LONIAN LAW, GREEK LAW, ARCHON, ECCLESIA, BOROUGH, MAYOR, etc.
Though keeping to the full the characteristic features of life, English city government is perhaps the least changed of any in strument of government in the world. Apart from measures of standardization, such as the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, the city governments of England are the same in form to-day as they were 500 years ago. The municipal corporation, with its mayor, aldermen and councillors elected by the burgesses and its machinery of town clerk, surveyor and other paid officers is still to-day the staple form of authority by means of which an English city is governed; committees of elected members or councillqrs under whose orders the paid officers act are its medium. Life indeed has shown its existence rather in the expansion of object than in any change of form.
Many services, which a few years ago would by popular opin ion have been unhesitatingly placed in the category of matters fit only for handling by private enterprise, are now treated as munic ipal services. Public health services are steadily enlarging to em brace treatment not only of material but of persons. Medical examination and treatment of school children are now municipal services, while tuberculosis and venereal disease are recognized, in addition to infectious diseases, as evils for the prevention and cure of which all the forces of the civic authorities must be mobi lized. Gas and electricity services, the first of which in London is still in the hands of companies and the second of which is now dealt with by an authority constituted for the purpose, have, in Birmingham, Manchester and many other large cities, as well as in some of the metropolitan boroughs, long been within the ac knowledged sphere of city government. Many of the larger cities, following the example of Glasgow and Manchester, regard the provision of traffic facilities in a broader sense than the mere provision of new or wider roads as of civic concern.
Spain.—The type of civic authority dealt with under this head ing is not entirely confined to Great Britain. Spanish city gov ernment has developed strongly upon these lines and communes are administered by ayuntamientos, elected by registered male citizens and females who are heads of families in the legal sense above 23 years of age domiciled in the communes for at least two years, with a president or chairman (alcalde) appointed by the ayuntamientos from amongst its own members. It is true that there has always been a governor appointed by the state, who rep resents the state's authority in each province, but his duty as re gards municipalities has been no more than to see that their actions do not overstep the powers granted to them. In 1924 the estatuto municipal was passed giving communes through their ayuntamientos the right to choose whatever organization best suits them. The statute also prescribes methods for determining the revenue and expenditure, as well as for the fixation of taxes, etc. Municipal accounts are not subject to approval by the state government, and ayuntanzientos may form their own budgets.
Under the second heading fall the city governments prevailing throughout Europe (except Spain) and their derivatives (includ ing Spanish) in Asia, Africa and North and South America. Gen eralization on such a question is difficult and apt to be misleading but the following examples may safely be taken as typical. A separate section is given to the United States.
France.—For local government purposes France is divided into departments, arrondissements, cantons and communes. The local affairs of the commune are managed by the municipal council elected by male (over 21) suffrage for four years, but many of its decisions and especially its budget must be approved by the pre fect of the department, who is a political official nominated by the minister of the interior and appointed by the president. On the other hand, a conseil general elected by male suffrage from business men in the cantons controls the departmental adminis tration of the prefect. The municipal council elects from among its members a mayor who as executive head of the commune pro poses the budget and supervises the police, revenue and public works, and appoints to or dismisses from communal offices. The mayor is also the agent of the government, and in his sphere of administration is charged with carrying out the laws of the coun try. Assistance is given to mayors by deputies (adjoints) elected by the municipal council and varying in number, according to the population of the commune, to not exceeding 12 (though in Lyons there are 17). The communal council draws up a list of reparti teurs, whose duty it is to apportion among the taxpayers the com mune's share of direct taxes, but the actual selection from the list is made by the sub-prefect of the arrondissement. Direct taxes are imposed by the conseil general on the district councils (con seils d'arrondissements) who allot to each commune its share of these taxes.
Germany.—City authorities are empowered to do whatever is deemed necessary in the interests of the city, subject to nothing being done which is prohibited either by law or by the veto of higher authorities. Speaking generally, the powers exercised by the German municipality correspond fairly closely with those exercisable by its English counterpart, with the important addi tions that poor law relief and all the public services of gas, electricity, water and tramways are almost universally included.
The general form of city government in Prussia and Hesse is by way of (a) municipal council, which elects a chairman, sub stitute chairman and secretary or clerk who may or may not be a member of the council, (b) magistrat—an executive board con sisting of unpaid and paid members, the latter being usually ex pert officials. The head of the magistrat is the burgomaster, who is appointed by the council; he is usually an expert and has fre quently been successful in a similar position elsewhere. Like the American city manager, the office of burgomaster provides a pro fessional career.
The exercise of the powers of the municipality is restricted first by the overriding authority of the minister of the interior ; sec ondly, by the intervention on occasion of the oberpraisident of the province. He, too, is appointed by the state and corresponds to the French prefect, as he is also the local agent of the national government.
A third form of control is by a district board (Bezirksausschuss) appointed by the provincial committee and composed of trained officials. They are a sanctioning authority and the arbiter be tween the municipal council and the inagistrat. The part played by the state government as distinct from the national government is therefore considerable.
