"district roads" () Other building plans which cover more than one local authority's area Caring for national parks Social welfare Youth welfare The building and upkeep of hospitals The building and upkeep of state schools of secondary education Household waste collection and disposal Car registration Electing the or , the chief executive and representative of the district Districts can perform additional functions, based on varying local laws in each region: Financial support for culture The building of pedestrian zones and bicycle lanes Financial support for school exchanges The building and upkeep of public libraries Revitalisation of the economy Encouraging tourism The management of state-run adult education colleges () All these tasks are carried out by local (municipal) authorities operating together. Urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. District council The district council (German: ) is the highest institution of a rural district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected directly every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a rural district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of some rural districts are not situated within the district proper, but in an adjacent district-free city. Most of those rural districts are named after this central city as well (e.g. Bamberg and Karlsruhe). Moers is the biggest city in Germany (and at present time the only one with more than 100,000 inhabitants) that is neither an urban district, nor the district seat of its rural district. District administration The highest administrative position of a rural district is an officer known as or , who is responsible for the district's day-to-day administration and acts as its representative for official purposes. In parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as or . In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, in most greater cities usually by the Lord Mayor. Rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative committee called Kreisausschuss. This committee is generally led by the Landrat and includes a number of additional voluntary members. It takes over certain administrative functions for the district, following decisions of the district council. However, the exact role and regulations of this panel vary greatly between different states. The city