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Whether a Municipality is a City , Town or Village is not dependent on Population or area, but on the form of government selected by the residents and approved by the State Legislature . New York State considers counties, cities, towns and villages to be "municipal corporations" and "general purpose" units of Local Government . New York State has 62 counties, which are subdivided into 932 towns and 62 cities. Cities and towns are distinct, and do not contain each other. COUNTY The County is the primary administrative division of New York State. There are sixty-two counties in the state. Five of the counties are Boroughs of New York City and do not have functioning county governments. Counties contain a number of towns and may also contain cities. Towns may contain incorporated villages and unincorporated Hamlets . Every county has a County Seat , often a populous or centrally located city or village, where the county government is located. In some counties, a hamlet is the county seat. Counties are responsible for certain functions of Planning and governance for all areas within their borders that are not delegated to lower levels of government. These often include overall planning, Police service, Social Welfare , and coordination of Special and extended education service, as well as some court services. According to the ''State of New York Local Government Handbook'', "The county is now a municipal corporation with geographical jurisdiction, homerule powers and fiscal capacity to provide a wide range of services to its residents. To some extent, counties have evolved into a form of 'regional' government that performs specified functions and which encompasses, but does not necessarily supersede, the jurisdiction of the cities, towns and villages within its borders." Twenty-seven counties of the State operate under the general provisions of the County Law. Twenty counties have County Charters. Although all counties have a certain latitude to govern themselves, "charter counties" are afforded greater home rule powers. The charter counties as of 2006http://www.co.ulster.ny.us/charter_counties.html are Albany , Broome , Chautauqua , Chemung , Dutchess , Erie , Herkimer , Monroe , Nassau , Oneida , Onondaga , Orange , Putnam , Rensselaer , Rockland , Schenectady , Suffolk , Sullivan , Tompkins , and Westchester . A county is usually governed by a county Executive and Legislature . The counties have a county courts with associated county prosecutors. In some counties, the legislature is the Board Of Supervisors , composed of town and city supervisors of its constituent towns and cities. In most of these counties, each supervisor's vote is weighted in accordance with the town's population in order to abide by the principle of "one person, one vote". Other counties, also in the interest of maintaining "one person, one vote", have legislative districts of equal population which may cross municipal borders. Some counties do not use the term "Board of Supervisors", but instead call their legislative body "Board of Representatives", "Board of Legislators," or "County Legislature". In non-charter counties, the legislative body exercises executive power as well. Although the legislature can delegate certain functions and duties to a county administrator, who acts on behalf of the legislature, the legislature must maintain ultimate control over the actions of the administrator. Many, but not all, charter counties have an elected executive who is independent of the legislature; the exact form of government is defined in the County Charter. ''See also: List Of New York Counties '' CITY In New York State, a City is a highly Autonomous incorporated area usually contained within a county. It provides almost all services to its Resident s and has the highest degree of home rule and taxing Jurisdiction over its residents. The main difference between a city and a village is that cities are organized and governed according to their charters, which can differ widely among cities, while villages are subject to a uniform statewide Village Law. Also, villages are part of a town (or towns; some villages cross town borders), with residents who pay taxes to and receive services from the town. Cities (except for the City Of Sherrill ) are independent of towns. Some cities are completely surrounded by a town, typically of the same name. The city is not somehow subordinate to or a part of the town. There are sixty-two cities in the state. There are no minimum population or area requirements in order to become a city. In 1686 , the English colonial governor granted New York City and Albany city charters, which were recognized by the first State Constitution in 1777 . All other cities have been established by act of the state legislature and have been granted a charter. Cities have been granted the power to revise their charters or adopt new ones. The forms of government cities can have are council-manager, strong mayor-council, weak mayor-council or commission. Forty-five cities, the majority, use the mayor-council form, in which the mayor is the executive and City Council members form the legislature. In some of these cities, the mayor serves only a ceremonial role. Larger cities have city courts. New York City is a special case. The city consists of the entire area of five counties. These counties retain a small amount of governance as boroughs. Under the state Legislation , commonly called ''Consolidation'', that allowed the city (as the City Of Greater New York ) to Annex huge areas beyond its original borders (including smaller cities, towns and villages) in 1898, the State of New York retains certain powers over the city. At the time of Consolidation, Queens County was split between the western towns, which voted to join the city, and those that did not. The next year (1899), the eastern towns of Queens County separated to become Nassau County . Cities in New York State are classified by the Census Bureau as incorporated places and as county division equivalents (except for New York City). ''See also: List Of Cities In New York '' TOWN In New