Original: Of some importance is the fact that, in New York, a town provides a closer level of governance than its enclosing county, providing almost all municipal services to unincorporated areas, called hamlets, and selected services to incorporated areas, called villages.
Simplified: In New York, a town gives people more direct power than its county, giving almost all town services to places not in towns, called hamlets, and some services to places in towns, called villages.