(fun upbeat music) - Good morning, amazing students of Arkansas.

I just went to the Capital today and met so many amazing people that work within our local government and learned about the positions they hold.

Today, we are going to explore the different positions in the local government.

What are some jobs in the government you know about?

Yes!

Those are great answers.

The mayor, the police chief, and the fire chief.

Let's take a look at each of these positions, including a few more.

Now, what does the mayor actually do?

The mayor is the head of a city or town.

They are the ones who make decisions for the good of the people.

Next up, we have the police chief.

He's an elected official over the police in a city or town.

They are the ones that give updates on TV or in the newspaper.

Have you ever called 911 or had an emergency?

These are the people that are going to handle it.

Next up, we have the fire chief.

It is much the same as the police chief.

The fire chief is the head of the fire department.

Have you ever seen a fire truck going down your street?

They are the ones that deal with those situations.

Next up, we have the planning director.

The head of the planning for the city or town.

They help make decisions on what the city or town will look like in the future.

Wow.

Now, we have the city attorney.

They are a lawyer that helps the city or town in anything that deals with legal matters, instead of just one person or a group of people.

Now, that sounds pretty important.

All right.

And finally, the public works director, the head of the department in a city or town that manages all utilities.

These include electricity, water, trash, and any other public service done by the city or town.

That includes recycling.

Look around your home.

If you turn a light on, you turn the water on, or like me, just watch your trash get picked up.

Mine happens to be every Monday, or any other service the city or town provides, the public works director had something to do with that.

All of these jobs in the government all work together to help each city or town be successful.

They all sound very important to me.

Can you think of other ways you could help your city or town be better?

Ask an adult to help you think of ways you could help your city or town.

Thank you for tuning in students and have a fantastic rest of your day.

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