Constitutional law: Government structure - Local government (Part 2 of 2)

Types.

The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution makes local government a matter of state rather than federal law, with special cases for territories and the District of Columbia. As a result, the states have adopted a wide variety of systems of local government. The United States Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments every five years to compile statistics on government organization, public employment, and government finances. The categories of local government established in this Census of Governments is a convenient basis for understanding local government in the United States. The categories are as follows:

1.    County Governments,

2.    Town or Township Governments,

3.    Municipal Governments, and,

4.    Special-Purpose Local Governments,