When setting down roots in any town, city or rural area, local community and government functions are the next most important step to acclimating to the locality. In some areas, the local community and government offices are centrally located in one municipal complex. While in others, these offices may be located in various buildings throughout the town. There are several types of local community and government such as a township, a borough or a parish. Township and Parish governments are more closely linked to the designated county while a borough may be linked to another municipality or directly to the state. This is usually determined at the time of the founding of the government or, may be decided by the state. In many regions, localities have similar local community and government functions. For instance, in a small town, there is usually a town council with representatives of the community functioning as mayor, council president and the remainder of the council consists of a representative from various wards or districts, according to voter maps. The representatives on the council may be elected or a executive duty of the mayor. There are other departments of local community and government that are more closely linked to specific needs of residents such as a health department, planning and zoning boards, office of taxation and local law enforcement, including a judge, prosecutor and district attorney. In rural areas, this may be a function of a local county or state. This type of local community and government function has been rationalized usually as a result of a very small number of the voters or residents. Dividing local community and government functions helps to reduce municipal taxes by sharing certain residential services offered.