Netherlands.—The municipal councils (raad) are elected bodies varying in numbers in accordance with size of towns. The mayor or burgomaster is appointed by the sovereign but in supposed def erence to the wishes of the council. The councils are elected for a four-year term. Executive powers are given to wethouders (six in large towns) chosen by the council, and as such paid salaries. The police are under the burgomaster, who is an expert civil servant rather than a citizen magistrate, often holds his position for life, and is well paid. Municipal self-rule is more complete than in France, though budgets have to be approved by execu tive committees ("deputed states") of provinces, and the "com missioner of the sovereign" has also a controlling influence, corre sponding to that of the French prefect, though not so powerful.
Norway.—Oslo and Bergen have a governor (fylkesmann) ap pointed by the state, as they rank with counties. Other cities and towns are administered by a town council (bystyre) elected for three years, and an executive committee (f orrnandskap) of one fourth the number of the council. The chairman of the council is elected by the members of the council from their midst. These chairmen, with the governor of the county in which the munici palities are situated, meet annually, and decide upon the taxes, etc., to be raised in the various cities and towns. There is also a burgomaster appointed by the council but his work is mainly secretarial.
Since 1910 women over 23 years of age have had the suffrage and are eligible for office under the same conditions as men.
(M. H. Co.) Lord Bryce's American Commonwealth (1888) marks the turning point in the constructive consideration of city problems in America. From the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1888, the United States was engrossed in problems of national readjust ment, reconstruction, transport and internal development. Munic ipal affairs, where not wholly neglected, were at low ebb and in the hands of selfish political organizations, whose interests were wholly those of personal aggrandizement and profit. Lord Bryce's criti cism stung the country into consciousness of these shortcomings.
That the city's public property in land, and especially its franchise rights, should be preserved unimpaired.
That all barriers should be removed that prevented the popular will from expressing itself freely and effectively.
That municipal administration should be conducted in the main by a class of public servants who by reason of experience and special training were particularly fitted for their official duties.
That official responsibility should be so placed, through simplifica tion of governmental machinery and full publicity of accounts.
And that the people could hold their public servants to the execu tion of the public will with the least possible delay and uncertainty.
In 1908 Des Moines, Ia., adopted the Galveston system, with addition of the initiative, referendum, recall and non-partisan primary. This broader plan was widely copied. Among the larger cities (over ioo,000 population) which adopted it were Buffalo (since abandoned) ; Newark; New Orleans; Jersey City; Portland, Ore. ; St. Paul; Oakland ; Houston ; Trenton ; Salt Lake City; Reading; Fort Worth; Spokane; Kansas City, Kan.; 29 cities of over 50,00o population had adopted it by 1915, 67 of over 20,000 and 90 of over 1 o,000. New Jersey leads in the number of commission-governed cities, followed by Kansas, Penn sylvania, Michigan, California, Washington, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. Oakland, Trenton and Fort Worth subsequently changed to the council manager form.
As of January 1, 1936 the number of cities operating under the council-manager form of government exceeded the number under the commission form.
Of all cities over io,000 population (959) cities or 56.9% were under the mayor-council form 186 cities or 19.4% were under the commission form 190 cities or 19.9% were under the council-manager form 37 cities or 3.8% were under the town-meeting form.
More than one in every five cities of over io,000 population in the United States were operating under council-manager govern ment.
Prof. Frank Parsons, in summing up the municipal activities of American cities, declared the following subjects had been held to be proper public purposes and proper subjects of municipal ownership and control: roads, bridges, sidewalks, sewers, ferries, markets, scales, wharves, canals, parks, baths, schools, libraries, museums, hospitals, lodging houses, poor-houses, police, jails, cemeteries, prevention of fire, supply of water, gas, electricity, heat, power, transportation, telegraph and telephone service, clocks, skating rinks, musical entertainments, exhibitions of fire works, tobacco warehouses, employment offices. Housing has also been added to the list.
According to the American Society of Planning Officials, at the end of 1936 there were 1,045 city planning commissions in the United States and 37 regional plan commissions. Massachusetts had the largest number of active city planning commissions, fol lowed by New York and California. More than ioo cities in the United States were working on comprehensive thoroughfare and park and playground plans. City planning enabling legislation wal found in 38 states although five provided for local legislation. Ali of the 48 states except Delaware had state planning boards or commissions. In 34 states planning commissions existed through statutory authority—in the other thirteen they were governors' commissions. All 48 states had enabling acts for city zoning. There were 1,34o zoning ordinances in operation of which about 7o% were comprehensive. New York State led in the number of zoning ordinances, followed by New Jersey, Illinois and Calif or nia. The Standard act was recommended by an advisory com mittee on zoning appointed by Herbert Hoover while Secretary of Commerce. Coincident with many of these city and regional plans for physical improvements, accompanying financial pro grammes are being worked out.
Generally speaking the past decade has afforded a number of instances of substantial progress, physical, governmental and administrative, especially in the matter of citizen understand ing and appreciation ; in the growing stress on career service, the development of highways and parkways and the new charter for Greater New York, including proportional representation.
See Herman G. James, Local Government in the United States