Wisconsin had 72 counties, 585 municipal governments, 1,265 townships, and 442 public school districts as of 2002. There were also 684 special districts, each providing a certain local service, such as sewerage or fire fighting, usually across municipal lines.
Each county is governed by a board of supervisors (which in the most populous counties has more than 40 members), generally elected for two-year terms. Some counties have elected county executives, serving four-year terms; several others have an appointed administrator or similar official. County officials can include district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks, treasurers, coroners, registers of deeds, and surveyors.
Towns are civil subdivisions of counties equivalent to townships in other states. Each town is a unit of 6 sq mi (16 sq km) marked off for governmental purposes. Wisconsin towns are generally small units with populations under 2,500. Each town is governed by a board of supervisors elected every two years; a town supervisor carries out policies set at an annual town meeting. Cities and villages have home-rule powers limited by legislative review. Most cities are governed by a mayor-council system: a small percentage of cities have a council-manager system, which was first authorized in Wisconsin in 1923. Executive power in a village is vested in an elected president who presides over an elected board but has no veto power.