View source for Municipalities of Kalșeri

{{Icons|Kalseri}}
{{Infobox subdivision type
| name               = Municipality<br/>Șamen ([[Kalhan language|Kalhan]])
| alt_name           = 
| map                = [[File:Municipalities of Kalseri.svg|350px]]
| category           = Second-level administrative division
| territory          = [[Kalșeri]]
| upper_unit         = [[Cantons of Kalșeri|Canton]]
| start_date         = 1794
| legislation_begin  = [[Carnafarry Statute]]
| current_number     = 592
| number_date        = 2022
| population_range   = 4,719 ([[Yewtree, Urgel]]) – 1,333,072 ([[Lennoxton, Takalim]])
| area_range         = {{convert|18.9|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} ([[Christiania, Urgel]]) – {{convert|1,580.3|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} ([[Cap-des-Oubliés Parish, Cartier Island]])
| government         = Municipal council<br>City council (consolidated municipalities)
| subdivision        = [[Townships of Kalșeri|Township]]
}}
'''Municipalities''' ([[Kalhan language|Kalhan]]: ''șamenia'') is a collective term to describe the second-level [[Administrative divisions of Kalșeri|administrative divisions]] of [[Kalșeri]], below [[Cantons of Kalșeri|Cantons]]. Municipalities are known as ''parishes'' in [[Cartier Island]] (''parroisses'') and [[San Rafael]] (''parroquias''), ''boroughs'' in [[Cape Sundervale]], [[Chalmersville]] and [[Evalria]], and ''counties'' in the other nine cantons ([[Janval]], [[Kalúen]], [[Lág]], [[New Kerry]], [[New Lothian]], [[Quincollia]], [[Takalim]], [[Tigupoke]] and [[Urgel]]). The abbreviation ''CPB'' (from the initials of each name) is also used to refer to municipalities.

Municipalities are further divided into chartered settlements (i.e. settlements that have adopted a founding legal document) and charterless settlements, the latter of which are grouped into [[Townships of Kalșeri|townships]]. Municipalities may consist of a single settlement, or of a large settlement with smaller settlements around it. Alternatively, a municipality may consist of multiple settlements of similar size; this is especially common after the merger of multiple municipalities. By law, all municipalities must have at least one municipal seat within their borders; the largest settlement almost always serves as the seat of a municipality. Some municipalities have two municipal seats (e.g. in [[Longsbury County, Takalim]], municipal offices are shared between [[Donna, Takalim|Donna]] and [[Aristotle, Takalim|Aristotle]]).

There are two types of municipalities: consolidated municipalities, where the government of a settlement within a municipality is also the government of the municipality itself, or none of the settlements within the municipality have a charter; and non-consolidated (or "traditional") municipalities, where the municipal government is distinct from the government of any settlement within the municipal borders. For instance, [[Sayooville, Kalúen|Sayooville, KL]], officially the City and County of Sayooville, is a consolidated municipality, as the city government extends to the county borders, whereas nearby [[Paisley County, Kalúen|Paisley County]] is a traditional one, as the county government is distinct from the governments of the towns within it.

As of 2022, there are 592 municipalities. With the exception of the [[Mount Takal Special Territory]], every settlement in Kalșeri is under the jurisdiction of a municipality. The number of municipalities varies greatly across the country: Cape Sundervale has four, whereas Kalúen has 82.

{{Politics of Kalseri}}

==History==
Municipalities were first mentioned in the 1794 [[Carnafarry Statute]], which gave cantons the power of managing subdivisions beyond the first level. All cantons on the [[Radina|Main Island]] adopted the term "county", from the {{W|Kingdom of England|English}} (after 1707 {{W|Kingdom of Great Britain|British}}) {{W|Counties of England|counties}}. Cartier Island and San Rafael grouped their settlements into parishes; Cartier Island had its parishes named after the saint whose name was borne by the church of the largest city.

Upon becoming a canton in 1891, Tigupoke named its subdivisions ''farm councils''; their name was changed to ''counties'' in 1956.

The establishment of settlements begot the creation of new municipalities to accommodate the new communities, be it for political or practical reasons. It was not uncommon for a canton to have upwards of one hundred municipalities within its borders. Urgel enforced a law that required all settlements with more than 1,000 inhabitants to be seats of their own county from 1836 to 1908.

