Local Government
How is your local government organized?
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You have learned about your country's president and your state's governor. Who is the executive leader of your local government? Click the images to learn about your local government officials. 
M_ _ _ _ Yes, the highest leader of your local government is the mayor. 
Who works with the mayor? Similar to state and federal governments that have a legislative body that works with the leader, local governments also have a legislative body. The local legislative body in many cities is called a city council. 
Other cities have a city commissioner instead of a mayor and a city commission instead of a city council. What does your city have? 
And what is the third branch of local government? If the mayor is the executive branch, and the city council is the legislative branch, who makes up the other branch of your local government? Click the image of the county courthouse building to find out.
J_ _ _ _ _ _ _ You are correct: The judicial branch, which includes local courts, makes up the third branch of government. 
There are usually two levels of local government. County government is the first level. Some states call these "boroughs" or "parishes." There are more than 3,000 county governments in the U.S. The second level is the city or town government. There are nearly 20,000 municipal governments in the U.S.. Municipal is another name for "city, town, or village." There are also over 16,000 township or town governments in the country. Each state gives different powers to these two levels of government. 
In most states, city, or municipal governments, are responsible for various services, such as the police department, fire department, local courts, public transportation, local streets, and parks. |
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