We have way too many Counties. Ohio can't support so many of them(88). We need to consolidate. Arizona has 15 Counties that covers an area 3 times a large as Ohio. We need to get rid of alot of red tape, we are falling behind. Be progressive for a change.

Counties are not the issue.  Look at Georgia; Atlanta Metro alone has over 30 counties and Atlanta is growing like a weed.  If anything, it's politics.

Interesting proposition.  What strikes me is that in some cases, like Franklin, Lucas, Hamilton and Cuyahoga, the cities and suburbs have expanded to the point where there is very little "county" left to govern.  That would seem to make county government almost irrelevant.

Maybe in metropolitan areas we should operate like New England, where counties are meaningless.  Within metros, especially where there is significant population in more than one county, I think county government can get in the way.

Franklin County and the City of Columbus certainly have their share of conflicts, especially over development and growth issues.  Franklin County's Commissioner's also (several years ago) hijacked part of the state sales tax revenues that were supposed to go to the Central Ohio Transit Authority.  Of course, they haven't said a word as COTA has had to deal with financial difficulties.

 

County government in Ohio's urban areas is more of an impediment than a help.

It also removes one layer of bureaucracy when something important needs to be done.

Reducing the number of counties will reduce the number of politicians with it!

 

Kentucky has 120 counties and a third of Ohio's population. One county for every 33,333+ people statewide, though in reality several have less than 10,000 (the least populous, Roberston, has about 2,300).  I have to imagine that makes it difficult to take regional approaches to key issues like economic development, social programs, and environmental issues. All those little county court systems make the state a warren of biased, ignorant rural courts. And the balkanization must foster provincial attitudes.

 

So the situation in Ohio could be worse.

I don't like the whole county-city merger idea. It creates false perceptions about the size of cities. However, I do like the New England system where metro areas are run as a whole. It could help cut through a lot of red tape and give any metro counties that are dragging their heels on important issues that effect the entire region a kick in the ass.