Given the debate now underway in NSW (let alone almost over in WA) on reducing the number of local governments, it is startling to see the picture in the USA. Richard Florida - always insightful on such matters - offers an interesting set of numbers:
"Urban planners and good government types have long been concerned with what they see as the growth and proliferation of local agencies across counties and metro areas. They even coined a word for it — "political fragmentation" — which they argue generates duplication and inefficiency in the delivery of local services. The ultimate consequences include higher tax burdens, increased fiscal stress on local governments, and reduced levels of economic growth.
Some advocate consolidating government agencies across cities, counties, and metro areas — a phenomenon sometimes referred to as "metropolitan government." Metro government has already been instituted in a number of metro areas including Indianapolis, Nashville, Kansas City, Louisville, and Jacksonville. Calls for government consolidation have only risen in light of the increasing budget woes and fiscal stress that have followed the economic crisis.
But what areas of the country suffer from the highest levels of governmental fragmentation?
The map above by Zara Matheson of the Martin Prosperity Institute charts the picture, based on detailed figures from the 2012 Census of Governments on the number of local governments by state.
There is a broad belt of states with relatively large numbers of local governments stretching from the Great Lakes states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota) through the Plains (North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska) through Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado down to Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The number of local governments tracks population to some extent. Illinois has the largest number of local governments, 6,968. Pennsylvania is next (4,905), followed by Texas (4,856), and California (4,530). But Kansas and Missouri, much smaller states, are next with 3,806 and 3,752 respectively."
