Consolidated city-county

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In American local government, a consolidated city-county is a city and county that have been merged into one jurisdiction. As such, it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation; and a county, which is an administrative division of a state. This is the opposite of an independent city, which is a city that is not located within the boundaries of any county, but is separate from the neighboring county; however, an independent city can also result from the consolidation of a city and a county. The highest concentration of large consolidated governments in the United States is in the lower midwest and upper south, where Indianapolis, Indiana; Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Kansas City, Kansas; and Lexington, Kentucky are located.

Overview

Individual sections of a metropolitan or regional municipality may retain some autonomous jurisdiction apart from the city-wide government. New York City, for example, consists of five counties/boroughs, each of which retains certain local powers through their own borough councils and presidents.

England has six "metropolitan counties" created in 1974: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire. From 1986, they do not have County Councils but rather joint boards for certain functions. Modern unitary authorities are similar, and are known as county boroughs in Wales. In Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh are functionally "independent cities," though the term is not used.

Similar arrangements exist in other countries such as Seoul, South Korea, which is a "Special City."

Wyandotte County, Kansas, uses the term "unified government" to refer to its consolidation with Kansas City, Kansas, and most of the towns within the county boundaries in which some cities and towns remain separate jurisdictions within the county.

Often, in place of another level of government, municipalities form coalitions — essentially governmental organizations which are not empowered with any lawmaking or law enforcement powers. This is the case in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) studies and makes recommendations on the impact of all major construction and development projects on the region, but generally cannot stop them. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) is a true government agency of the state of Georgia, and does control some state transportation monies to the cities and counties, but otherwise has very little authority beyond this small power of the purse.

Balances

In seven consolidated city-county governments nationwide, the formerly independent incorporated places maintain some governmental powers. In these cities, which the Census Bureau calls "consolidated cities," statistics are recorded both for the entire consolidated government and for the component municipalities. A part of the consolidated government is called the "balance," which the Census Bureau defines as "the consolidated city minus the semi-independent incorporated places located within the consolidated city."

These consolidated cities are:

Athens-Clarke County, Georgia
Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia
Butte-Silver Bow, Montana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky
Milford, Connecticut (not a consolidated city-county but the borough of Woodmont exists within the city limits)
Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee

List of consolidated city-counties

Consolidated since their creation

Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska (City and Borough are consolidated forming a unified government)
City and County of Broomfield, Colorado (Town of Broomfield incorporated June 1, 1961. Consolidated City and County of Broomfield created November 15, 2001, from the incorporated City of Broomfield in portions of Boulder, Adams, Jefferson, and Weld Counties.)
City and County of Denver, Colorado
Wilmington and New Hanover County, North Carolina

Formerly consolidated

The City of Boston and Suffolk County, Massachusetts operated with a consolidated government for most of the twentieth century, but this was not a true consolidation because three municipalities (Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop) never amalgamated with Boston but remained separate jurisdictions within Suffolk County. The special relationship between Boston and Suffolk County ended in 1999 as part of the gradual abolition of county government in that state.

External Links

Comparative of all city/county consolidations and the issues and advantages each model presents (from the Pittsburgh/Allegheny task force on consolidation)