I am reminded of a class I had taken in my undergrad for Political Geography. The class was part of the degree programs focused on international politics and diplomacy, and the majority of case studies were on multinational relations and the determinant factors of Geopolitics. One of our focuses was on the ethnic delineations across Nigeria and how that impacts the state’s oil production; another was on the concept of Balkanization and how that interplayed into the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
Imagine my surprise when my class, in a school in Ohio, focused an entire session on Saint Louis City’s separation from Saint Louis County. It clearly delved into the secession of the City from the County based upon paying for transportation infrastructure, then to the socioeconomic and geopolitical divergences that took place afterwards. The second hour was on Indianapolis, which had bridged its City / County Divide a decade earlier, and the benefits it was receiving since then. During the break between segments, people were coming to me, the Saint Louis resident, and were nearly dumbfounded understanding how the City and County were so separate and unable to come together. Clearly, stuff like this never happened in Cleveland.
Aside from economics, the biggest problem I have seen regarding a City / County merger is that too many politicians have too much power to consolidate. The number of Aldermanic seats in the City is too high, but the last time consolidation was attempted, it was fought by the Aldermanic Council, as no one wanted to see their fiefdoms disappear. Remember how it was portrayed on billboards with confederate flags around town? That’s how far politicians will fight this issue to retain their little bits of power. Meanwhile, the County now has 92 independent cities operating within itself, and none of those city’s officials want to see their jobs swallowed up in intra-county consolidation. While there is only one Mayor in Saint Louis, the County has 92 Mayors; all those attached egos don't want to just pack up their cities and have their titles disappear.
This issue may get deeper, too. Last Thursday, I was at the State Legislative Meeting in South County regarding the Trash Districts in unincorporated StL County. A Missouri Legislator (won’t say who) posited that unincorporated South County maybe should start establishing more cities, like the City of Affton or the City of Concord, to consolidate more control over County Government actions. Should this grab some feet, we could see another 15+ cities spring up across unincorporated StL County.
While I want a merger to take place, I’m scared we’re moving in the opposite direction. The Powers That Be don’t want to risk losing power.
Imagine my surprise when my class, in a school in Ohio, focused an entire session on Saint Louis City’s separation from Saint Louis County. It clearly delved into the secession of the City from the County based upon paying for transportation infrastructure, then to the socioeconomic and geopolitical divergences that took place afterwards. The second hour was on Indianapolis, which had bridged its City / County Divide a decade earlier, and the benefits it was receiving since then. During the break between segments, people were coming to me, the Saint Louis resident, and were nearly dumbfounded understanding how the City and County were so separate and unable to come together. Clearly, stuff like this never happened in Cleveland.
Aside from economics, the biggest problem I have seen regarding a City / County merger is that too many politicians have too much power to consolidate. The number of Aldermanic seats in the City is too high, but the last time consolidation was attempted, it was fought by the Aldermanic Council, as no one wanted to see their fiefdoms disappear. Remember how it was portrayed on billboards with confederate flags around town? That’s how far politicians will fight this issue to retain their little bits of power. Meanwhile, the County now has 92 independent cities operating within itself, and none of those city’s officials want to see their jobs swallowed up in intra-county consolidation. While there is only one Mayor in Saint Louis, the County has 92 Mayors; all those attached egos don't want to just pack up their cities and have their titles disappear.
This issue may get deeper, too. Last Thursday, I was at the State Legislative Meeting in South County regarding the Trash Districts in unincorporated StL County. A Missouri Legislator (won’t say who) posited that unincorporated South County maybe should start establishing more cities, like the City of Affton or the City of Concord, to consolidate more control over County Government actions. Should this grab some feet, we could see another 15+ cities spring up across unincorporated StL County.
While I want a merger to take place, I’m scared we’re moving in the opposite direction. The Powers That Be don’t want to risk losing power.
