November 3, 2015 If I were elected Mayor Essay Contest Don t let your children miss out on this great opportunity! Open To All 7 th Graders in a Florida Public School The Florida League of Mayors and the Florida League of Cities are sponsoring a statewide essay contest titled If I were elected Mayor... Civics class is a required subject taught in all Florida public middle schools. It is vital to encouraging meaningful public participation. This contest is offered to all seventh-grade students in-public schools. Entries must be postmarked by January 15, 2016. Essays will be judged by a committee comprised of members from of the Florida League of Mayors Board of Directors. Three statewide winners will be selected. We love our City! Winners will receive a joint resolution from the Florida League of Mayors and the Florida League of Cities to be presented by their mayor at a council/commission meeting of their municipality s choosing. Prizes are as follows: The 1 st place winner will receive a $100 gift card and a chance to be mayor for a day. The 2 nd place winner will receive a $50 gift card. The 3 rd place winner will receive a $25 gift card. Interested? Please contact Jenny Anderson at the League office at 1-(800) 342-8112. Type or Copy and Past this link on your browser for the entry application! vpsfl.org/documentcenter/view/772 THE CITY OF WESTON 954-385-2000 Westonfl.org @CityofWeston The Nation s Premiere Municipal Corporation sm
IF I WERE ELECTED MAYOR,... HELPFUL INFORMATION: VOCABULARY TERMS: MUNICIPALITIES A city, town or village. Cities, towns and villages govern their jurisdiction, collect taxes, make contracts, provide services and make laws or ordinances for the health, safety and well-being of their residents. COUNTIES In Florida there are 67 counties that are headed by either three or five county commissioners. Commissioners are elected officials who make policy decisions for the county. Florida s counties are subdivisions of the state government. SCHOOL DISTRICTS Constitutionaly created local government for K-12 public education; one district per county but a separate government. TAX A percentage of money paid to the government for services such as streets, sewers, police, fire, libraries, etc. Most people don t like paying taxes, but none of the services provided by municipal government would be possible without taxes. Municipal governments in Florida collect two kinds of taxes from citizens: property tax and sales tax. PROPERTY TAX A tax paid yearly by everyone in Florida who owns property, based on the value of the property. The more the property is worth, the more tax the owner pays. SALES TAX A tax paid, as a percentage of the total bill, every time you buy a product or service. BUDGET A careful plan of expenses (money needed) and revenue (money received) of an organization, usually produced on a yearly basis. When expenses and revenue are equal, the budget is said to be balanced. ORDINANCE A law made by a city or town government. ESSAY CONTEST HOME RULE Cities and counties are allowed to enact ordinances at the local level without state blessing or without the enactment of special acts, general laws of local application. An example of this would be: If a city wished to up signs to control traffic, the city first had to ask for state permission through a special act, or general law of local application. Cities and counties might seek permission jointly, or by population category but still had to petition their legislators for these bills during each legislative session. With Home Rule, a city/village can make their own decision and put up signs when they choose. MUNICIPAL SERVICES Each municipality chooses what it will provide. The most common are water and wastewater services, parks and recreation, law enforcement, fire services, building inspection, zoning and land use, code enforcement and other utilities.
ESSAY CONTEST IF I WERE ELECTED MAYOR,... HELPFUL INFORMATION: Here are examples of the average day in the life of John and Jane, two middle school students, and how local governments made it all possible: JOHN S DAY: Turned on the faucet to brush my teeth. Water is treated at the CITY S waste water treatment plant. Flushed the toilet. Sanitation is provided by CITIES. Got dressed. Clothes are bought at a store built to CITY building codes. Ate breakfast. Milk is inspected by COUNTY health inspectors; cereal is bought at the grocery store that pays a CITY business license. Watched cable T.V. Cable companies are licensed by CITIES and COUNTIES. Rode my bike to school. Bikes are licensed by the CITY. Went to school all day SCHOOL DISTRICTS are local governments. Played soccer after school. Recreation programs are provided by CITIES and COUNTIES. Found a stray dog and called Animal Control. CITIES AND COUNTIES help lost animals. I stopped at the library to check out a book. Libraries are provided by CITIES and COUNTIES. I went to a high school basketball game. Sports events are offered by the SCHOOL DISTRICT. JANE S DAY: Fed the dogs. Dog licenses are issued by the CITY (we can only have three dogs because of a CITY ordinance). We stopped at a fast food restaurant for breakfast. Fast food restaurants are licensed by the CITY and inspected by the COUNTY health department. Mom dropped me off at the bus stop. Her car is licensed by the COUNTY and the street by our house was built by the CITY. Went to school. SCHOOL DISTRICT provides my education. Played at a park after school. Park was built by the COUNTY. My mom dragged me to the clinic for a flu shot. Public health services are provided by the COUNTY. We picked up grandma at the airport. Airports are built by CITIES and COUNTIES. We stopped at Grandpa s grave. COUNTY coroner told us why he died and the cemetery was built by the CITY. For dinner we ate trout that Dad caught. He has a STATE issued fishing license and the stream is part of a COUNTY park. We went to a play at the high school. The drama department, funded by the CITY, offered the play. I went home, turned out the light and fell into bed. Electricity is a public utility that uses CITY rights-of-way.
