Local Government

-Local government is the level of government closest to the people. It is the government of the county and the city, town, township, borough, village, or hamlet. Currently there are over 85,000 local units of government in the United States.

-Home Rule: Ultimately the state government has final authority over any local government; however state governments usually issue to the local governments home rule charters. A home rule charter is official permission for a local community to govern itself with little interference from the state. All local laws must fall into accordance with the state constitution and all state laws.

*There are 4 basic types of local government in America today. They are as follows:

-The County: The largest territorial and political subdivision of a state. County governments supervise elections, issue certain licenses, keep records of all vital statistics, administer public welfare services, supply public utilities, and in some states administer lower state courts. In Louisiana and Mississippi counties are called parishes.

-Townships: A township is a large subdivision of a county. Townships do not exist in every state, they are however most abundant in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and in parts of the Midwest. Townships are made up towns, villages, boroughs, or hamlets. Township governments usually control law enforcement, sanitation, parks, and recreation areas.

-Municipality: A municipality is an urban unit of government; a city, town, or large borough that has legal rights granted to it from the state through a charter. Most municipalities are medium sized to large cities. Municipalities often offer all the same services that counties and townships offer.

-The Special District: This is a unit of local government that deals with a specific function such as education, public transportation, and public utilities.

-School Districts: School districts are special districts that administer education to students of specific communities. School districts often span more than one locality. Schools are paid for by the people who live in the district through property taxes.

-Public Transportation: The counties of a certain region of a state sometimes get together to create a special district to serve as the local authority for public transportation. The best example of this is the South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA.)

-Public Utilities: In many states services such as gas,
electric, or water are provided by special districts set up by the county or a group of counties in the same geographic area of the state.

Local Government Services
*Besides governing local communities local governments also exist to provide citizens essential services. Some of the most important services provided by local are as follows:

-Education: Local governments, through special districts, provide free, public education to all children in the school district.

-Zoning: Local governments use zoning to regulate the way land and buildings may be used. Zoning exists to insure safety and quality of life in communities.

-Police & Fire Protection: Local governments must insure that its citizens are protected against crime and threat of fire. Police & fire protection is essential and is very expensive. A good deal of local taxes goes to pay for these two important services.

-Water Supply: Water service is a public utility that is controlled by some level of local government in each state. Water service is the only utility that is always operated by government.

-Sewage & Sanitation: Local governments are responsible for keeping the community clean; they do this by providing sewer, street cleaning, and trash pick up services. In some communities sewage and sanitation are paid for through taxes, in other communities the local government may charge fees to provide these services.

-Social Services: To insure the well being of the community many local governments provide extensive social services. Some of these services may be the department of health, job-training programs for unemployed and poor citizens, programs for the elderly, after school programs for children, shelters for the homeless, etc.

-Transportation: Many communities form special districts to provide public transportation systems that may include bus service, train service, light rail service etc.

-Recreation and Cultural Activities: Many communities strive to provide their citizens with diverse leisure activities that appeal to most of the people in the area. These activities are often provided through parks and recreation areas, playing fields, stadiums, ice rinks, amphitheaters, orchestras, art and cultural museums, etc.

*Local governments provide many services that we as citizens take advantage of everyday. These services cost local governments a very large sum of money. Communities raise the funds necessary to operate the local government and provide these services in several ways. They are as follows:

-Property Tax: In most states the money to operate school districts is generated through real estate taxes assessed by the local government. In a few states people are required to tally the value of everything they own each year and pay a tax on that amount to their local government.

-Sales Tax: Many communities charge a tax on all goods and services sold in that community.

-Local Wage Tax: Some local governments assess a tax on all wages earned in that community, or on all wages earned by people who live in the community, or in some cases both.

-Fines: Local governments generate a great deal of revenue by issuing monetary fines for parking, traffic, sanitation, and criminal violations,

-Fees: Many local governments charge fees for business permits, and licenses.

-Bonds: Some local governments borrow money by selling bonds that can be redeemed years from when they are sold

-Grants: Local governments often receive grants from the state and federal government to operate and offer special services in the community.