A boss is inevitable
  4. All of the above

18.  Annexation by home rule cities in Texas is

  1. Common
  2. Limited to area in the ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction)
  3. Allowed without the consent of those being annexed
  4. All of the above

19.  The smallest county in population in Texas is

  1. Harris county
  2. Rio county
  3. Loving county
  4. Deaf Smith county

20.  The county executive position subject to requests for amendments to be abolished is the

  1. Sheriff
  2. Clerk
  3. Treasurer
  4. Judge

21.  Major department heads in county government are usually chosen by

  1. Appointment by the governor
  2. Appointment by the county judge
  3. Elected by the voters
  4. All of the above

22.  An example of a special district is

  1. School districts
  2. Water districts
  3. Hospital districts
  4. All of the above

23.  Special districts are created to

  1. Provide services which the state cannot provide
  2. Provide services which the state won’t provide
  3. Both A and B are correct
  4. None of the above

24.  Local governments often try to finance local sport facilities with which of the following types of taxes?

  1. Hotel/motel occupancy taxes
  2. Property taxes
  3. Income Taxes
  4. All of the above

25.  A Council of Government or COG is a

  1. New form of local government with full taxing authority
  2. A type of special district
  3. A voluntary association of local government of a region
  4. Both A and B are correct

True / False

1.  Council-Manager is the most popular form of municipal government among home-rule cities in Texas.

2.  County-Manager is a very popular form of county government in Texas.

3.  The commission form of municipal government is not used by any home rule cities in Texas.

4.  A Council of Government membership is mandatory in urban areas.

5.  Commissioner’s court is the legislative branch of county government.

6.  Most county executives are elected.

7.  Counties may have home rule charters.

8.  Special districts are the most common form of local government in Texas.

9.  General law cities have no extraterritorial jurisdiction.

10.  The chief law enforcement official in the county is the sheriff.