A consolidated city-county is different from anindependent city, although the latter may result from consolidation of a city and a county and may also have the same powers as a consolidated city-county. An independent city is a city not deemed by its state to be located within the boundary of any county and considered a primary administrative division of its state.[2] A consolidated city-county differs from an independent city in that the city and county both nominally exist, although they have a consolidated government, whereas in an independent city, the county does not even nominally exist.[1] Furthermore, a consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county.[3]
The termconsolidated city-county refers to a consolidated jurisdiction in a state that is otherwise divided into counties. In Louisiana, which is divided intoparishes, the equivalent jurisdiction is known as either acity-parish or aconsolidated government, depending on the locality.[4] In Alaska, it is known as aunified municipality,unified home rule borough, orcity and borough.[5][6] TheUnited States Census Bureau generically refers to any such jurisdiction as aconsolidated city, regardless of the jurisdiction into with the city has consolidated.[7] Although California is divided into counties, a consolidated city-county is officially termed acity and county.[8]
Consolidated city-counties are typically formed to address particular government challenges. Among the benefits of having a unified jurisdiction include potential cost savings, more efficiency, increased legal powers and revenue sources, and a more streamlined planning system.[1]
Most consolidated city-counties have a single chief executive who acts as both the city mayor and as the head of the county government, and a multi-district elected body that serves as both the city council and as the county legislative body.[1]
In many states, consolidated city-counties must be approved by voters.[1] According to information compiled by formerAlbuquerque mayorDavid Rusk, 105referendums were held in the United States between 1902 and 2010 to consider proposals to consolidate cities and counties. Only 27 of these proposals were approved by voters.[9]
Wyandotte County, Kansas, uses the term "unified government" to refer to its consolidation withKansas City, Kansas, and most of the towns within the county boundaries remain separate jurisdictions within the county. Individual sections of a metropolitan or regional municipality may retain some autonomous jurisdiction apart from the citywide government.
Often, in place of another level of government, local governments formcouncils of governments—essentially governmental organizations which are not empowered with any law-making or law enforcement powers. This is the case in theAtlanta metropolitan area, where theAtlanta 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. TheGeorgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) is a true government agency of thestate of Georgia, and does control some state transportation funding to the cities and counties, but otherwise has very little authority beyond this smallpower of the purse.
In California, a city and county's chartered city powers supersede its chartered county powers. However, because the city and county has territorial jurisdiction exclusive of other counties, it also has county officers, and the state counts it as a county for certain purposes.[10]
Despite being consolidated withNew Orleans, Orleans Parish retains a nominal,sui generis status under Louisiana state law that guarantees the city'shome rule. It has been effectively abolished as a distinct governmental unit. However, various parish offices remain with a degree of independence from the city government, while in other matters, the city represents the parish.[11]
The case ofNew York City is unique, in that the city consists of fiveboroughs, each of which is co-extensive with a county. Each has its own district attorney; however, county-level government is essentially non-existent as all executive and legislative power is exercised by the city government throughout the five boroughs. The city, as currently constituted, was created in 1898 when the city of New York (then comprising what would become the boroughs ofManhattan andThe Bronx) annexed Kings County, Queens County, and Richmond County as the boroughs ofBrooklyn,Queens, andStaten Island, respectively.
In Germany,Berlin andHamburg are both cities and states (thestate of Bremen consists of the cities ofBremen andBremerhaven). Nearly every larger city in Germany is an independent city, like Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich or Dresden;Austria, where the capital ofVienna is both a city and state;France, where the capital city ofParis has been coterminous with thedépartement of Paris since1968.
In Russia, there areurban districts - territories consisting of a city and nearby settlements united by one mayor's office. As a rule, urban districts are the capitals of the constituententities of the Russia and other major cities in the region. In 2020, there were 635 urban districts.
TheCanadian province ofOntario contains severalsingle-tier municipalities. They can be similar to American consolidated city-counties in that they are often formed by amalgamating an upper-tier municipality. However, they are functionallyindependent cities as, unlike a consolidated city-county, the county or region ceases to exist after being amalgamated and does not continue on a nominal basis, leaving only the unified single-tier city.[12] One example is theCity of Toronto, created in 1998 from the amalgamation of the central government and the six constituent municipalities ofthe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto (a type ofregional municipality), itself originally created in 1954.[13][14][15]
In 1943, theCity of Tokyo was amalgamated with the formerTokyo Prefecture to form theTokyo Metropolis. The present form of Tokyo functions similarly to a prefecture, having acentral government along withseveral autonomous subdivisions. The original Tokyo City was split into 23 "special wards" which effectively function as cities. In addition, there are also 23 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages within Tokyo. Under this structure, Tokyo does not have a single mayor, but rather agovernor and numerous local mayors. Further, some responsibilities that would normally be held by the cities are instead held by the metropolitan government. Currently, Tokyo is the only place designated as a metropolis.[17]
Municipalities inAustralia, or "Local Government Areas" (LGAs) as they are officially known, are all single-tier entities with no government in-between them and thestate or territory. However, theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT) does not have any LGAs. Instead, the territorial government performs all municipal functions of the city ofCanberra, and thus functions as an integrated city-territory.[18]
In nine consolidated city-county governments in the United States, the formerly independent incorporated places maintain some governmental powers. In these cities, which theUnited States 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".[3]
In Georgia, consolidations often required multiple attempts, changes in procedures, and different local laws in the state legislature. They often did not include some smaller jurisdictions. They also retained characteristics of both types of government, e.g, a sheriff as required by the Georgia Constitution.[19]
The following consolidated city-counties are considered single entities encompassing both a city and a county, such as "City and County of San Francisco".
