Your Local Government
Local politics
isn't glamorous, it isn't in the public eye, but it is the very essence
of the democratic process. Running for local office are the kind of
citizen candidates that may not receive a lot of exposure but who
make the system work at the grassroots level.
North Dakota:
There are various
levels of local government in ND. Each has a separately elected board/commission
and each has taxing authority.
- County Government
oversees the administration of the county highway system, social
service programs, county law enforcement, public health services,
and county judicial system.
- City Government
oversees the delivery of water and sewer services, fire and police
protection, and public health services.
- Public School
District administers public education.
- Park District
has responsibility for caring for local parks and recreation services.
For example, Fargo
has five elected City Commissioners who serve 4 year terms. Fargo
city government is a commission form of government, and each of the
Commissioners, including the Mayor, has city departments to manage.
Other forms of city government exist &endash; council-mayor and council-manager
being two of them.
Linkages:
www.fargo.k12.nd.us
www.fargoparks.com
Minnesota:
There is one fewer
level of local government in MN. The park services are delivered by
city and county government. Again, each of the remaining levels of
government has taxing authority.
- County Government
oversees the administration of the county highway system, social
service programs, county law enforcement, public health services,
and county judicial system.
- City Government
oversees the delivery of water and sewer services, fire and police
protection, and public health services.
- Public School
District administers public education.
The forms of city
organization, set up by state law in MN, are weak mayor-council, strong
mayor-council and council-manager. Moorhead has the council-manager
form of government, with 8 council members representing districts
and a mayor elected at large.
Linkages:
www.ci.moorhead.mn.us
