Search results
Whether you're a long-time resident or a newcomer to our Municipality, our goal is to make it easy for you to access the information and resources you need. Delve into the inner workings of our local government, meet elected officials, and stay informed about policies that shape our shared future.
There are 254 counties and over 1,200 municipal governments in Texas. Learn how your local government can serve you. See city and county directory. Quick Links. Use the links below to go directly to a service or agency page. Popular Topics. Search county voter registration officials. Find veteran resources by county.
Texas.gov is the official website of the State of Texas. From here, we’ll guide you to online services, resources, and information around our great state.
- General Powers
- Types of Texas Municipalities
- Mayor-Council vs Council-Manager Cities
- Eminent Domain
- Zoning
- Municipal Taxes
- Creation of New Municipalities
Municipalities provide certain public services like police, fire, and utilities, and they may levy taxes to pay for these services. Municipalities have the power to adopt ordinances governing certain matters. Ordinances are the equivalent of a local law and deal with matters not already covered by federal or state law. Violations of municipal ordin...
In Texas law, there are three types of municipality: general-law, home-rule, or special-law. General-law municipalities operate under powers given to them by the state, while home-rule municipalities also operate under a city charter. Legally, there are no “townships” or “villages” in Texas, as there are in some other states, though some municipali...
Another key distinction is between the mayor-council form of municipal government and the council-manager form. Municipalities of both types are found in Texas. In the former, the mayor is the chief executive and chief administrator of city government and exercises substantial executive powers in the day-to-day affairs of the city. This is also som...
Municipalities may exercise the power of eminent domain–that is, they may seize private property for a “public use,” provided they compensate the owner. Acceptable uses of this power include the building or enlarging a city hall, police station, jail, school, airport, park, or roadway, among others, according to the Local Government Code.
Zoning is the practice of dividing a city into districts with prescribed building regulations for each district. Usually, a city that implements zoning is divided into residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural districts. Zoning may regulate the height of buildings, percentages of a lot that may be occupied, the size of yards and open sp...
Municipalities are entitled to collect both property tax and sales tax. Maximum sales tax rate: The maximum sales tax rate for a Texas city is 2%. However, local governments collectively are entitled to a 2% maximum sales tax rate, which means that a city may not be able to collect the full 2% if other taxing entities already have set a sales tax r...
In order to form a general-law municipality, the residents of a community may file an incorporation application with the county judge, signed by at least 50 qualified voters who are residents of the community. A judge who receives such a petition must order an incorporation election to be held on a specified date and at a designated place in the co...
Jun 14, 2016 · The Local Government Records Act (LGRA) defines a local government as “a county, including all district and precinct offices of a county, municipality, public school district, appraisal district, or any other special-purpose district or authority” [Local Gov’t Code Sec.201.003 (7)].
The types of municipalities in Texas are defined in the Local Government Code, which was codified in 1987. The designations of city, town and village were superseded by Type A, B, and C general-law cities in the code.
People also ask
What is a municipality in Texas?
What type of government does a Texas City have?
What is a general-law municipality in Texas?
How many local governments are there in Texas?
What are the different types of municipalities in Texas?
What are the zoning regulations in Texas?
There are two major forms of city government in Texas: (1) Mayor-Council and (2) Council-Manager. The Mayor-Council category can be even further broken down to strong-mayor versus weak-mayor. The difference between the forms is the authority of the Mayor, City Council, and the City Manager.
