Charter (home-rule) government unit A county, township, or village that has taken the special steps necessary to permit it to organize and operate in ways different from a general-law unit; by law, all cities are charter units.
General-law government unit A county, township, or village that organizes and operates in accordance with the general law set out in state statute and constitution. Has not taken the special steps necessary to change to a charter (home-rule) unit.
General-purpose government units Counties, villages, townships, and cities; all but cities may be either general-law or charter units (cities automatically are charter units).
Special-purpose government unit An entity—e.g., an authority or a K–12 or community college district—created to carry out a specific function.