Local government in Ohio is exercised by 88 counties, 942 cities and villages, and 1,308 townships (2002). In 2002 there were 667 public school districts and 631 special districts.
Each county is administered by a board of commissioners, elected to four-year terms, whose authority is limited by state law. The county government is run by officials elected to four-year terms: auditor or financial officer, clerk of courts, coroner, engineer, prosecuting attorney, recorder, sheriff, and treasurer.
Within each county are incorporated areas with limited authority to govern their own affairs. Thirty voters in an area may request incorporation of the community as a village. A village reaching the population of 5,000 automatically becomes a city, which by law must establish executive and legislative bodies. There are three types of city government: the mayor-council plan, which is the form adopted by a majority of the state's cities; the city-manager form, under which the city council appoints a professional manager to conduct nonpartisan government operations; and the commission type, in which a board of elected commissioners administers the city government. In practice, most large cities have adopted a home-rule charter that permits them to select the form of government best suited to their requirements.
Cleveland experimented with the city-manager form of government from 1924 to 1932, at which time public disclosures of municipal corruption led the city's voters to return to the mayor-council plan. In 1967, Cleveland became the first major US city to elect a black mayor; Carl Stokes served two two-year terms but retired from politics in 1971. Cleveland again attracted national attention in 1978 when its 31-year-old mayor, Dennis J. Kucinich, publicly disputed the city's financial policies with members of the city council, and the city defaulted on $15 million in bank loans. Mayor Kucinich narrowly survived a recall election; in 1979, he was defeated for reelection.
Cincinnati has retained the city-manager form of government since 1925. The mayor, elected by the city council from among its members, has no administrative duties. Instead, the council appoints a city manager to a term as chief executive. Columbus, the state capital since 1816, has a mayor-council form of government.
Townships are governed by three trustees and a clerk, all elected to staggered four-year terms. These elected officials oversee zoning ordinances, parks, road maintenance, fire protection, and other matters within their jurisdiction.