Question

Describe the elements of a commission form of city government as devised in the Galveston Plan of 1901.

Answer 1

Answer:

City Commission Government is a form of government organization created in 1901 by the Galveston Plan, with the aim of creating multi-person local governments, in which decisions do not depend on the will or judgment of a single mayor, but on a group of people who will decide the issues that are presented through majority votes.

In this context, the Galveston Plan stipulated that these groups should be 5 or 7 people, so that there is no possibility of a tie in terms of decision-making criteria, which would be counterproductive since it would slow down the entire decision-making process. In this way, the simple majority defines the decisions of the Commission.

In addition, this system encourages the selection of specialized people in different areas of the administration, with the aim that the Commission can solve different specific issues with specially trained people.

Lastly, all commissioners would be equal in their role on the Commission; A Senior Commissioner should be appointed only for the purposes of public government representation, but the latter does not have greater prerogatives regarding decision-making.