Municipality

Powers of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to the state. Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax, property tax, and corporate income tax, but may also receive substantial funding from the state. In some European countries, such as Germany, municipalities have the constitutional right to supply public services through municipally owned public utility companies.

Municipality

Terms cognate with "municipality", mostly referring to territory or political structure, are Spanish municipio (Spain) and municipalidad (Chile), Catalan municipi, Portuguese município.

• In Brazil, a município is the local government, recognized by the Brazilian Federal Constitution and established through state constitutions. It is the smallest territorial division holding executive and legislative powers. Since the Constitution of 1988, all municípios are members of the federation. Colloquially, the local population uses the terms municipality and city interchangeably, although the constitution defines "city" as the seat of the municipality.

Commune

In many countries, terms cognate with "commune" are used, referring to the community living in the area and the common interest. These include terms:

• in Romance languages, such as in French commune (France, French-speaking Belgium and Switzerland, French-speaking Africa, e.g. Benin), in Italian comune (Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, e.g. Ticino), in Portuguese comuna (Angola), in Romanian comună (Romania), and in Spanish comuna (Chile);
• in Nordic languages such as in Danish and Norwegian kommune (Denmark, Norway), in Faroese kommuna (Faroe Islands), and in Swedish kommun (Sweden, Finland);
• in West Germanic languages such as in Dutch gemeente (Netherlands, Dutch-speaking areas of Belgium), Luxembourgish Gemeng (Luxembourg) and German Gemeinde (Austria, Germany);
• in Finnish kunta (Finland);
• in Ukrainian hromada (Ukraine); and
• in Polish gmina (Poland).

The same terms "Gemeente" (Dutch) or "Gemeinde" (German) may be used for church congregations or parishes, for example, in the German and Dutch Protestant churches.

Other terms

In Greece, the word Δήμος (demos) is used, also meaning 'community'; the word is known in English from the compound democracy (rule of the people).

In some countries, the Spanish term ayuntamiento, referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the municipality itself. In Moldova and Romania, both municipalities (municipiu; urban administrative units) and communes (comună; rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality.

In many countries, comparable entities may exist with various names.

English-speaking

• In Australia, the term local government area (LGA) is used in place of the generic municipality. Here, the "LGA Structure covers only incorporated areas of Australia. Incorporated areas are legally designated parts of states and territories over which incorporated local governing bodies have responsibility."
• In Canada, municipalities are local governments established through provincial and territorial legislation, usually within general municipal statutes. Types of municipalities within Canada include cities, district municipalities, municipal districts, municipalities, parishes, rural municipalities, towns, townships, villages, and villes among others. The province of Ontario has different tiers of municipalities, including lower, upper, and single tiers. Types of upper tier municipalities in Ontario include counties and regional municipalities. Nova Scotia also has regional municipalities, which include cities, counties, districts, or towns as municipal units.
• In India, a municipality (also known as municipal council) is an urban local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more (the criteria varies from state to state). However, there are exceptions to that, as previously municipalities were constituted in urban centers with population over 20,000, so all the urban bodies which were previously classified as municipality were reclassified as municipality even if their population was under 100,000. it interacts directly with the state government, though it is administratively part of the district it is located in. Generally, smaller district cities and bigger towns have a municipality. Municipalities are also a form of local self-government entrusted with some duties and responsibilities, as enshrined in the Constitutional (74th Amendment) Act,1992.
• In the United Kingdom, the term was used until the Local Government Act 1972 came into effect in 1974 in England and Wales, and until 1975 in Scotland and 1976 in Northern Ireland, "both for a city or town which is organized for self-government under a municipal corporation, and also for the governing body itself. Such a corporation in Great Britain consists of a head as a mayor or provost, and of superior members, as aldermen and councillors". Since local government reorganisation, the unit in England, Northern Ireland and Wales is known as a district, and in Scotland as a council area. A district may be awarded borough or city status, or can retain its district title.
• In Jersey, a municipality refers to the honorary officials elected to run each of the 12 parishes into which it is subdivided. This is the highest level of regional government in this jurisdiction.
• In Trinidad and Tobago, "municipality" is usually understood as a city, town, or other local government unit, formed by municipal charter from the state as a municipal corporation. A town may be awarded borough status and, later on, may be upgraded to city status. Chaguanas, San Fernando, Port of Spain, Arima and Point Fortin are the 5 current municipalities in Trinidad and Tobago.
• In the United States, "municipality" is usually understood as a city, town, village, or other local government unit, formed by municipal charter from the state as a municipal corporation. In a state law context, some U.S. state codes define "municipality" more widely, from the state itself to any political subdivisions given jurisdiction over an area that may include multiple populated places and unpopulated places (see also: Local government in the United States#Municipal governments).

Chinese-speaking

• In the People's Republic of China, a direct-administered municipality (直辖市 in pinyin: zhíxiáshì) is a municipality with equal status to a province: Beijing Municipality, Chongqing Municipality, Shanghai Municipality, and Tianjin Municipality (see also: Direct-administered municipalities of China).
• In the Republic of China (Taiwan), a special municipality (直轄市 in pinyin: zhíxiáshì) is a municipality with equal status to a province: Kaohsiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei, and Taoyuan (see also: Special municipality (Taiwan)).

Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, which can include (but is not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owned corporations.

Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter. A city charter or town charter or municipal charter is a legal document establishing a municipality, such as a city or town.

When a municipality revokes its right to self-government it disincorporates.

