ABSTRACT
Leaders at the state level have often said yes and have attempted to consolidate or abolish some of them, often in the hope of saving money and improving efficiency. Special districts – also known as authorities, commissions, boards, and by other titles – provide a wide range of services such as fire protection, parks and recreation, sanitation, transportation, and water. In the classic civic reform tradition dating back to the early 1900s, a long line of urban scholars and observers have contended that the fragmentation of governmental authority among a large number of local jurisdictions, even just considering municipalities, in the nation’s some 400 metropolitan areas, has several ill-effects. Prior to the early twentieth century, states generally encouraged annexation by giving municipalities the right to extend their boundaries by unilateral action. Big cities, eager to become even bigger, took advantage of these laws.
