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Welcome to the Local Government Institute of Wisconsin's Web Page
The Local Government Institute of Wisconsin, Inc. is a
not-for-profit, non-partisan corporation representing all citizens of Wisconsin at the
local level and created to conduct research, enhance collaboration, and
educate the public and policymakers on ways to improve local government's
ability to serve the people.
There are 1,922 local
units of government in Wisconsin:
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72 Counties
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1,200 Towns
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400 Villages
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190 Cities
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Plus hundreds of
special districts
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Since 1957 there have
been 8 state-appointed commissions
or task forces charged with finding ways to make local government more
effective at serving the needs of Wisconsin
citizens and stabilizing sources of local government revenue. We are still at it. The Local Government Institute represents
the first time the associations representing local governments in Wisconsin
have combined forces to tackle this on-going issue.
“In order to
carry out its numerous responsibilities, every state has created
subordinate units of local government. In most cases, these are legal,
rather than constitutional, creations. This means the legislature may
abolish them, change them, or give them increased
or decreased powers and duties, as it chooses. Special districts may be formed to handle
regional concerns. Within the limits of statutory law, each unit has the
power to tax and to make legally binding rules governing its own affairs.” Wisconsin
Blue Book 2005 – 2006 p. 248
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About
