Administrative divisions of New York (state)
The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the five boroughs of New York City, have the same boundaries as their respective counties.) They are municipal corporations, chartered (created) by the New York State Legislature, as under the New York State Constitution the only body that can create governmental units is the state. All of them have their own governments, sometimes with no paid employees, that provide local services.[1] Centers of population that are not incorporated and have no government or local services are designated hamlets. Whether a municipality is defined as a borough, city, town, or village is determined not by population or land area, but rather on the form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature.[2][3][4] Each type of local government is granted specific home rule powers by the New York State Constitution.[5] There are still occasional changes as a village becomes a city, or a village dissolves (stops existing), each of which requires legislative action. New York also has various corporate entities that provide local services and have their own administrative structures (governments), such as school and fire districts.[5] These are not found in all counties.
Almost every piece of land in the state is part of a city or town, which is part of one county. The exceptions are the city of Geneva; New York City; and ten Indian reservations.[6]
As of 2009, New York has 62 counties[7][8] (including New York City's five boroughs), which are subdivided into 933 towns[4] and 61 cities (including Geneva in both Ontario and Seneca counties, but excluding New York City and Sherrill).[3] In total, the state has more than 3,400 active local governments and more than 4,200 taxing jurisdictions.[9][10]