Municipal corporationis the legal term for alocal governing body,including (but not necessarily limited to)cities,counties,towns,townships,charter townships,villages,andboroughs.[1]The term can also be used to describemunicipally owned corporations.[1][2][3]
Municipal corporation as local self-government
editMunicipal incorporation occurs when suchmunicipalitiesbecome self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of amunicipal charter.Acity charterortown charterormunicipal charteris alegal documentestablishing a municipality, such as acityortown.[citation needed]
Bangladesh
editInBangladesh,There are 330 such municipal corporations ineight divisionsof Bangladesh.[4][5]
Canada
editIn Canada, charters are granted byprovincial authorities.
India
edit
TheGreater Chennai Corporationis the oldest municipal corporation in the world outside the United Kingdom.[6]
Ireland
editThe title "corporation" was used inboroughsfrom soon after theNorman conquestuntil theLocal Government Act 2001.Under the 2001 act,county boroughswere renamed "cities" and their corporations became "city councils"; other borough corporations were renamed "borough councils".[7]
After thePartition of Ireland,the corporations in theIrish Free Statewere Dublin,Cork,LimerickandWaterford(county boroughs) andDrogheda,Kilkenny,Sligo,Clonmel,and Wexford (non-county boroughs).Dún Laoghairegained borough status in 1930 as "The Corporation of Dun Laoghaire".[8]Galway's borough status, lost in 1840, was restored in 1937; it was formally styled "the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Galway",[9]but referred to as "the Corporation".[10]
New Zealand
editTheNew Zealand Constitution Act 1852allowed municipal corporations to be established within the newProvinces of New Zealand.The term fell out of favour following the abolition of the Provinces in 1876.[11]
United Kingdom
editTheancient boroughsofEngland and Waleswere typically incorporated by aroyal charter,though some were boroughs byprescription.TheMunicipal Corporations Act 1835andMunicipal Corporations Act 1882abolished the corporations ofrotten boroughsand other small rural areas. TheLocal Government Act 1888aligned the powers of the remaining borough corporations with those of the newurban district councils.All borough corporations were replaced under theLocal Government Act 1972with councils not designated as "corporations", with the exception of theCity of London Corporation.
The corporations of theburghsof Scotland were similar in origin and were reformed or replaced in the nineteenth century before being abolished by theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973.The Irish borough corporations within what is nowNorthern Irelandwere reformed by theMunicipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840andLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898and replaced by theLocal Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972.
United States
editMostU.S. statesand territories have at least two tiers of local government:countiesandmunicipalities.Louisianauses the termparishandAlaskauses the termboroughfor what theU.S. Census Bureautermscounty equivalentsin those states.Civil townshipsor towns are used as subdivisions of a county in 20 states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.
Population centers may be organized into incorporated municipalities of several types, including thecity,town,borough,andvillage.The types and nature of these municipal entities vary from state to state. In addition to these general-purpose local governments, states may also createspecial-purposelocal governments. Depending on the state, local governments may operate under their own charters or under general law, or a state may have a mix of chartered and general-law local governments. Generally, in a state having both chartered and general-law local governments, the chartered local governments have more local autonomy and home rule. Municipalities are typically subordinate to a county government, with some exceptions. Certain cities, for example, have consolidated with their county government asconsolidated city-counties.InVirginia,cities are completelyindependentfrom the county in which they would otherwise be a part. In some states, particularly in New England,townsform the primary unit of local government below the state level, in some cases eliminating the need for county government entirely. Many rural areas and even some suburban areas of many states have no municipal government below the county level.
In addition to counties and municipalities, states often create special purpose authorities, such asschool districtsand districts for fire protection,sanitary sewerservice,public transportation,public libraries,public parks or forests, water resource management, andconservation districts.Such special purpose districts may encompass areas in multiple municipalities or counties. According to the US Census Bureau's data collected in 2012, there were 89,004 local government units in the United States. This data shows a decline from 89,476 units since the last census of local governments performed in 2007.
Each of the five permanently inhabitedU.S. territoriesis also subdivided into smaller entities. Puerto Rico has78 municipalities,and theNorthern Mariana Islandshas four municipalities.Guamhasvillages,theU.S. Virgin Islandshasdistricts,andAmerican Samoahasdistricts and unorganized atolls.
EachIndian Reservationis subdivided in various ways. For example, theNavajo Nationis subdivided into agencies andChapter houses,while theBlackfeet Nationis subdivided intoCommunities.
Municipal corporations as enterprises
editAccording to one definition of the term, municipal corporations are "organisations with independent corporate status, managed by an executive board appointed primarily by local government officials, and with majority public ownership".[1]Some such corporations rely on revenue from user fees, distinguishing them from agencies and special districts funded through taxation,[2]although this is not always the case.[1]Such municipal corporations result from a process of "externalization", and require different skills and orientations from the respective local governments, and follow common changes[clarification needed]in the institutional landscape of public services.[3]They are argued to be more efficient than government bureaucracies, but have higher failure rates because of their legal and managerial autonomy.[1]
See also
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References
edit- ^abcdeVoorn, Bart; Van Genugten, Marieke L.; van Thiel, Sandra (2017)."The efficiency and effectiveness of municipally owned corporations: A systematic review"(PDF).Local Government Studies.43(5): 820–841.doi:10.1080/03003930.2017.1319360.hdl:2066/176125.
- ^abTavares, Antonio F.; Camoes, Pedro J. (2007). "Local service delivery choices in Portugal: A political transaction costs network".Local Government Studies.33(4): 535–553.doi:10.1080/03003930701417544.S2CID154709321.
- ^abGrossi, G.; Reichard, C. (2008). "Municipal corporatization in Germany and Italy".Public Management Review.10(5): 597–617.doi:10.1080/14719030802264275.S2CID153354582.
- ^"Making City Corporation effective".
- ^"Facilities of city corporations' councilors being increased by manifold".12 February 2023.
- ^"The first corporation".The Hindu.Chennai. 2003-04-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2004-01-28.Retrieved14 April2012.
- ^"Local Government Act, 2001".Irish Statute Book.p. §11(3), §11(4), Schedule 2. Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2014.Retrieved13 May2014.
- ^"Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1930, Section 3".Irish Statute Book.Retrieved13 May2014.
- ^"Local Government (Galway) Act, 1937, Section 3".Irish Statute Book.Retrieved13 May2014.
- ^"Local Government (Galway) Act, 1937, Section 2".Irish Statute Book.Retrieved13 May2014.
- ^"New Zealand Constitution Act 1852".Victoria University of Wellington- New Zealand Electronic Text Collection. 30 June 1852.Retrieved2 April2019.
External links
editMunicipal incorporation
edit- "Characteristics and State Requirements for Incorporated Places"- United States Census
Municipal disincorporation/dissolution
edit- "Municipal Disincorporation in California"- California City Finance