Local Governments Grow 1.7% in 5 Years
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WASHINGTON — Government is a growing business in America, up 1.7% in five years.
The Census Bureau reported Thursday that the United States had 83,166 local governments as of 1987, up from 81,780 five years earlier, in part due to the continuing growth of special districts.
Special districts are governments organized for limited purposes, such as housing and community development, fire protection, drainage and flood control, water supply and soil conservation, the bureau said. Those districts totaled 29,487 last year, up 1,409 from the count five years earlier.
The number of townships and school districts, however, declined since 1977.
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