Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Appendix 2

The Municipal Year Book 1998

Definitions of terms and survey response rates

Note: This information was excerpted from International City/County Management Association, The Municipal Year Book 1998 (Washington, DC: International City/County Management Association, 1998), pp. xi, xii, 79, 101, 116; and information provided by the International City/County Management Association. Non-substantive editorial adaptations have been made.

Regions

Northeast--the New England and Mid-Atlantic Divisions;

North Central--the East and West North Central Divisions;

South--the South Atlantic and the East and West South Central Divisions;

West--the Mountain and Pacific Coast Divisions.

Geographic divisions

New England--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont;

Mid-Atlantic--New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania;

East North Central--Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin;

West North Central--Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota;

South Atlantic--Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia;

East South Central--Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee;

West South Central--Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas;

Mountain--Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming;

Pacific Coast--Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Metro status

To be classified by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), an area must include either a city with a population of at least 50,000 or a U.S. Bureau of the Census urbanized area of at least 50,000 and a total metropolitan statistical area population of at least 100,000. The OMB further groups metropolitan areas of over 1,000,000 population into consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs) and primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs).

Central cities--The core cities of an MSA having a population of at least 25,000 and meeting two commuting requirements: at least 50% of the employed residents of the city must work within the city and there must be at least 75 jobs for each 100 residents who are employed. Cities between 15,000 and 25,000 population may also be considered central cities if they are at least one-third the size of the MSA's largest city and meet the two commuting requirements.

Suburban cities--The other cities, towns, and incorporated places in an MSA.

Independent cities--The incorporated places not located within an MSA.

County types refer to counties located within an MSA as metro; nonmetro refers to counties located outside the boundaries of an MSA.

Forms of government

Mayor-council--an elected mayor generally acts as the chief executive officer with the amount of administrative authority dependent on State law and variations in local organization. These variations include the scope of the powers of the elected council and the delegation of some authority to appointed professional administrators, to special boards, and to commissions. Many cities with a mayor-council form of government have an appointed city administrator. These officials are appointed by the elected representatives (council) and are responsible to them for the execution of their duties. However, their administrative authority is limited--they often do not directly appoint department heads or other key city personnel and their responsibility for budget preparation and administration, although significant, is subordinate to that of the elected officials.

Council-manager--a manager is appointed by and responsible to an elected council to serve as chief administrative officer to oversee personnel, development of the budget, proposing policy alternatives, and general implementation of policies and programs adopted by the council.

Commission--an elected commission performs both legislative and executive functions, generally with departmental administration divided among the commissioners.

Town meeting--all qualified voters of a municipality meet annually (or more often if necessary) to set policy and choose selectmen to carry out the basic policies they have established.

Representative town meeting--voters select citizens to represent them at the town meeting(s). All citizens may attend and participate in the meeting(s), but only representatives may vote.