MMC Municipal Law & Governance 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A 'special assessment' levied by a municipality is distinguished from a general property tax because it:
- Is charged only to properties receiving a specific local improvement benefit (Correct answer)
- Applies uniformly to all taxable property within the jurisdiction
- Requires state legislative approval for each assessment
- Can only be used to fund public school construction
Correct answer: Is charged only to properties receiving a specific local improvement benefit
Special assessments fund improvements such as sidewalks or sewer lines and are levied only on properties that receive a direct, measurable benefit from the improvement.
Question 2: Which constitutional provision most directly requires that municipalities provide procedural due process before terminating a public employee with a property interest in continued employment?
- Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause (Correct answer)
- First Amendment Free Speech Clause
- Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure Clause
- Tenth Amendment Reserved Powers Clause
Correct answer: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states (and their municipalities) from depriving persons of property without due process, which includes notice and a hearing before termination of protected employment.
Question 3: A municipal ordinance that regulates the time, place, and manner of expressive activity in a public forum must be:
- Content-neutral, narrowly tailored, and leave open alternative channels of communication (Correct answer)
- Approved by the state attorney general before enforcement
- Subject to a public referendum within 90 days of adoption
- Limited to commercial speech regulations only
Correct answer: Content-neutral, narrowly tailored, and leave open alternative channels of communication
First Amendment doctrine allows content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions in traditional public forums only if they are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and leave alternative avenues for expression.
Question 4: In a 'strong mayor' form of government, the mayor typically has the authority to:
- Veto ordinances and appoint department heads without council confirmation (Correct answer)
- Only preside over council meetings without administrative authority
- Share executive powers equally with an appointed city manager
- Exercise authority solely in ceremonial and diplomatic functions
Correct answer: Veto ordinances and appoint department heads without council confirmation
The strong mayor form concentrates executive power in the elected mayor, who controls the budget, appoints and removes department heads, and can veto council legislation.
Question 5: The 'initiative' process in local government allows citizens to:
- Propose and enact ordinances directly by voter petition and referendum (Correct answer)
- Remove elected officials before their terms expire
- Challenge the constitutionality of existing ordinances in court
- Require the city council to hold a special session on a specific topic
Correct answer: Propose and enact ordinances directly by voter petition and referendum
The initiative allows voters to bypass the legislative body by gathering petition signatures to place a proposed law on the ballot for direct voter approval.
Question 6: Under the 'municipal immunity' doctrine for proprietary functions, a city is generally treated like a:
- Private business and may be sued in tort for negligence (Correct answer)
- State agency immune from all civil liability
- Federal instrumentality protected by sovereign immunity
- Charitable organization with limited liability exposure
Correct answer: Private business and may be sued in tort for negligence
When performing proprietary (business-like) functions such as operating a utility or parking garage, municipalities lose governmental immunity and are subject to the same tort liability as private entities.
Question 7: A city clerk discovers that a recently adopted ordinance was passed without the required number of readings mandated by the city charter. The ordinance is most likely:
- Void or voidable due to a procedural defect in adoption (Correct answer)
- Valid because substance controls over procedural technicalities
- Effective immediately pending a curative resolution
- Subject only to a fine against the council members who voted for it
Correct answer: Void or voidable due to a procedural defect in adoption
Failure to follow mandatory charter procedures for enacting ordinances is a jurisdictional defect that renders the ordinance void or subject to invalidation.
MMC Municipal Law & Governance 5
A 'special assessment' levied by a municipality is distinguished from a general property tax because it: