What is a local government, and what are its roles? It would be very inefficient and ineffective to control everything from a central government. Hence, the central government delegates some powers to a lower tier. In most states, there are two, sometimes three levels of local government. These are town/city, country, region, or any other name the state uses to divide itself.
In a federal system, it is under the control of the individual states. On the other hand, the central (national) government controls these units in a unitary state. In general, people can elect their local government. Thus, it has a body (council) of elected politicians.
But where does it get its funding? First of all, some forms of council taxes and all sorts of fees. However, the most substantial component of financing is subsidies and grants from the state itself. The state needs the local government. Hence, it is only natural to fund them.
Goals and Rights
From the view of the state, the goal of a local government is to helo the state be effective and efficient. The locals understand the problem better, they know each other, they can discuss the topic together. Hence, it is better to make changes closer to the citizens. That is the principle of subsidiarity.
It has a variety of rights and goals. In particular, the general operations of the town or county. The rights range from safety and security through health and education to urban planning. It has the right to enforce the law through city police (which has fewer rights than state police). It establishes and manages schools and medical centers.
Besides, it is also responsible for waste treatment and the road network. Further, they can operate leisure centers such as pools and sports clubs. It takes care of parks and the urban area in general.
The local government has the right to make decrees and regulations. For example, set speed limits, ban fireworks. Besides, it has urban planning and building authorities. However, it cannot do anything it desires. The state or federal law is always supreme.