City and County of San Francisco: The City of San Francisco was the seat of San Francisco County until 1856, when the county was split into the consolidated City and County of San Francisco in the north, with the remainder of old San Francisco County becoming the newCounty of San Mateo.
The following consolidated city-counties merged a previously existing city and county and are still considered two separate entities, both a city and a county, even though the government functions have been consolidated.
Houma andTerrebonne Parish[32] (Despite the consolidated city-parishgovernment, Houma is not coterminous with Terrebonne Parish; Houma remains a geographically distinct municipality within the parish.[33])
Philadelphia andPhiladelphia County – Their borders have been conterminous since1854 Act of Consolidation, and the government structures were consolidated in 1952. The county still exists as a separate entity withinPennsylvania, but the functions of the county are generally administered by the city.
Tennessee
Hartsville andTrousdale County (Despite the consolidated city-countygovernment, Hartsville is not coterminous with Trousdale County; Hartsville remains a geographically distinct municipality within the county.[33])
Petersburg Borough (When the borough was created in 2013, the city of Petersburg was dissolved. However, the city ofKupreanof remains a separate entity within the borough.)
Athens andClarke County (the cities ofWinterville, which is entirely within Clarke County, andBogart, which is partially within the county, retain separate governments)
Augusta andRichmond County (two communities within Richmond County retain separate governments)
Louisville andJefferson County[39] (all cities in pre-merger Jefferson County, other than Louisville, retain separate identities and some governmental functions, but all participate fully in the county-wide governing body,Louisville Metro Council)
Louisiana
Baton Rouge andEast Baton Rouge Parish (four cities within East Baton Rouge Parish –Baker,Central,St. George, andZachary – retain separate governments. In addition, the City of Baton Rouge retains separate city limits, and its official census population only includes this area)
Lafayette andLafayette Parish (In December 2018 voters amended the city-parish charter to split what was a single consolidated city-parish council into two councils — one to represent only the city of Lafayette and the other to represent the parish. The impetus for the change was the desire of city voters to take more control of city-related matters and general unease with the consequences of consolidation).
Nashville andDavidson County (six communities within Davidson County retain separate governments, although all participate in the metropolitan government in a two-tier system)
New York City[41] consists offive boroughs, each of which is co-extensive with a county ofNew York State. Thisamalgamation was created in 1898 when the existing cities and communities within those counties were merged within one municipal government.
The City ofBoston andSuffolk County, Massachusetts, operated with a consolidated government for most of the twentieth century with Boston providing office space, auditors, budget, personnel and financial oversight for Suffolk County. This was not a true consolidation because three municipalities –Chelsea,Revere andWinthrop – were never annexed into Boston and remained separate jurisdictions within Suffolk County; however, the City of Boston held complete control of the county by law. The special relationship between Boston and Suffolk County ended in 1999 as part of the gradual abolition of county governments through much of the state with all county employees and powers transferred to Commonwealth of Massachusetts control. The only remaining powers and duties for the City of Boston in regards to the county is ceremonial in which the Suffolk County Register of Deeds is issued the oath of office at the start of a term as well as calls for a meeting to hold a special election to fill the office should there be a failure to elect someone to the office or should a vacancy occur.
From the 17th century to 1898,New York City was coterminous with New York County and was often referred to as the "City and County of New York". Both were coterminous withManhattan until 1874, when the city and county annexed parts ofWestchester County that would become the West Bronx, later annexing the remainder of the future Bronx. Uponconsolidation in 1898, New York County was coterminous and consolidated with the boroughs of the Bronx and Manhattan, while the other boroughs were consolidated with their own respective counties. The Bronx was separated from New York County in 1914 to form its own Bronx County, and since then, each of the five boroughs of New York City is coterminous and consolidated with a county of New York state.
The followingindependent cities were initially formed from a consolidation of a city and a county, and then the county ceased to exist even in name.
