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Local government in the United States refers to governmental jurisdictions below the level of the state. Most states have at least two tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. In some states, counties are divided into townships. There are several different types of jurisdictions at the municipal level, including the city, town, borough, and village. The types and nature of these municipal entities varies from state to state. Many rural areas and even some suburban areas of many states have no municipal government below the county level. In other places consolidated city–county jurisdictions exist, in which city and county functions are managed by a single municipal government. In some New England states, towns are the primary unit of local government and counties have no governmental function but exist in a purely perfunctory capacity (e.g. for census data). In addition to general purpose local governments, there may be local or regional special-purpose local governments,〔U.S. Census Bureau. (2012 Census of Governments )〕 such as school districts and districts for fire protection, sanitary sewer service, public transportation, public libraries, or water resource management. Such special purpose districts often encompass areas in multiple municipalities. As of 2012, using the Census Bureau's definition, there were 89,055 local government units in the United States.〔 ==History== When America was settled by Europeans from the 17th century onward, there was initially little control from governments back in Europe.〔 Many settlements began as shareholder or stockholder business enterprises, and while the king of Britain had technical sovereignty, in most instances "full governmental authority was vested in the company itself." Settlers had to fend for themselves; compact towns sprung up based as legal corporations in what has been described as "pure democracy": Propertied men voted; in no colonies was there universal suffrage. The founding by a group of Puritans in 1629, led by John Winthrop came with the understanding that the enterprise was to be "based in the new world rather than in London". Small towns in Massachusetts were compared to city-states in a somewhat oligarchic form, but an oligarchy based on "perceived virtue" rather than wealth or birth.〔 The notion of ''self-government'' became accepted in the colonies although it wasn't totally free from challenges; in the 1670s, the Lords of Trade and Plantations (a royal committee regulating mercantile trade in the colonies) tried to annul the Massachusetts Bay charter, but by 1691, the New England colonies had reinstalled their previous governments.〔 Voting was established as a precedent early on; in fact, one of the first things that Jamestown settlers did was conduct an election. Typically, voters were white males described as "property owners" aged twenty-one and older, but sometimes the restrictions were greater, and in practice, persons able to participate in elections were few.〔 Women were prevented from voting (although there were a few exceptions) and African-Americans were excluded.〔 The colonists never thought of themselves as subservient but rather as having a loose association with authorities in London. Representative government sprung up spontaneously in various colonies, and during the colonial years, it was recognized and ratified by later charters. But the colonial assemblies passed few bills and did not conduct much business, but dealt with a narrow range of issues, and legislative sessions lasted weeks (occasionally longer), and most legislators could not afford to neglect work for extended periods; so wealthier people tended to predominate in local legislatures.〔 Office holders tended to serve from a sense of duty and prestige, and not for financial benefit.〔 Taxes were generally based on real estate since it was fixed in place, plainly visible, and its value was generally well known, and revenue could be allocated to the government unit where the property was located. After the American Revolution, the electorate chose the governing councils in almost every American municipality, and state governments began issuing municipal charters.〔 During the 19th century, many municipalities were granted charters by the state governments and became technically municipal corporations.〔 Townships and county governments and city councils shared much of the responsibility for decision-making which varied from state to state. As the United States grew in size and complexity, decision-making authority for issues such as business regulation, taxation, environmental regulation moved to state governments and the national government, while local governments retained control over such matters as zoning issues, property taxes, and public parks. The concept of "zoning" originated in the U.S. during the 1920s, according to one source, in which state law gave certain townships or other local governing bodies authority to decide how land was used; a typical zoning ordinance has a map of a parcel of land attached with a statement specifying how that land can be used, how buildings can be laid out, and so forth. Zoning legitimacy was upheld by the Supreme Court in its Euclid v. Ambler decision.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Local government in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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