Services Provided by Local Governments Let's take the services of local government one by one, and see which governments are charged with providing them. The table shows 1997 spending, in millions, by function and government type. These data are from the 1997 Census of Governments. The Census puts elementary and secondary education, and libraries in this spending category. Education is the biggest function of local government, and the school corporations together are the biggest local governments.
Special districts spend almost all of the rest.
These are the library districts, the special units of government Indiana has created to provide just libraries and related services. The Census finds a stray few million provided by townships and municipalities. Local welfare is primarily a county function, with counties accounting for three-quarters of this spending category. The rest is provided by cities and towns. Hospitals and health programs are mainly a county function.