Administrative Divisions of the Cities Union

**Second Level:**  County |  Consolidated City-County
**Third Level:**  General City  | Charter City | Town

## Province

A province is a level of sub-national government, varying in size – an autonomous level of government and a constituent element of a federation or confederation, often with a large territory. In the Cities Union, each Province, by law, is further divided into counties.

Provincial governments within the Cities Union may enact their own laws and prosecute crimes pursuant thereto. Member Provinces of the C.U. are then typically subdivided into counties.

Provinces are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local governmental authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by Province. Province governments are allocated power by the people (of each respective Province) through their individual constitutions. Each provides for a government, consisting of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

## Counties

Provinces are divided into smaller administrative regions, called counties. Counties exist to provide general local support of provincial government activities, such as collection of property tax revenues, but without providing most of the services one associates with municipalities. In most provinces, counties have broad legal and economic powers in housing, education, transportation and recreation.

Counties may contain a number of cities, towns or villages. Some cities are consolidated with, and coterminous with, their counties—that is to say, these counties consist in their entirety of a single municipality the government of which also operates as the county government. Some counties, such as counties in the Province of Montverde, do not have any additional subdivisions. Some Provinces contain independent cities that are not part of any county.

### **Consolidated City-County**

A consolidated city-county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state. It has the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities.

## Cities and Towns

Cities and towns are subdivisions of counties in almost all Provinces. Provinces not having such subdivisions may divide counties into other minor civil divisions. The powers granted to cities or towns vary considerably from province to province. Also, in some Provinces, such as Montverde, large areas have no general-purpose local government below the county level.

Some cities or other minor civil divisions have governments and political power; others are simply geographic designations. Citieships in many Provinces are generally the product of the Union Census Agency.

### **General-Law City**

General-law municipalities have powers defined by the Province's Government Code. Incorporated cities and towns have the power to levy taxes. They are responsible for providing police service, zoning, issuing building permits, and maintaining public streets. Municipalities may also provide parks, public housing, and various utility services, though all of these are sometimes provided by special districts, and some utilities are provided privately.

### **Charter City**

In the Cities Union, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than by provincial, regional or national laws. A city can adopt or modify its organizing charter by decision of its administration by the way established in the charter. These cities may be administered predominantly by residents or through a third-party management structure, because a charter gives a city the flexibility to choose novel types of government structure. Charter cities are similar in administrative structure to special administrative regions.

### **Provincial Capital Cities**

According to wikipedia, a **capital city** is the municipality with primary status in a province, usually as it's seat of government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution.

### **Unincorporated Area**

an **unincorporated area** or **census-designated place (CDP)** is a region of land that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a county, city, province or country.

Census-designated places and unincorporated areas in the Cities Union are governed by the respective county that they are in.

## References

1. ↑ Wikipedia "Province"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wikipedia "Political divisions of the United States"
3. ↑ Wikipedia "Consolidated city-county"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wikipedia "Local Government in California"
5. ↑ Wikipedia "Unincorporated area"