Some states have assumed more responsibility, particularly for the financing of local courts and prisons, for indigent health care and certain forms of welfare assistance. Shifting financial responsibility for a program to the state provides financial relief to local governments, but the price is sometimes a loss of local control, which some jurisdictions are reluctant to accept. The precise relationship between state and local government is clearly complex and evolving. It also is wildly diverse. There is no one pattern of local government in the United States, nor one universal relationship between a state and the local jurisdictions within it.
Some cities are wealthier than others and better able to run their own affairs.
Some are more dependent on the state for assistance. The overall trend in recent years on balance is toward returning as much authority as possible to local government. Click here to look at two U.S. organizations that were formed to represent the interests of local government at the state as well as at the national level.