In American Local Government , a 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.
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.
are similar, and are known as ''county Borough s'' 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 Coalition s — essentially governmental organizations which are not empowered with any Law making 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 Transport ation Monies to the cities and counties, but otherwise has very little authority beyond this small Power Of The Purse .
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." Population Estimates Geography , United States Census Bureau , 2006-06-19 . Accessed 2007-09-07 .
These consolidated cities are:
- Municipality Of Anchorage, Alaska Website of the Municipality of Anchorage (City and Borough are consolidated forming a unified government)
- 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 ( Denver City , Colorado Territory , incorporated November 7 , 1861 . Denver served as the Arapahoe County Seat until November 15 , 1902 , when Arapahoe County was split into the new consolidated City And County Of Denver , the new Adams County , and the renamed South Arapahoe County .)
- defines Honolulu as only a fraction of the "City and County")
- City And Borough Of Juneau, Alaska
- City Of New Orleans and Orleans Parish, Louisiana (officially known simply as "City of New Orleans," actually includes former parts of neighboring Jefferson Parish)
- City And County Of San Francisco, California (city established before county's creation)
- City And Borough Of Sitka, Alaska
- City And Borough Of Yakutat, Alaska
- Town And County Of Nantucket , Massachusetts (one and the same since it was separated from Dukes County, New York to join the colony of Massachusetts)
- Anaconda and Deer Lodge County, Montana Website of the Community of Anaconda
- Butte and Silver Bow County, Montana
- Columbus and Muscogee County, Georgia
- Cusseta and Chattahoochee County, Georgia
- Georgetown and Quitman County, Georgia
- Hartsville and Trousdale County, Tennessee
- Houma and Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana Website of Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government
- Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida Website of City of Jacksonville/Duval County
- Lexington and Fayette County, Kentucky Website of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government
- Lynchburg and Moore County, Tennessee
- of five counties since 1898, each of which is also a Borough and more popularly known as such — some, however, with a differing name (in parentheses):
- --- New York County ( Manhattan ) (New York County alone was coextensive with New York City until 1898)
- --- Bronx County ( The Bronx ) (New York County included what is now Bronx County from 1898 until the latter's creation in 1916)
- --- Kings County ( Brooklyn )
- --- Richmond County ( Staten Island )
- --- Queens County ( Queens )
- Philadelphia and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Their borders have been conterminous since 1854, and the government structures were consolidated in 1952. The county still exists as a separate entity within Pennsylvania , but the functions of the county are generally administered by the city.
- Athens and Clarke County, Georgia (one community within Clarke County retains a separate government)
- Augusta and Richmond County, Georgia (two communities within Richmond County retain separate governments)
- Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (City of Baton Rouge retains separate city limits, and official census population only includes this area)
- Camden County, North Carolina (County with no incorporated municipalities, apart from a small portion of Elizabeth City re-organizing into a single unified government)http://www.camdencountync.gov/government/ordinances-06-06-02.htm
- )
- land is incorporated by Jacksonville, preventing any Annexation by them)
- Kansas City and Wyandotte County, Kansas (this "Unified Government" contains Kansas City and three other communities; a county relationship is maintained with the rest of the communities within the county)
- Lafayette Parish, Louisiana and Lafayette (City of Lafayette retains separate city limits, and official census population only includes this area)
- )
- Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (seven communities within Davidson County retain separate governments, although all participate in the metropolitan government in a two-tier system)
Five cities in the was consolidated with Ormsby County, Nevada in 1969, but the county was simultaneously dissolved. The city is now a municipality independent of any county.
- Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, New Mexico {Link without Title}
- Buffalo and Erie County, New York One Buffalo
- Charleston / North Charleston / Mount Pleasant and Charleston County, South Carolina
- Durham and Durham County, North Carolina NCSU Innovation Online , by Diane Cherry
- , 2006
- El Paso and El Paso County, Texas 79(R) SJR 9 in the Texas State Legislature
- Fairbanks and Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska {Link without Title} Alaska Division of Community Advocacy
- , 2006 .
- Little Rock, Arkansas and Pulaski County, Arkansas
- , 2002 .
- Fayetteville and Lincoln County, Tennessee (rejected in 2002 referendum)
- Montgomery and Montgomery County, Alabama
- Orlando and Orange County, Florida City of Orlando / Orange County Consolidation of Services Study Commission
- Pensacola and Escambia County, Florida {Link without Title}
- , 2004 .
- Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon {Link without Title}
- Roanoke County, Virginia and Roanoke City, Virginia held referendums in 1969 and 1990 to consolidate the two governments. Both times, city voters approved consolidation while county voters were opposed. The independent city of Salem, Virginia , which would have been surrounded by the consolidated entity, did not participate in the referendums. Vinton, Virginia would have retained its status as a Town in the 1990 referendum. The consolidation issue has been dormant since 1990.
- Sioux Falls and Minnehaha / Lincoln counties, South Dakota
- Tampa and Hillsborough County, Florida {Link without Title}
- , 2004 .
- .
- Wilmington and New Hanover County, North Carolina NCSU Innovation Online , by Diane Cherry
- 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.
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