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| authority to promote and safeguard the health, morals, safety, and welfare of the people |
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| constitutionsl initiative |
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| an electoral device whereby citizens can propose a constitutional amendment through petitions signes by the required number of registered voters |
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| the power exercised by the governors of most states to veto particulat sections or items of an appropriations bill, while signing the remainder of the bill into law |
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| a procedure by which voters can procpose a change in state or local laws by gathering signatures on a petition and placing a proposed law on the ballot for the voters' approval |
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| an electoral device whereby legislative or constitutional measures are referred by the legislature to the voters for approval or disapproval |
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| a procedure enabling voters to remove an elected official from office before his or her term has expired |
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| the narrowest possible interpretation of the legal status of local governments, outlined by Judge John F. Dillon, who in 1872 stated that a municipal corporation can exercise only those powers expressly granted by state law |
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| a document issued by a government that grants to a person, a group of persons, or a corporation the right to carry on one or more specific activities. A state government can grant a charter to a municipality allowing that group of persons to carry on specific activities |
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| the view that cities should be able to govern themselves, presented in an 1871 Michigan decision by Judge Thomas Cooley |
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| the power vested in a local unit of government to draft or change its own charter and to manage its own affairs |
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| a city with a charter allowing local voters to frame, adopt, and amend their own charter |
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| a city operating under general state laws that apply to all local governmental units of a similar type |
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| the chief governmental unit set up by the state to administer state law and business at the local level. Counties are drawn up by area, rather than by rural or urban criteria |
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| a governmental unit in the New England states that combines the roles of city and county in one unit |
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| the governing suthority of a New England states that combines the roles of city and county in one unit |
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| the governing authority of a New England town. Qualified voters may participate in the election of officers and in the passage of legislation |
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| a member of the governing group of a town |
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| a rural unit of government based on federal land surveys of the American frontier in the 1780s. Townships have declined significantly in importance |
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| an area not located within the boundary of a municipality |
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| the union of 2 or more governmental units to form a single unit |
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| the cooperation of two or more units of local government in providing services to their inhabitants |
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| council of government (COG) |
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| a voluntary organization of counties and municiplaities concerned with areawide problems |
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| rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts |
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| a tax levied as a proportion of the retail price of a commodity at the point of sale |
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| a tax on the value of real estate. This tax is limited to state and local governments and is a particularly important source of revenue for local governments |
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