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Consolidated city-county

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In United States local government, a consolidated city-county happens when one or more cities and the area around them, called a county (parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska), come together to form one government. This means that instead of having separate city and county governments, they work as one unified group. This kind of government has the powers of both a city and a county.

A consolidated city-county is different from an independent city. An independent city is not part of any county and stands alone as a main area of government in a state. In a consolidated city-county, the city and county still seem to exist, but they share the same government. However, some smaller towns inside a consolidated city-county may still have their own governments.

The places in the Midwest and Upper South have many large consolidated city-counties, such as Indianapolis, Indiana; Nashville, Tennessee; and Louisville, Kentucky. The biggest consolidated city-county by number of people is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the largest by size of land is Sitka, Alaska.

Terminology

The term consolidated city-county describes a place where a city and the county around it join together to form one government. In Louisiana, which is divided into areas called parishes instead of counties, this is called a city-parish or consolidated government. In Alaska, it may be called a unified municipality, unified home rule borough, or city and borough. The United States Census Bureau uses the name consolidated city for any of these combined areas. In California, even though it uses counties, this combined area is called a city and county.

Overview

Consolidated city-counties are created when a city and its surrounding county join together to form one government. This helps save money, work more efficiently, and makes planning easier. Usually, one leader serves as both the city mayor and the county head, and one group of elected officials makes decisions for both the city and the county.

In many states, voters must approve this kind of merger. Between 1902 and 2010, there were 105 votes in the United States about merging cities and counties, but only 27 were approved by voters. Some places, like Wyandotte County, Kansas, call this a "unified government." Even after merging, smaller towns might still keep some of their own local rules.

Main article: Albuquerque

International equivalents

Similar setups exist in other countries. In the United Kingdom, England has six metropolitan counties, and modern unitary authorities work in a similar way. In Germany, cities like Berlin and Hamburg are also states. In Russia, urban districts combine a city and nearby areas under one mayor’s office.

In Canada, some cities have merged with their surrounding areas to form single-tier municipalities, like the City of Toronto. In Japan, Tokyo was merged with its prefecture in 1943 to form the Tokyo Metropolis, which has its own central government and local areas. South Korea has special cities like Seoul, and Australia’s capital, Canberra, is managed directly by the territorial government without separate local areas.

Balances

See also: Category:Census balances in the United States

In some places in the United States, cities and the areas around them have joined together to form one government. Even after joining, some smaller towns keep a little bit of their own power. The United States Census Bureau calls these areas "consolidated cities". They keep records for the whole joined area and also for the smaller towns inside it.

Georgia has had a special way of joining cities and areas, sometimes needing many tries and changes in rules. Not all smaller areas joined, and some parts kept old ways, like having a sheriff as required by Georgia’s rules.

These are some consolidated cities:

List of consolidated city-counties

Consolidated as a single entity

The following consolidated city-counties are single entities that combine a city and a county into one government. Examples include:

Merged

These consolidated city-counties merged a city and a county, but they are still considered both a city and a county. Examples include:

With no independent municipalities

With other independent municipalities

Special cases

Formerly consolidated

The City of Boston and Suffolk County, Massachusetts worked together closely for most of the 1900s. Boston took care of many tasks for the county, like managing money and employees. However, this was not a full merger because three towns — Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop — stayed separate. In 1999, Massachusetts changed its laws, and many county governments were removed. Boston still has a small, mostly symbolic role with Suffolk County today.

For a long time, New York City and New York County were almost the same place, especially in Manhattan. In 1898, New York City and some nearby areas joined together into one big city. Later, in 1914, the Bronx became its own county.

Initially consolidated to form independent cities

Some cities started by joining with a county and then became separate on their own.

Potentially consolidated

Some cities and their surrounding counties have thought about joining together into one big area with shared government.

For example:

The independent city of St. Louis, Missouri, used to be part of St. Louis County but is not anymore. Leaders have talked about joining again since 2006, but voters have not agreed.

Considered consolidation

Many other cities and counties have also thought about joining together but did not. Some of these include:

Related articles

Indianapolis
Nashville, Tennessee
Louisville, Kentucky
Philadelphia
City
County (United States)

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