| A | B |
|---|
| county | A major unit of local government in most States |
| township | A subdivision of a county |
| special district | An independent unit created to perform one or more related governmental functions at the local level |
| incorporation | The process by which a State establishes a city as a legal body |
| charter | A city's basic law, its constitution |
| mayor-council government | The oldest and most widely used type of city government-an elected mayor as the chief executive and an elected council as its legislative body; e.g. Richmond |
| strong-mayor government | A type of government in which the city's chief executive heads the city's administration |
| weak-mayor government | A type of government in which the city's chief executive shares duties with other elected officials |
| commission government | A government formed by leaders of various city governmental departments, who are popularly elected to form the city council and thus center both legislative and executive powers in one body. |
| council-manager government | Consists of a strong council of members elected by the people, a weak mayor (elected or appointed from within the council) and then a city manager who is hired by the Council. This is how Richmond used to do it |
| zoning | The practice of dividing a city into a number of districts and regulating the uses to which property in each of them may be put |
| metropolitan area | A city and the area around it |
| Medicaid | A program administered by the State to provide medical insurance to low-income families |
| welfare | Cash assistance to the poor |
| entitlement | A benefit that federal law says must be paid to all those who meet the eligibility requirements; e.g. Social Security |
| urbanization | The percentage of the population of a State living in cities of more than 250,000 or in suburbs of cities with more than 50,000 |
| sales tax | A tax placed on the sale of various commodities, paid by the buyer |
| regressive tax | A tax levied at a flat rate, without regard to the level of a taxpayer's income or ability to pay, like sales tax |
| income tax | A tax levied on the wages of an individual and/or companies |
| progressive tax | A type of tax proportionate to income, like an income tax |
| property tax | A tax levied on real and personal property |
| assessment | The process of determining the value of property to be taxed |
| inheritance tax | A tax levied on the beneficiary's share of an estate |
| estate tax | A levy imposed on the assets of one who dies |
| budget | A financial plan for the use of money, personnel, and property |
