A written document that establishes a town or city and outlines the powers, rights, and privileges afforded to its governing body. The first such document issued in what is now the United States was the First Charter of Virginia, signed by King James I in 1606, which gave the Virginia Company of London the right to establish the Jamestown settlement the following year.

A form of municipal management in which the governing council appoints a professional manager to oversee the daily operations of the city and implement the policies decided by the council. The largest cities in the United States currently using the council-manager form are Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas.

An excess of expenditures over revenues in a given fiscal period, which can accumulate over time into debt. In 2013, the City of Detroit filed for bankruptcy after running up one of the largest debts in US history: $18.5 billion.