Local government is the layer of American government closest to your daily life: your city, town, county, school district, and the various special-purpose districts that handle things like water and fire protection. To understand how local government works, start with three ideas. First, there are more than 90,000 local government units in the United States, and most people live inside several overlapping ones at once. Second, every local government exists only because a state created it or allowed it to exist, so what your city or county can do is set by state law. Third, these are the governments that police your streets, treat your drinking water, run your kids’ schools, decide what can be built next door, and send you a property tax bill every year.
The rest of this article walks through the types of local government, where their power comes from, how they’re organized, what they do, how they’re funded, and how you can push back or get involved.
The Five Types of Local Government
The U.S. Census Bureau sorts local governments into five categories. Most Americans live within the boundaries of several at the same time, which is why your tax bill has multiple line items and your ballot has races you’ve never heard of.
Counties are the broadest geographic subdivision below the state level. Nearly every state is divided into them, though Louisiana calls them parishes and Alaska calls them boroughs. Counties often serve as the primary local government for people who live outside any city or town, providing sheriff’s departments, county courts, property recording, and road maintenance.
Municipalities are cities, towns, and villages that residents have formally incorporated under state law. Incorporation gives a community its own governing body and the power to deliver services, levy taxes, and adopt ordinances within its boundaries.
Townships exist in about 20 states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, and function as subdivisions of a county. In New England, towns are often the primary unit of local government, and some still hold direct-democracy town meetings where residents vote on budgets in person.
Special districts are single-purpose governments created to handle one specific service: water supply, fire protection, mosquito control, libraries, transit, and so on. They are the most numerous type of local government in the country. Special districts often cross city and county lines, run their own elections, and levy their own taxes or fees. A lot of residents don’t realize these governments exist even though they’re paying them.
School districts are their own category, with elected boards, independent budgets, and taxing authority to fund K–12 public education. Some states have moved toward greater state-level control of school funding and standards, but locally elected school boards remain the norm.
Where Local Governments Get Their Power
Local governments have no independent sovereignty. They aren’t mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Every power your city or county exercises traces back to state law, which is why identical-looking cities in different states can have very different authority.
Dillon’s Rule and Home Rule
Two doctrines shape how much freedom a state gives its local governments. Under Dillon’s Rule, a local government can exercise only those powers the state has expressly granted, powers necessarily implied by those grants, or powers absolutely essential to its stated purpose. When it’s unclear whether a city has a particular power, the doubt cuts against the city. Roughly 39 states apply Dillon’s Rule to at least some of their municipalities, and about 31 apply it across the board.
Home rule flips the presumption. A home rule city or county can generally act on any local matter unless state law specifically forbids it. Home rule jurisdictions usually have more latitude to structure their own government, set local tax policy, and regulate local issues without waiting for the state legislature. The practical difference shows up constantly. A Dillon’s Rule city that wants to regulate short-term rentals may need explicit state authorization first; a home rule city can typically act on its own.
State Preemption
Even home rule doesn’t make a city independent of its state. States regularly pass preemption laws that forbid local governments from acting in specific areas. Firearms regulation is preempted in 45 states. Rent control is blocked in roughly 30. More than two dozen states prevent cities from setting a minimum wage above the state floor. Paid sick leave mandates, municipal broadband, and inclusionary zoning are frequent targets too. Some states go further and threaten to withhold shared revenue from cities whose ordinances conflict with state policy. Preemption directly limits what your local government can do, no matter how local voters feel about it.
How Cities and Counties Are Organized
The structural model your local government uses determines who actually runs things and who you should call when something goes wrong.
Mayor-Council
This is the oldest and most recognizable form. Voters elect both a mayor and a city council. In a “strong mayor” version, the mayor is a real chief executive with power to hire and fire department heads, prepare the budget, and sometimes veto council actions. Most large American cities use this model. In a “weak mayor” version, the role is largely ceremonial, and real authority stays with the council or is split among independently elected officials. Weak-mayor systems are more common in smaller communities.
Council-Manager
Among cities with populations above 2,500, council-manager is actually the most widely used form. Voters elect a council, the council sets policy and hires a professional city manager, and the manager runs day-to-day operations, including hiring, budgeting, and department oversight. The manager serves at the council’s pleasure. There’s usually still a mayor, but the position is often ceremonial, mainly presiding over council meetings. If a pothole or permit delay is driving you crazy in a council-manager city, the city manager’s office is usually the right place to call, not the mayor’s.
Commission
A small number of cities use a commission system, where voters elect commissioners who collectively serve as both legislature and executive, with each commissioner heading a specific department. The form has declined because concentrating legislative and executive power in the same people makes accountability and professional management difficult.
Counties have their own variations. Most are run by an elected board of commissioners or supervisors. Some have an elected county executive on the strong-mayor model, and many use an appointed county administrator or manager.
What Local Governments Actually Do
The services local government provides are the ones you use most, even if you don’t usually think of them as “government.”
Public safety is typically the single largest expense: police, fire, and emergency medical services. In unincorporated areas, the county sheriff and volunteer fire departments often fill these roles.
Infrastructure covers roads, bridges, water treatment and distribution, sewers, stormwater, and trash collection. You mostly notice it when it fails.
