Key Terms
Money provided to states and local governments by the federal government.
What are grants-in-aid?
The chief executive of a state.
What is a governor?
This is the term for counties in Louisiana.
What are parishes?
This is the chief executive of a city government.
What is a mayor?
Using direct democracy, this form of government sets laws, taxes, and budgets for New England towns.
What are town meetings?
Communities that were formed in areas surveyed by the federal government.
What are townships?
The power of a governor to remove items from a bill before signing it into law.
What is a line-item veto?
In this form of county government, the board of commissions has both executive and legislative power.
What is a strong commission?
In this form of government, the mayor has powers to veto council bills and appoint the heads of departments, and dominates the city government.
What is a strong-mayor system?
In this form of town meeting, the citizens elect officials to attend and vote at the town meeting.
What is a representative town meeting?
A government department that deals with providing one particular service.
What is a special district?
Most state legislatures are made up of these two chambers.
What are the House of Representatives and Senate?
This is the chief law enforcement official of a county, and oversees the county jails.
What is a county sheriff?
This group serves as the legislature of a city.
What is a city council?
This type of law is passed by local governments, like cities, towns, or counties.
What is an ordinance?
The act of a governor shortening a convicted person's sentence?
What is to commute?
What are city charters?
This official is hired by the board of commissioners to manage the county government and serve as the executive.
What is the county manager?
This type of executive official is hired by the city council instead of being elected.
What is a city manager?
This smaller community can exist within a city, town, or county.
What is a village?
To create a new city by receiving a charter from the state.
What is to incorporate?
This is the highest level of the judiciary in each state.
What is the state Supreme Court?
These are the two states that do not have counties.
What are Connecticut and Rhode Island?
In this form of government, the city government is lead by the heads of various departments.
What is the commission system?
This group is elected by town citizens to run the day-to-day business of the government.
What is the Board of Selectmen?