Village or City Government

As towns grew, people needed some sort of organization or government to help make their area a good place to live.  The job of a town or city government was to see that its citizens had fire and police protection to help keep them safe.  It made laws that told how people were expected to behave in the community.

Today, town and city governments have many duties.  They see that their citizens have good streets and sidewalks.  They make sure that the community has a safe water supply and sewer system.  Governments make laws that control the operation of businesses or say what kinds of buildings can be built.   They also help make traffic laws and see that they are enforced.  One of the big jobs of government is to decide how money shall be collected and spent.

Whether communities are small or large, they need people to carry out certain government jobs.  Read about these jobs and find out who does these jobs in your community.

1. Mayor or president--heads the city or village government
   
   What title is used in your community? _________________________________
   
   Who was the first person to hold this job? ______________________________
   
   What year did he/she begin holding this job? ______________
   
   Who holds this job now? ____________________
   
   
2. Clerk--keeps the records of government business, including a record of money that has been collected and spent; the clerk also issues licenses and permits
   
   Name the clerk in your community government. __________________________
   
   List one kind of license the clerk issues. _________________________________
   
   
3. Treasurer--collects taxes and pays the bills for the government
   
   Who is your treasurer? _______________________________________________
   
   List one type of tax collected by the treasurer. ____________________________

Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society