Article 39. Consolidation of city and County Governments
Consolidation of counties is needed in many states especially in upper mid-western rural areas. Populations grew and new counties were formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most county seats were placed within one day’s travel by buggy. Rural populations did not decline until the great depression and the 1930’s drought. But today rural and small town populations have decreased to the point that county services and facilities can no longer be maintained.
Due to depopulation consolidation of county governments is long overdue and will have to be initiated soon by state legislatures in a number of mid-western states. For most areas this is such a political hot potato that few politicians will approach the issue. The problem is with nostalgia. People have spent their entire lives in these rural communities and will fight to their last breath to save their courthouse. This problem first became evident when rural schools were consolidated into county district schools. Consolidation for schools was won on the basis of providing a better education for children. Consolidation of counties will have to be on the basis better public services especially for the elderly.
Another innovation that is starting to happen is the consolidation of small towns especially where they are in close proximity. The cost of maintaining city services is driving entire communities on the North Carolina coast to give up their city charters to a new county wide government center. Many of these small towns had become run-down and are unable to secure new investment opportunities. This is more than just saving money new life can be given to the area simply by changing its image. I predict that this will become more common especially where small towns are clustered city limit to city limit on he edge of larger metropolitan cities.
There is right approach and wrong approach for getting the public on board for evolutionary change. I offer this example, in the 1960’s the city of London converted all their street lamps to orange halogen lamps, which were better for seeing in the fog. They had one other advantage the cost of operating them was significantly less than regular street lamps. When they were first installed on the East Coast they were touted as fog lamps and communities competed to see who could covert first to the new fog lamps. On the West Coast San Diego touted the savings that the city could get from installing the orange halogen street lamps. There was an immediate public outcry people called in saying they “didn’t want those damned cheap lamps in their neighborhood“. The lesson is where there are deep emotional issues talk about benefits but be sure saving money is not the primary reason for the change.
