ABSTRACT
Boundaries not only determine who is included within a jurisdiction, but also define local arrangements of service provision and production, patterns of economic development, and the exercise of political power. The drawing of boundaries and service arrangements for local government jurisdictions also allocates costs and benefits to individuals and groups. Decisions whether to consolidate city and county governments or to rely on alternatives such as municipal annexation, interlocal agreements, and special district governments are fundamentally about the assignment of costs and benefits. Service bound ary decisions carry important distributional implications and can determine whose preferences are decisive in political choices.