Carson City was consolidated withOrmsby County, Nevada, in 1969, but the county was simultaneously dissolved. The city is now a municipality independent of any county.[1]
Virginia – Five cities in theHampton Roads region were formed by the consolidation of a city with a county:Chesapeake,Hampton,Newport News,Suffolk, andVirginia Beach (from Norfolk, Elizabeth City, Warwick, Nansemond, and Princess Anne counties, respectively). However, in each case an independent city was created, with theCode of Virginia using the term "consolidated city" instead.[1][42]
Aurora, Colorado, split among three counties, explored the creation of a new consolidated city-county in 1996; the effort subsequently failed in a referendum. However, five years later, nearbyBroomfield was successful in creating a new city-county from portions of the four counties it had been a part of. Encouraged by Broomfield's experience, an Aurora city councilman again proposed consolidation in 2006.[43] This was not accomplished in 2006 or 2007, and no bills to accomplish consolidation were introduced in the 2008 session of the Colorado legislature.
In 2006, a proposal was made to mergeJohnson County andWyandotte County in Kansas and the cities located in those two counties into a single consolidated city-county, with the name to be determined.[44]
Miami-Dade County, Florida, operates under afederated two-tier government, in which the county government operates as a superseding entity of county affairs and lower-tier incorporatedmunicipalities operate civil and community services at the city level. However, the county provides city-level[clarification needed] police, fire-rescue, sanitation, and other services under contract to many of the municipalities within its borders.
The independent City ofSt. Louis, Missouri, and that ofSt. Louis County. The city of St. Louis seceded from the county in the 1870s and is not part of any county in the state of Missouri. Regional leaders have proposed several plans since 2006 to reunify the city and county, each one rejected by voters.[46]
Baltimore andBaltimore County, Maryland: Baltimore is established in theConstitution of Maryland as anindependent city. A proposed constitutional amendment to dissolve the city and merge it into Baltimore County was introduced in 1999 but was withdrawn less than a month after the first reading.[48] Consolidation of the city and county was later proposed in 2019.[49]
Movements to consolidate these two jurisdictions has been popping up since thedecade of the 1900s.[66] The 2006 proposal was approved by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, but unanimously rejected by theOmaha City Council.[67] The 2011 proposal was introduced by a state legislator inThe Unicameral, as LB344;[68] it was tabled in committee.[69]
Referendums passed in 1925, 1929 and 1939[72] that were blocked on technicalities by the state assembly. A partial consolidation of area school districts in 1956.[73] Currently has a task-force researching consolidation since 2005.[74]
Richmond (independent city) withHenrico County, Virginia (1961),[27] although the result would be an expanded independent city of Richmond rather than a consolidated city-county.
Roanoke County, Virginia, and theCity of Roanoke, although the result would be an expanded independent city of Roanoke rather than a consolidated city-county
held referendums in 1969 and 1990 to consolidate the two governments.[47] Both times, city voters approved consolidation while county voters were opposed. The independent city ofSalem, Virginia, which would have been surrounded by the consolidated entity, did not participate in the referendums.Vinton, Virginia, would have retained its status as atown in the 1990 referendum. The consolidation issue has been dormant since 1990.[citation needed]
Prior consolidation referendum held in 1973 failed. TheGeorgia General Assembly is conducting a feasibility study towards consolidating the city of Savannah with Chatham County.[75]
St. Louis (independent city) withSt. Louis County, Missouri (1926, 1962, In consideration in 2017[77])[27][29] In 2019, a proposal to merge the city and the county was put together by a group calledBetter Together with support from both the County executive and mayor at the time, but the proposal was withdrawn after the St. Louis County executiveSteve Stenger, who would have become mayor of a consolidated St. Louis had the consolidation happened, was indicted and pled guilty to federal corruption charges.[78]
^"Local Government in Japan"(PDF). Council of Local Authorities for International Relations. pp. 41–43. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on October 25, 2007. RetrievedOctober 16, 2007.
^Arnold Fleischmann and Jennifer Custer, "Columbus/Muscogee County, Georgia," in Suzanne M. Leland and Kurt Thurmaier, CASE STUDIES IN CITY-CONSOLIDATION (Armonk, NY, M.E. Sharpe, 2004), 46–59; Arnold Fleischmann, "Regionalism and City-County-County Consolidation in Small Metro Areas," STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW 32:3 (Fall 2000): 213–226.
^ab"Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Archived fromthe original on August 23, 2003. RetrievedNovember 24, 2006.
^"[T]he city and county of Denver ... did not come into being until the day of the issuing of the Governor's proclamation, on December 1, 1902".City Council of the City and County of Denver v. Board of Commissioners of Adams County, 77 P. 858, 861 (1904).
^Allan v. Kennard, 81 Neb. 289, 298 (April 10, 1908) ("...it is, to quote the brief, 'a fact, common to the knowledge of all men that for years there has been a constant growing demand in Omaha and Douglas county [sic] for a merger and consolidation of city and county offices in the sense that similar duties pertaining to the city and county affairs should be performed by one and the same officers;' that such consolidation has been liad with reference to the office of city and county treasurer, and that the result has been satisfactory, and there is a demand for further consolidation.").
