akmax

I like that concept. I had a similar idea for the regions of the state and typed it up for an Op-ed: Why not combine Ohio's 88 counties into 5? Ohio started with 9 counties when founded in 1802 and has slowly added to its numbers, with Noble County the last created in 1851. Most counties are small, with 60 having populations under 100,000 and the average size being 509 square miles. Compare this with Maricopa County in Arizona; its population is 4.2 million and it covers 9224 sq. miles. The five counties would be based on the cultural and economic regional divisions that have made Ohio such an accurate bell weather state: Northeast (with Cleveland being the county seat,) Northeast (Toledo,) Central (Columbus), Southeast (Zanesville,) and Southwest (Cincinnati). None of these counties would have the population size as Maricopa County with the largest being the new Northeast County with 3.8 million residents. The duties of the city; education, policing, and firefighting, would not be affected and would remain independent. Instead, these new mega counties could handle responsibilities similar to the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota: transportation, community/economic development, water, and sewage. The Metropolitan Council has allowed the Minneapolis /St Paul region to flourish economically with a great transportation system and continual population growth. The opposition would be strong, especially from the county governments that will lose power, but the benefits would be vast. Economies of scale in government would reduce duplicate county executives and positions, streamline services, and lower the cost and layers of government bureaucracy. The larger counties would connect the economic drivers within the cities with the larger metro populations that surround them; this link would help all areas work to rise together. It would allow the regions to market themselves as a whole instead of small clusters of population centers. It would put a stop to cities poaching companies from one another. Finally, it would balance the progressive push of the cities with the more conservative reserve of the suburbs and exurbs while allowing the cities and towns to still control their own local affairs. Ohio needs a change to excel as it once did. Allowing the counties in our 5 great regions to consolidate will allow Ohio to expand on its strengths, cut out the dozens of fiefdoms or government bureaucracy, all the while keeping our cities independent and flexible. Together, both urban and rural areas across this great State; let us gather the political will to make this bold step that will push us into the future.