Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments , or limited purpose entities ) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such as county , municipal , and township governments, with substantial administrative and fiscal independence. They are formed to perform a single function or a set of related functions. The term special district governments as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau excludes school districts . In 2017, the U.S. had more than 51,296 special district governments.
26-614: Siddhpur , also spelled Sidhpur , is a Town, municipality and headquarter of Sidhpur taluka in Patan district , in the Indian state of Gujarat . It is a historical place located on the bank of the endorheic Saraswati River , which is probably a remaining of the ancient Sarasvati River . Siddhpur was historically known as Sristhal , literally "a pious place". The bard sings of it, Tirath bhumipavan Siddhakshetra subhasar, Nirmal nir vahe Sarasvati sada mokshko dwar, ... — "A Tirtha ,
52-561: A special-purpose district . The English word is derived from French municipalité , which in turn derives from the Latin municipalis , based on the word for social contract ( municipium ), referring originally to the Latin communities that supplied Rome with troops in exchange for their own incorporation into the Roman state (granting Roman citizenship to the inhabitants) while permitting
78-456: A governmental area or by their governmental representatives. Special districts possess some form of civil office , that is, the board has received a delegation of sovereign power from the state. Some boards may be appointed by only landowners. Private entities may appoint some or all of the members of a special district; however, there must be evidence of civil office. In addition to special districts with privately appointed boards,
104-476: A marvel for the eye." As of 2001 census of India , Siddhpur had a population of 53,581, of which 52% were male and 48% female. Siddhpur had an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 77%, and female literacy was 64%. In Siddhpur, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Sidhpur is a constituency of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly within
130-410: A place to make holy, is the good Siddha Kshetra, Where flows Sarasvati's pure stream — ever beatitude's door. A city three worlds to purify, by Siddhs ever worshipped, Gods, Rishis, and men cherish the desire to live there. And there dwell deva s unnumbered, as a tirtha regarding it, — Of Kasi, Gaya, Godavari, and all other tirthas , the best ; Where Kardam and Dehuti lived, and Kapila
156-426: A special district government, rather than as a subordinate agency, an entity must possess three attributes—existence as an organized entity, governmental character, and substantial autonomy. Each state description also lists various statutory authorities, commissions, corporations, and other forms of organizations that have certain governmental characteristics, but are subject by law to administrative or fiscal control by
182-451: A special district may have a privately founded board; however, such a board could not be given the power to set a tax. There is a citizen-government fiscal accountability relationship. To maintain accountability for special districts, states must maintain ultimate control (the power to repeal the authorizing law at any time). Due to public foundation and, thus, ultimate control, the state can freely delegate sovereign power (such as
208-433: The Patan (Lok Sabha constituency) . Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term municipality may also mean the governing body of a given municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to
234-670: The state . Municipalities may have the right to tax individuals and corporations with income tax , property tax , and corporate income tax , but may also receive substantial funding from the state. In some European countries, such as Germany, municipalities have the constitutional right to supply public services through municipally-owned public utility companies . Terms cognate with "municipality", mostly referring to territory or political structure, are Spanish municipio (Spain) and municipalidad (Chile), Catalan municipi , Portuguese município . In many countries, terms cognate with "commune" are used, referring to
260-587: The Incorporated Guardians of the Poor, which were created by special acts in the 17th century. Turnpike trusts were an early and popular special purpose authority in England. Internal drainage boards are current examples in parts of England and Wales. The state of Illinois leads the nation in the number of special districts with California close behind. State counts of their special districts may differ from
286-627: The Spanish term ayuntamiento , referring to a municipality's administration building, is extended via synecdoche to denote the municipality itself. In Moldova and Romania , both municipalities ( municipiu ; urban administrative units) and communes ( comună ; rural units) exist, and a commune may be part of a municipality. In many countries, comparable entities may exist with various names. Special district (United States) The United States Census counts government units across all States. This includes "special districts". To count
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#1732884210739312-646: The United States are founded by some level of government in accordance with state law (either constitutional amendment, general law, or special acts) and exist in all states. Special districts are legally separate entities with at least some corporate powers. Districts are created by legislative action, court action, or public referendum . The procedures for creating a special district may include procedures such as petitions , hearings, voter or landowner approval, or government approval. Tribal governments may create special districts pursuant to state law and may serve on
338-528: The United States follow the English custom. The earliest known general law in England authorizing special purpose authorities was the Statute of Sewers of 1532. Single purpose authorities created by individual charters also existed at the time. However, the early authorities were temporary and unconnected to local government structure. The first laws authorizing permanent authorities connected to local governments were
364-696: The architecture of this town. The façades of these houses are in a hue of pastel colours - pink, lilac, lime green, peach, lemon, beige and the like and every house façade has an intricate monogram with the initials of the owners (in Latin text). Sebastian Cortés has captured detailed photographs of these architectural marvels which were displayed at an exhibition in Mumbai, India. On Sidhpur, Cortés said, "I would feel safe to say that it incorporates elements that span from neoclassical European, including art nouveau, and touching Indian Gothic. But if you begin to look closely, you can find other influences; this variety makes Sidhpur
