 The state is divided into counties, cities, towns, and villages, which are all municipal corporations with their own government that provide most local government services.Whether a municipality is defined as a city, town, or village is not dependent on population or land area, but rather by the form of government selected by the residents and approved by the New York State Legislature.Each such government is granted varying home rule powers as provided by the New York Constitution, and a local law has a status equivalent with a law enacted by the Legislature (subject to certain exceptions and restrictions).