- annexation
- Action by a city to enlarge its geographic boundaries by legally taking in surrounding territory.
- attorney general
- The top lawyer for state government, responsible for law enforcement and defending the state in court. Most states elect their attorney general.
- charter
- A local constitution, setting out the structure of government (e.g., a city) and its powers and procedures.
- city council
- The legislative body for a city.
- city manager
- A professional chief executive, hired by a city council to run the city's daily operations.
- county
- The oldest type of local government in the United States, often covering a wide geographic area, with broad reach across many policy areas (e.g., public safety, public health, roads), though not always with strong powers.
- Dillon's Rule
- An 1868 court ruling (named after the judge) that local governments are creations of state governments and/or constitutions, and have no standing under the U.S. Constitution (i.e., they have no inherent sovereignty).
- district attorney
- The local prosecutor, usually elected.
- governor
- The chief elected official in state governments.
- home rule
- The right and authority of local governments (most often, cities) to govern themselves, rather than the state governing them directly or with a heavy hand.
- mayor
- The chief elected official of a city.
- Missouri Plan
- A non-partisan method of selecting state judges. A screening committee reviews applications for judgeships, chooses a short list of the ones they consider best, and forwards the list to the governor, who must choose a nominee from that list. After a period of service (e.g., one year) appointed judges then face a retention election in which the public decides only whether to retain or remove a judge. If a judge loses a retention election, a new judge is appointed by the same process.
- municipality
- A city, town, or village.
- ordinance
- An individual law created by a local legislature.
- sheriff
- The elected official who serves as the chief law enforcement officer for a county.
- special district
- A local government that is neither a municipality nor a county, but has jurisdiction over a particular policy area (e.g., school districts and public education).