Editing Local government (section)

===Netherlands===
{{Main article|Municipal politics in the Netherlands|Provincial politics in the Netherlands}}
The Netherlands has three tiers of local government: national, provincial, municipal and water board.

The Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces (''[[provinces of the Netherlands|provincie]]'', pl. ''provincies''). They form the tier of administration between the central government and the municipalities. Each province is governed by a provincial council, the States-Provincial (''[[Provinciale Staten]]'', abbr. to ''PS''). Its members are elected every four years. The day-to-day management of the province is in the hands of the provincial executive, the States Deputed (''[[Gedeputeerde Staten]]'', abbr. to ''GS''). Members of the executive are chosen by the provincial council. The size of the executive varies from one province to another. In [[Flevoland]], the smallest of the Dutch provinces, it has four members, while most other provinces have six or seven. Meetings of the provincial executive are chaired by the King's Commissioner (''[[Commissaris van de Koningin|Commissaris van de Koning(in)]]'', abbr. to ''CvdK''). The King's Commissioner is not elected by the residents of the province, but appointed by the Crown (the King and government ministers). The appointment is for six years and may be extended by a second term. The King's Commissioner can be dismissed only by the Crown. King's Commissioners play an important part in the appointment of municipal mayors. When a vacancy arises, the King's Commissioner first asks the municipal council for its views as to a successor, then writes to the Minister of the Interior recommending a candidate.

Municipalities (''[[list of municipalities of the Netherlands|gemeente]]'', pl. ''gemeenten'') form the lowest tier of government in the Netherlands, after the central government and the provinces. There are 415 of them (1 January 2012). The municipal council (''[[gemeenteraad]]'') is the highest authority in the municipality. Its members are elected every four years. The role of the municipal council is comparable to that of the board of an organisation or institution. Its main job is to decide the municipality's broad policies and to oversee their implementation. The day-to-day administration of the municipality is in the hands of the municipal executive (''[[college van burgemeester en wethouders]]'', abbr. to ''(college van) B&W)'', made up of the mayor (''[[burgemeester]]'') and the aldermen (''[[wethouder]]'', pl. ''wethouders''). The executive implements national legislation on matters such as social assistance, unemployment benefits and environmental management. It also bears primary responsibility for the financial affairs of the municipality and for its personnel policies. Aldermen are appointed by the council. Councillors can be chosen to act as aldermen. In that case, they lose their seats on the council and their places are taken by other representatives of the same political parties. Non-councillors can also be appointed. Unlike councillors and aldermen, mayors are not elected (not even indirectly), but are appointed by the Crown. Mayors chair both the municipal council and the executive. They have a number of statutory powers and responsibilities of their own. They are responsible for maintaining public order and safety within the municipality and frequently manage the municipality's public relations. As Crown appointees, mayors also have some responsibility for overseeing the work of the municipality, its policies and relations with other government bodies. Although they are obliged to carry out the decisions of the municipal council and executive, they may recommend that the Minister of the Interior quash any decision that they believe to be contrary to the law or against the public interest. Mayors are invariably appointed for a period of six years. They can be dismissed only by the Crown and not by the municipal council.

Water boards (''[[waterschap]]'' and ''[[hoogheemraadschap]]'', pl. ''waterschappen'' and ''hoogheemraadschappen'') are among the oldest government authorities in the Netherlands. They literally form the foundation of the whole Dutch system of local government; from time immemorial they have shouldered the responsibility for water management for the residents of their area. In polders this mainly involves regulating the water level. It has always been in the common interest to keep water out and polder residents have always had to work together. That is what led to the creation of water boards. The structure of the water boards varies, but they all have a general administrative body and an executive board (''[[college van dijkgraaf en heemraden]]'') consisting of a chairperson (''[[dijkgraaf (official)|dijkgraaf]]'') and other members (''[[heemraad|(hoog)heemraad]]'', pl. ''(hoog)heemraden''). The chairperson also presides the general administrative body. This body consists of people representing the various categories of stakeholders: landholders, leaseholders, owners of buildings, companies and, since recently, all the residents as well. Importance and financial contribution decide how many representatives each category may delegate. Certain stakeholders (e.g. environmental organisations) may be given the power to appoint members. The general administrative body elects the executive board from among its members. The government appoints the chairperson for a period of six years. The general administrative body is elected for a period of four years. In the past the administrative body was elected as individuals but from 2009 they will be elected as party representatives.