By country

Bangladesh

There are 12 city corporations in Bangladesh. Two of them are located in the capital Dhaka and the remaining 10 are located in the most populous cities of the eight divisions. They carry out major works in the cities and perform socio-economic and civic functions. In addition, there are 330 municipalities in the eight divisions of Bangladesh. A city corporation is a much stronger and larger Local governing body than a municipal corporation. This is because a city corporation consists of a metropolitan city of a district and a municipal corporation consists of a municipal area in a sub-district.

Canada

In Canada, charters are granted by provincial authorities.

India

Municipal corporations are the local bodies responsible for governing large urban areas in India. Their establishment is mandated by the 74th amendment, and each municipal corporation is established through and governed by municipal acts passed by state legislatures. The Greater Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal corporation in India, and the oldest in the Commonwealth outside Britain.

Ireland

The title "corporation" was used in boroughs from soon after the Norman conquest until the Local Government Act 2001. Under the 2001 act, county boroughs were renamed "cities" and their corporations became "city councils"; other borough corporations were renamed "borough councils".

After the Partition of Ireland, the corporations in the Irish Free State were Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford (county boroughs) and Drogheda, Kilkenny, Sligo, Clonmel, and Wexford (non-county boroughs). Dún Laoghaire gained borough status in 1930 as "The Corporation of Dun Laoghaire". Galway's borough status, lost in 1840, was restored in 1937; it was formally styled "the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Galway", but referred to as "the Corporation".

New Zealand

The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 allowed municipal corporations to be established within the new provinces of New Zealand. The term fell out of favour following the abolition of the provinces in 1876.

Pakistan

Municipal corporations are local government bodies responsible for running the city system of Pakistan. They have been established under their respective Local Government Acts of the provinces. Article 140-A of the Constitution of Pakistan, introduced by the 18th Amendment in 2010, mandates that each province must establish a local government system by law and devolve political, administrative, and financial power to elected local representatives.

United Kingdom

The ancient boroughs of England and Wales were typically incorporated by a royal charter, though some were boroughs by prescription. The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and Municipal Corporations Act 1882 abolished the corporations of rotten boroughs and other small rural areas. The Local Government Act 1888 aligned the powers of the remaining borough corporations with those of the new urban district councils. All borough corporations were replaced under the Local Government Act 1972, with corporations now being designated as "councils", with the exception of the City of London Corporation.

The corporations of the burghs of Scotland were similar in origin and were reformed or replaced in the nineteenth century before being abolished by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Irish borough corporations within what is now Northern Ireland were reformed by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 and Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 and replaced by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.

United States

Most U.S. states and territories have at least two tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. Louisiana uses the term parish, Alaska uses the term borough, and Connecticut uses the term planning region for what the U.S. Census Bureau terms county equivalents in those states. Civil townships or towns are used as subdivisions of a county in 20 states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.

Population centers may be organized into incorporated municipalities of several types, including the city, town, borough, and village. The types and nature of these municipal entities vary from state to state. In addition to these general-purpose local governments, states may also create special-purpose local governments. Depending on the state, local governments may operate under their own charters or under general law, or a state may have a mix of chartered and general-law local governments. Generally, in a state having both chartered and general-law local governments, the chartered local governments have more local autonomy and home rule. Municipalities are typically subordinate to a county government, with some exceptions. Certain cities, for example, have consolidated with their county government as consolidated city-counties. In Virginia, cities are completely independent from the county in which they would otherwise be a part. In some states, particularly in New England, towns form the primary unit of local government below the state level, in some cases eliminating the need for county government entirely. Many rural areas and even some suburban areas of many states have no municipal government below the county level.

In addition to counties and municipalities, states often create special purpose authorities, such as school districts and districts for fire protection, sanitary sewer service, public transportation, public libraries, public parks or forests, water resource management, and conservation districts. Such special purpose districts may encompass areas in multiple municipalities or counties. According to the US Census Bureau's data collected in 2012, there were 89,004 local government units in the United States. This data shows a decline from 89,476 units since the last census of local governments performed in 2007.

Each of the five permanently inhabited U.S. territories is also subdivided into smaller entities. Puerto Rico has 78 municipalities, and the Northern Mariana Islands has four municipalities. Guam has villages, the U.S. Virgin Islands has districts, and American Samoa has districts and unorganized atolls.

Each Indian Reservation is subdivided in various ways. For example, the Navajo Nation is subdivided into agencies and chapter houses, while the Blackfeet Nation is subdivided into communities.

Municipal corporations as enterprises

According to one definition of the term, municipal corporations are "organisations with independent corporate status, managed by an executive board appointed primarily by local government officials, and with majority public ownership". Some such corporations rely on revenue from user fees, distinguishing them from agencies and special districts funded through taxation, although this is not always the case. Such municipal corporations result from a process of "externalization", and require different skills and orientations from the respective local governments, and follow common changes in the institutional landscape of public services. They are argued to be more efficient than government bureaucracies, having been observed as generally more successful in providing most public goods and services, despite seeming to have higher failure rates initially, hypothetically because of their legal and managerial status.

• In Portuguese language usage, there are two words to distinguish the territory and the administrative organ. When referring to the territory, the word concelho is used, when referring to the organ of State, the word município is used. This differentiation is in use in Portugal and some of its former overseas provinces, but it is no longer in use in Brazil, where município refers to the territorial boundaries and prefeitura is its administrative organ.