Cities Wikia:Original Description

(This wiki was originally proposed for "people to share information about improving their communities". The purpose is now broadening. Here, for interest and comparison, is the bulk of the earliest text.)

About Towns, Villages, and Cities
Town, Villages, and Cities serves as a place for people to share information about improving their communities. It is non-partisan. It is open to members of all political parties.

This wikicity is international. It is open to people from all over the world who want to discuss and share ideas about improving communities.

Certainly politics is part of a community. Where there are people, there is politics. It is inevitable. While this is true I believe it is possible to discuss a community issue without tagging a political party to that issue. For example, one can discuss an issue like building an apartment complex on open land without viewing it as Green, Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian, etc.

This issue concerns how people feel about the use of their open land. Tagging it as Green makes it appear as an environmental concern. However, this concern is multi-faceted. Maybe the existing school system can not handle the influx of new families. Maybe this location requires new roads, or is too far for the fire department to respond in a reasonable amount of time.

There are many ways to look at an issue. The key is to understand the issue from all viewpoints not from a particular political point of view.

There are many issues that affect a community. Here are some sample issues that you may want to discuss.
 * Saving your downtown area
 * Understanding the effects that superstores have on a community
 * Environmental issues
 * Civic pride
 * Making your community more citizen-friendly

Certainly this wiki is not limited to just these topics.

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About Towns
The difference between a town and a city is its type of governing body. It has nothing to do with its physical size (miles) or population.

The Town Meeting

Towns are governed by a town meeting. A town meeting allows the town's citizens to discuss and vote on issues that affect their community. It is the most direct form of democracy.

There are two types of town meetings:
 * Open town meeting
 * Representative town meeting

In an open town meeting all citizens can discuss an issue regardless of age. However, only citizens of voting age can vote on an issue.

Representative town meetings are composed of elected town meeting representatives. Anyone can speak at this town meeting, but only the elected representatives can vote on the issues. This type of meeting is popular with towns that have large populations.

Click here for more information about town meetings:

Town Administrators and Town Managers

The top executive in a town is either the town administrator or the town manager. A town administrator oversees the day to day business activities of the town. However, department heads and other officials may not report to the town adminstrator.

A town manager has more authority than a town adminstrator. Like the adminstrator, they oversee the day-to-day business activities of the town. However, department heads and officials usually report to a town manager.

Both a town administrator and a town manager work closely with a town council. A town council consists of selectmen (also called aldermen) and other officials.

Selectmen

Selectmen (or aldermen) act as a town's representatives. There are two types of selectmen. They are:
 * selectmen, and
 * selectmen-at-large

Selectmen represent a specific precinct. Selectmen-at-large are not limited to a specific precinct. They represent the complete community.

A town can have both selectmen and selectmen-at-large. They also have the option of having either selectmen or selectmen-at-large.

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How To
The How To section is a place where you can share information about improving communities. It may include but is certainly not limited to:
 * Managing your downtown area and superstores
 * Environmental issues
 * Revitalizing areas that are in neglect
 * Affordable housing, and so on.

Ideas may be short or long in depth solutions.

Gold Star Communities
Gold Star communities is a place to share something special or unique about your town, village, or city.
 * Does your community have a unique program?
 * Has your community been recognized for something special?

Use this area to share information about the uniqueness of your community.