390-1037: The board. The board of a special district serves primarily as a managing board and often appoints a chief executive for day-to-day operations and decision making and policy implementation. In the New England states, special districts are often run in the same town meeting fashion as other local governments. Most districts have employees, but some districts exist solely to raise funds by issuing bonds and/or by providing tax increment financing . Special districts perform many functions including airports , ports , highways , mass transit , parking facilities , fire protection , libraries , parks , cemeteries , hospitals , irrigation , conservation , sewerage , wastewater treatment , solid waste , fiber optic systems , stadiums , water supply , electric power , and natural gas utility . Special districts are authorized by state law and must have public foundation, civil office , and public accountability . Special districts in
416-403: The boards of special districts. Special districts, like all public entities, have public foundation. The landmark case of the U.S. Supreme Court addressing public versus private charters was Dartmouth College v. Woodward in 1819. Dartmouth established the fundamental differences between public and private organizations. Critically, a government must be founded by all of the people of
442-461: The communities to retain their own local governments (a limited autonomy). A municipality can be any political jurisdiction , from a sovereign state such as the Principality of Monaco , to a small village such as West Hampton Dunes, New York . The territory over which a municipality has jurisdiction may encompass: Powers of municipalities range from virtual autonomy to complete subordination to
468-475: The community living in the area and the common interest. These include terms: The same terms "Gemeente" (Dutch) or "Gemeinde" (German) may be used for church congregations or parishes, for example, in the German and Dutch Protestant churches. In Greece, the word Δήμος ( demos ) is used, also meaning 'community'; the word is known in English from the compound democracy (rule of the people). In some countries,
494-739: The less conspicuous tasks of mosquito abatement and upkeep of cemeteries. The Census Bureau classification of special district governments covers a wide variety of entities, most of which are officially called districts or authorities. Not all public agencies so termed, however, represent separate governments. Many entities that carry the designation "district" or "authority" are, by law, so closely related to county, municipal, town or township, or state governments that they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments, and are not counted as separate special district governments. In order to be classified as
520-538: The power to tax) to special districts and can allow them to act autonomously with little supervision. There is little information available on the earliest special districts in the United States. It is known that park districts existed in the 18th century. Toll road and canal corporations existed in the 19th century. The first general statute authorizing irrigation districts was adopted by California in 1887. The U.S. Census Bureau began identifying and collecting data on special districts in 1942. Special districts in
546-578: The special districts the Census must define the special districts so as to address all such governmental entities across the broad spectrum of 50 states' definitions and interpretations. The Census's full definition is: Special district governments are independent, special purpose governmental units, other than school district governments, that exist as separate entities with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from general purpose local governments. As defined for Census Bureau statistics on governments,
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#1732884210739572-620: The state or by independent local governments; therefore, they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments. Special districts serve limited areas and have governing boards that accomplish legislatively assigned functions using public funds . Each district is governed by a board of directors , commissioners , board of supervisors , or the like. These boards may be appointed by public officials , appointed by private entities, popularly elected, or elected by benefited citizens (typically, property owners). Sometimes, one or more public officials will serve as an ex officio member on
598-522: The temple, around 1140 AD, Jayasimha Siddharaja consecrated it and established the town as his capital. He changed its name to Siddhpur, literally Siddhraj's town. The temple was dismantled by an army under Almas Beg ( Ulugh Khan ) and Nusrat Khan sent by Alauddin Khalji in 1298–99. During the Gujarat Sultanate , the town was under the rule of local dynasty ruling from Palanpur . In the 15th century,
624-518: The term "special district governments" excludes school district governments as they are defined as a separate governmental type. Special district governments provide specific services that are not being supplied by existing general purpose governments. Most perform a single function, but in some instances, their enabling legislation allows them to provide several, usually related, types of services. The services provided by these districts range from such basic social needs as hospitals and fire protection, to
650-867: The town was brought under the Mughal rule by Akbar . Under the Mughal rule the Hindu heritage of the town deteriorated further and the Rudramahalaya temple fell into ruins. Asaita Thakar, traditionally credited for the origin of traditional folk theatre Bhavai , in 14th century, lived in Siddhpur. The Dawoodi Bohras, a trading community, flourished in Sidhpur from the 1820s to the 1930s. They built monumental mansions, made of wood, with stuccoed facades, ornate pilasters, trellised balconies and gabled roofs which have become identifying features of
676-482: Was born. Here is Bindusarovar's pure fount, and Matrugaya; Applied to the bodies of men degraded and fallen, it washes their myriads of sins. Here is Prachi Mahadev, whose renown by Veda and Purana is sung: Of all Tirthas , the essence — it is named Kapilashram." In tenth century (943 AD), Mularaja , the founder of Chaulukya dynasty , started constructing the Rudra Mahalaya Temple . On completion of
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