🚀 go-pugleaf

pak@panix.com wrote:
>But Falls Church is *in* Fairfax County, isn't it?

No, it is _not_.  In Virginia, all _cities_ are independent of any
county structure.  This is not, however, true of towns.  E.g., Fairfax
City, Falls Church, and Alexandria are cities and are not part of any
county.  Vienna, Herndon, and Clifton are towns and are part of
Fairfax County, even though they have their own police forces and tax
structure.

The organization of municipalities differs from state to state.  In
Pennsylvania, for example, there is no way to live in just a county. 
You are always a resident of some smaller municipality--a city, a town
(there is exactly _one_ town in Pa.; it has a charter from colonial
times), a borough (they look like cities but have more restricted
powers--Pa. has a very small number of cities; fewer than 20, I
think), or a township.  Townships have their own police forces and tax
structures.  I'm not sure that units as small as some of the boroughs
and townships are efficient--but then some of the cities aren't too
efficient either!

In Minnesota, cities are part of counties.  Townships are
unincorporated areas with very limited powers.  Counties administer
both unincorporated areas and have some responsibilities within cities
as well.

There is simply no consistency in the municipal structure around the
unUnited States.  You just have to learn the local rules.  But Falls
Church is definitely _not_ in Fairfax County!
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