The trend of creating new municipalities began to reverse in the 1910s, when travel times began to decrease, and the salaries of municipal workers rose; a further cut on the number of municipalities was carried out in the 1970s, in an effort to save funds for other projects, despite opposition from local municipal workers who formed the Union for the Protection of Municipalities from 1976 to 1979.

The collective name "municipality" was applied in 1984, as to facilitate integration between the cantons.

==Formation==
The creation, modification or abolition of municipalities only requires a referendum to be held in the affected area and a special bill to be passed in the legislature of the canton where the referendum took place. The criteria for modifying municipalities differ across cantons.

Some cantons require a minimum population for a new municipality. Lágan law states that a proposed municipality must have at least 1,500 inhabitants; Kalúen sets the threshold at 10,000. Other cantons, such as San Rafael and Tigupoke, have no such threshold.

Consolidation and deconsolidation require a referendum to be held in the affected municipalities.

==Names and etymologies==
The most common names for municipalities include [[President of Kalșeri|Presidents]], local governors, European cities, other noteworthy political figures, religious figures (in Cartier Island, Janval and San Rafael) and {{W|Miꞌkmaq language|Miꞌkmaq}} words.

Typically, the name of a consolidated municipality is the same as the name of the dominant settlement, but this is not always the case (e.g. the dominant town of Meiji County, Takalim is called [[Southampton, Takalim|Southampton]]).

==Municipal government==
===Organization===
[[File:Consolidated and traditional municipalities in Kalseri.svg|thumb|right|Map of traditional and consolidated municipalities in Kalșeri. The area in black is the [[Mount Takal Special Territory]].<br>{{color box|#ffe000}} Traditional (non-consolidated)<br>{{color box|#005080}} Consolidated]]
All non-consolidated municipalities are governed by a democratically-elected municipal board, which wields both legislative and executive powers. The size of the board is usually between five and fifteen members, and each member has powers over a specific aspect of municipal affairs. In traditional municipalities, each settlement with a charter elects a board separate from that of the municipality.

In consolidated municipalities, the council of the dominant settlement has its jurisdiction extended to settlements without a charter.

Each municipality usually has its own court, which checks the compatibility of municipal bills with cantonal and national law, and carries out judicial duties.

===Powers===
Municipalities are given the tasks of local planning and zoning, taxation for settlements without a charter, registry of deeds, registry of births and deaths, and local transportation regulation, including car registration and maintenance of local roads. Municipalities also coordinate the local school system, fire department, police and first aid services.

In Cartier Island, Janval, Kalúen, New Lothian, San Rafael, Tigupoke and Urgel, the municipal clerk, municipal treasurer, municipal sheriff and other figures are elected directly by the people.

==Number of municipalities by canton==
As of 2022, there are 592 municipalities. The Mount Takal Special Territory is excluded.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Canton !! Name of subdivision !! Number of municipalities
|-
! Cape Sundervale
| Borough
| 4
|-
! Cartier Island
| Parish (''paroisse'')
| 26
|-
! Chalmersville
| Borough
| 4
|-
! Evalria
| Borough
| 8
|-
! Janval
| County
| 66
|-
! Kalúen
| County
| 82
|-
! Lág
| County
| 63
|-
! New Kerry
| County
| 47
|-
! New Lothian
| County
| 48
|-
! Quincollia
| County
| 38
|-
! San Rafael
| Parish (''parroquia'')
| 48
|-
! Takalim
| County
| 68
|-
! Tigupoke
| County
| 32
|-
! Urgel
| County
| 58
|-
! colspan="2"|Total || '''592'''
|}

==See also==
*[[Index of Kalșerian municipalities]]
*[[Lists of Kalșerian municipalities]]
**[[List of consolidated city-counties in Kalșeri]]
**[[List of former Kalșerian municipalities]]
**[[Gallery of Kalșerian municipal flags]]
*[[Municipal codes in Kalșeri]]

{{Municipalities of Kalseri}}{{Kalseri}}

[[Category:Municipalities of Kalșeri]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Kalșeri]]
[[Category:Second-level administrative divisions by country]]