Governance Service Systems and Understanding California Counties: I am continuing my education on the topic of California Counties, by studying the material at http://www.counties.org/default.asp?id=110. Local universities are very important to counties (most county employees graduate from local universities, and counties are often very high up on the list of largest employers in cities within counties). Counties are an especially interesting type of “formal service system entity” — a type of virtual person that can sue and be sued and own property, and with a built in mechanism for viability – the right to levy and collect taxes …. County Powers: The California Constitution authorizes a county to make and enforce local ordinances that do not conflict with general laws. A county also has the power to sue and be sued, purchase and hold land, manage or dispose of its properties, and levy and collect taxes authorized by law. Thanks to Mark Dixon (US-CA IBM) for this pointer and others.