Census of Governments, 1992: Government Organization

The United States Census Bureau conducts a Census of Governments every five years -- in years ending in "2" or "7" -- to collect information about governments in the United States. The Government Organization branch of the 1992 Census of Governments describes the organization and activities of local governments. The 1992 Local Government Directory Survey covered all county, municipal, town or township, school district, and special district governments that met the Census Bureau criteria for independent governments. The counts of local governments reflect those in operation on January 1, 1992. This collection includes three parts, each including information regarding a different type of government: (1) general purpose governments, (2) special district governments, and (3) school district governments (including dependent school systems but not Education Service Agencies). The data include information on various codes used to identify the government unit, its name, population in 1990, types of public services provided, or functions of special districts, political organization of general purpose governments as well as a detailed accounting of race and gender of elected and appointed officials. Special districts data provide information on area served, revenue powers, and functions, in addition to detailing race and gender counts of governing body members. School data provides enrollment information, number of schools, educational levels, area served, and a detailed accounting of race and gender of elected and appointed officials.