Local council (Arab Union)

In the Arab Union, a local council (Arabic: مجلس محلي majlis maḥallī) is the basic unit of local government, constituting an elected body responsible for the administration of a baladiyah (variously translated as township, commune, municipality, etc). Every local council is responsible for a defined, permanently inhabited area (baladiyah), geographically separate from others with no overlapping boundaries, for which it provides local utilities, infrastructure, parks, recreational facilities, public services, collects property tax, oversees urban planning and regulates development. Two or more neighbouring baladiyāt may form a combined authority, to which they jointly delegate certain responsibilities.