Editing Politics of the United States (section)

===County government===
{{Main|County (United States)}}

The [[county (United States)|county]] is the administrative subdivision of the state, authorized by state constitutions and statutes. The county equivalents in Louisiana are called [[parish (subnational entity)|parish]]es, while those in Alaska are called [[Borough (United States)|boroughs]].

The specific governmental powers of counties vary widely between the states. In some states, mainly in [[New England]], they are primarily used as judicial districts. In other states, counties have broad powers in housing, education, transportation and recreation. County government has been eliminated throughout [[Connecticut]], [[Rhode Island]], and in parts of [[Massachusetts]]; while the [[Unorganized Borough]] area of [[Alaska]] (which makes up about a half of the area of the state) does not operate under a county-level government at all. In areas that do not have any county governmental function and are simply a division of land, services are provided either by lower level townships or municipalities, or the state.

Counties may contain a number of [[city|cities]], towns, villages, or [[hamlet (place)|hamlets]]. Some cities—including [[Philadelphia]], [[Honolulu]], [[San Francisco]], [[Nashville]], and [[Denver]]—are [[consolidated city-counties]], where the municipality and the county have been merged into a unified, coterminous [[jurisdiction]]—that is to say, these counties consist in their entirety of a single municipality whose city government also operates as the county government. Some counties, such as [[Arlington County, Virginia]], do not have any additional subdivisions. Some states contain [[independent city (United States)|independent cities]] that are not part of any county; although it may still function as if it was a consolidated city-county, an independent city was legally separated from any county. Some [[List of U.S. municipalities in multiple counties|municipalities are in multiple counties]]; [[New York City]] is uniquely partitioned into five [[Boroughs of New York City|boroughs]] that are each coterminous with a county.

In most U.S. counties, one town or city is designated as the [[county seat]], and this is where the county government offices are located and where the board of commissioners or supervisors meets. In small counties, boards are chosen by the county; in the larger ones, supervisors represent separate districts or townships. The board collects taxes for state and local governments; borrows and appropriates money; fixes the salaries of county employees; supervises elections; builds and maintains highways and bridges; and administers national, state, and county welfare programs. In very small counties, the executive and legislative power may lie entirely with a [[sole commissioner]], who is assisted by boards to supervise taxes and elections.