The responsibilities of local government

The responsibilities of local government

‘A Political View’

By Sherry Holliman Local government is the public administration of towns, cities, counties and districts. Notice that this type of government includes both county and municipal government structures. It can be challenging, but these entities must work together to administrate a particular geographic area. As citizens, we have much more contact with our local governments than we do with the federal government. This is because local government runs our city utilities, libraries, fire departments, public swimming pools, parks, local law enforcement and many other areas of our everyday lives. The citizens of an area elect most of their local government officials.

This includes mayors, county commissioners, city councils, sheriffs and many other local government positions at both the county and city levels.

Local governments carry a heavy burden usually with little money. Local councils are responsible for looking after many services in the local community.

They decide what the community needs and provide services so that these needs are met. The services they provide range from waste disposal to recreation and parklands.

Specific areas of responsibility for local governments include the following: road construction: where councils must build and repair local roads, control traffic, and provide adequate parking facilities; public work: where councils build and maintain parks and public buildings such as community halls; waste disposal: which is the job of disposing the community’s wastes. In order for this to happen the council organizes for the wastes to be picked up and taken to dumps where it becomes landfill or recycled. The council also ensures that footpaths and all other public places are clean. More responsibilities they have undertaken involve: Planning and ensuring that new buildings and houses develop in a coordinated and well-constructed manner. They develop plans on how the environment should be developed and sets rules on enforcing these plans.

When a new building is in prospect, for example, permission from the council must be obtained before the building is created. Recreation: Facilities, such as libraries, playing fields, golf courses, tennis courts, and community centers are all provided by the local council. Public Health: making sure the community is healthy is partly the responsibility of the council. They do this by providing public toilets, making sure public places, including restaurants, are clean, and ensuring pets are registered and returned to their owners when lost. Not every council does all of the above activities.

Different councils do different things, depending on what their community wants and how much money the city budget has.

Voters are responsible for attending meetings to share their concerns about the conditions of their city.

They should know who their elected officials are and how to get in contact with them. They should not complain if they have not given their representative an opportunity to resolve the complaint or concern.