York State, a Town is the major division of each county. Towns provide or arrange for most Municipal services for residents of hamlets and other unincorporated areas, and selected services for residents of villages. All residents of New York who do not live in a city or on an Indian Reservation live in a town. As of the 2000 census, there are 932 towns in New York. Unlike villages, towns cannot cross county borders, since they are part of each county. Towns lack an executive branch of government. The Town Board exercises both executive and legislative functions. The Town Supervisor presides over the board, but does not possess Veto or tie-breaking power. The judicial branch is known as Town Court or Justice Court, part of New York's Justice Court system. A town can contain zero, one or multiple villages. Five towns are coterminous with their single village: Green Island in Albany County ; East Rochester in Monroe County ; and Scarsdale , Harrison and Mount Kisco in Westchester County . When such an entity is formed, a referendum is held to decide whether residents prefer a village-style or town-style government (which will exercise the powers of both). Towns vary in size and population. The largest town (by area), the Town of Brookhaven , covers 531.5 Square Miles (1,376.6 km&2) (half of that is water — the Town of Webb has the most land area at 451 Square Miles (1,167 km&2)). The smallest, the Town of Green Island , covers 0.7 of a square mile (1.8 km&2). The Town of Hempstead has about 756,000 people (2000 census), making it more populous than any city in the state except New York City . The Town of Red House , the least populous, has 38 permanent residents (2000 census). Many places containing the word "town" in their name are not towns. Examples include several Allentowns, Cooperstown of Baseball Hall Of Fame fame, and Elizabethtown , a hamlet in the town of the same name. A town in New York State is equivalent to a Civil Township in certain other states. Towns in New York State are classified by the Census Bureau as Minor Civil Division s. ''See also: List Of Towns In New York '' VILLAGE In New York State, a Village is an incorporated area which is usually, but not always, within a single town. A village is a clearly defined municipality that provides the services closest to the residents, such as garbage collection, street and highway maintenance, street lighting and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other optional services. Villages have less autonomy than cities. Those municipal services not provided by the village are provided by the town or towns containing the village. As of the 2000 census, there are 553 villages in New York. The legislature of a village is the board of trustees, composed of a mayor and (usually) four trustees. The mayor may vote in business before the board and may break a tie. The mayor generally does not possess veto power, unless provided by local law. The mayor is also the executive of the village. A village may also have a full-time village manager, who performs administrative duties which would normally fall upon the mayor. A village must have a municipal building or village hall. Villages may also have a village justice. To be incorporated as a village, a territory (i.e., given area) must have at least 500 inhabitants and be no more than 5 square miles (13 km&2) in area (though there are exceptions to the area rule, such as if an entire town wishes to incorporate as a village). The process of incorporation begins with a petition by either 20% of residents or owners of 50% of assessed real property. It is then voted upon by those living in the territory. Currently, some villages have less than a 500 person population due to loss of inhabitants. Villages often cross other political boundaries. More than 70 villages are located in two or more towns. Seven villages are divided between two counties. The village of Saranac Lake is in three towns and two counties. A village in New York State is comparable to a town in certain other states, or a boro(ugh) in certain other states. Villages in New York State are classified by the Census Bureau as incorporated places. ''See also: List Of Villages In New York '' HAMLET In New York State, a Hamlet is a populated area within a town that is not part of a village. The term "hamlet" is not defined under New York law (unlike cities, towns and villages), but is often used in the state's statutes to refer to well-known populated sections of towns that are not incorporated as villages. A hamlet has no legal status (except in the Adirondack Park Agency's land-use classifications) and depends upon the town that contains it for municipal services and government. A hamlet could be described as the rural or suburban equivalent of a neighborhood in a city or village. The area of a hamlet may not be exactly defined and may simply be contained within the zip code of its post office, or may be defined by its school or fire district. Residents of a hamlet often identify themselves more closely with the hamlet than with the town. Some hamlets proximate to urban areas are sometimes continuous with their cities and appear to be neighborhoods, but they still are under the control of the town. Hamlets are sometimes called Unincorporated Communities . In fact, some hamlets are former villages that have dissolved their incorporation ( Old Forge in Herkimer County , Rosendale in Ulster County , and Andes in Delaware County , for example). Their land area, though, is within the jurisdiction of a town, which is considered a municipal corporation under state law. For Census purposes, the area around a hamlet may be formally defined as a Census-designated Place , although most are not. A census location may have the same name as a hamlet, but the area defined by the U.S. Census Bureau may differ somewhat from the local understanding of the hamlet. This is because hamlets do not have fixed boundaries and area defined by the census is generally based on population density and may include a larger or smaller area than the local understanding of the hamlet. |
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