Land use and zoning is where local government exercises some of its most consequential power. Zoning ordinances divide a jurisdiction into districts and dictate what can be built where — building height, density, permitted uses, setbacks from property lines. These rules shape housing prices, traffic patterns, and whether a gas station can open next to a school. If you want to do something zoning doesn’t allow, you can apply for a variance from your local zoning board of adjustment, but variances are hard to get, and financial inconvenience alone almost never qualifies as the kind of hardship boards look for.
Permitting and licensing enforces building codes, health and safety rules, and business regulations. Local governments issue building permits, business licenses, food service permits, and similar approvals. Fees vary widely, from a few dozen dollars for a basic business license to several hundred or more for complex construction permits.
Parks, libraries, recreation, and public health round out the everyday services: parks and community centers, library systems, and local health departments that handle restaurant inspections, disease surveillance, and vaccination clinics.
How Local Government Is Funded
Local governments assemble their budgets from several revenue streams, and the mix depends on state law and local choice.
Property Taxes
Property taxes are usually the single largest source of local revenue. Your bill starts with an assessed value that your local assessor assigns to your home or land. Depending on the state, the assessed value may be a set percentage of market value. The tax rate is often expressed in mills — tenths of a cent per dollar of assessed value — and is set annually based on the revenue the local government needs.
Most states offer exemptions that reduce the taxable value of your home. Homestead exemptions for primary residences are the most common. Many states also offer senior exemptions and disability exemptions, including for qualifying veterans. If you believe your assessment is too high, you have the right to appeal. The process usually involves filing an appeal with your local assessment review board, presenting evidence like recent comparable sales or an independent appraisal, and attending a hearing. Missing the filing deadline or skipping the hearing typically forfeits your appeal for that tax year, so check the calendar for your jurisdiction carefully.
Sales Taxes, Fees, and Grants
Many local governments collect a local sales tax on top of the state rate, and some larger cities levy local income or payroll taxes. Where a jurisdiction has this authority depends on state law.
Fees and charges for specific services fill out the budget: water and sewer bills, permit fees, business licenses, parking meters, recreation program charges. Unlike taxes, fees are tied to a specific service the payer receives.
State and federal grants are another significant stream, often earmarked for road construction, law enforcement, public health, or affordable housing. Grants usually come with strings attached — matching funds, program requirements, or both.
Bonds and Debt Limits
For big capital projects like a new school, a water system replacement, or a highway interchange, local governments issue municipal bonds. General obligation bonds are backed by the full taxing power of the issuing government and typically require voter approval. Revenue bonds are repaid from the income the project generates, like tolls or water fees. Interest on most municipal bonds is exempt from federal income tax, which lowers borrowing costs. Nearly every state caps how much debt a local government can carry, and 48 states impose some form of tax or expenditure limit on local fiscal decisions.
Your Rights as a Resident
Every state and the District of Columbia has open meetings laws, often called sunshine laws, requiring local government bodies to conduct business in public. Your city council, planning commission, school board, and other public bodies must generally announce meetings in advance, deliberate in the open, and let the public attend. Most also allow public comment.
The main exception is the executive session, or closed session, where a governing body meets privately. Executive sessions are legally restricted to narrow categories such as consulting with an attorney about pending litigation, discussing personnel matters, negotiating real estate transactions, and reviewing security arrangements. Binding votes generally can’t happen behind closed doors. If your council announces it’s going into executive session, listen for the stated legal basis.
Public records laws work alongside open meetings requirements. You have the right to request and inspect most government documents, including budgets, contracts, emails, and meeting minutes. Response deadlines vary by state, but agencies typically must acknowledge a request within a few business days and produce records within a few weeks. If your request is denied, you can generally appeal administratively and, if needed, in court. Agencies can charge reasonable fees for copying, but not for the act of letting you look at documents.
Beyond transparency, most local governments have ethics rules covering conflicts of interest, financial disclosure, gifts, and outside employment. Larger cities and counties often have independent ethics commissions that can investigate complaints and impose penalties. Smaller jurisdictions may rely on state ethics laws or internal policies. Recall elections let voters in many places remove elected officials before their term ends, and citizen-initiated ballot measures let residents propose or repeal local ordinances by collecting petition signatures.
How to Get Involved
Fewer than 15 percent of eligible voters typically show up for municipal elections, compared with roughly two-thirds in presidential years. That gap means a small number of engaged residents have outsized influence over who runs local government and what it prioritizes. Voting in local elections is the single most effective civic action most people never take.
Beyond voting, local government is more accessible than any other level. Public meetings are legally open to you, and most set aside time for public comment. Contacting your city council member or county commissioner directly is far more likely to get a response than writing to a member of Congress, since these are officials who live in your community.
Serving on an advisory board or commission is one of the most underused paths to influence. Most cities and counties have dozens of boards covering planning, parks, budget review, historic preservation, and other topics, and many have vacancies because not enough people apply. These boards shape recommendations before they ever reach the elected officials who vote on them.
Staying informed is harder than it should be, especially as local news coverage has shrunk. Government websites, posted meeting agendas, and public notice sections in local newspapers remain the most reliable sources. Some jurisdictions livestream council meetings or post recordings. If the process feels confusing, that isn’t a personal failing. The people who navigate local government successfully are usually the ones who picked one issue, started attending meetings about it, and learned the system from the inside out.