How would you make your city a better place? ESSAY CONTEST IF I WERE ELECTED MAYOR,... WHO: The contest is open to all 7th graders in a Florida public school. WHAT: Essays must begin with the statement, If I were elected Mayor,... and must not be more than 250 words long and fit on one page. Students must describe how they would make a difference as mayor to make their city the best place to live. WHERE: Download the contest details and student guide on this web page: www.floridamayors.org. WHEN: All entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 15, 2016. Send your completed essay and entry form to the Florida League of Mayors, Post Office Box 1757, Tallahassee, Florida, 32302. WHY: First, second and third place prizes (see below), with the winners chosen by a committee of the Florida League of Mayors board. Every student who participates will receive a participation certificate. QUESTIONS: Please contact Jenny Anderson at 1-(800) 342-8112. SPONSORS: The Florida League of Cities and the Florida League of Mayors. who ABOUT MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT Why is municipal government important? Of the three major forms of government in the United States federal, state and local none affects citizens more directly than local government. Many city, town and village governments provide vital services including police and fire protection, streets and roads, libraries, recreation and clean water. Who are the leaders? The elected leaders of a city, town or village are the mayor and councilmembers. In Florida, councilmembers are elected directly by citizens. In some cities, towns and villages, the mayor is elected by citizens; in others, the mayor is elected by the council. How are cities, towns and villages funded? Florida cities, towns and villages depend heavily on property tax revenue. They also recieve fees from water services to your home and licenses, such as dog or bike licenses. PRIZES FIRST PLACE: The first place winner will receive a $100 gift card and have a chance to be Mayor for a Day in their city. SECOND PLACE: The second place winner will receive a $50 gift card. THIRD PLACE: The third place winner will receive a $25 gift card. First, second and third place winners will receive a joint resolution from the Florida League of Cities and the Florida League of Mayors to be presented by the mayor at a hometown commission meeting.
ESSAY CONTEST OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM A completed Official Entry Form must be signed and stapled to the front of each single essay submission. Student s Name (First and Last Name): Name of Parent/Legal Guardian: Parent s Phone #: Parent s Email: School Name: School District: School Address: School City: Zip Code: Teacher Name: School Phone #: Teacher Email: In signing this, I certify that the essay is my own original work and I agree to comply with all contest rules. Signature of Student: Word Count: (no more than 250 words) Completed application and essay must be postmarked by January 15, 2016, and be sent to: Florida League of Mayors Post Office Box 1757 Tallahassee, FL 32302 Questions? Please contact Jenny Anderson at the League office at 1-(800) 342-8112. For more information, visit the Florida League of Mayors website at www.floridamayors.org. CONTEST RULES A student can only submit one essay. Essays may be typed, but can be no more than 250 words long and not be more than one page. Please adhere to the word count. Essays will become the property of the Florida League of Mayors and will not be returned. First, second and third place essays will be published in the Florida League of Cities Quality Cities magazine and on the Florida League of Mayors website. Essays must begin with this statement, If I were elected Mayor,... Judging criteria will include: Creativity, clarity, sincerity of thought, and appropriate grammar, spelling and essay construction. Essays should focus on how to make your city a better place and no other levels of government (i.e. school districts, special districts, school lunches, bullying, etc.)