Consolidated city-county
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In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is a city and county that have a merged government, and is considered both a city and a county under the laws of the State. This is not to be confused with an independent city, which is a city that does not belong to any county in the state. This arrangement in the U.S. is frequently referred to as a metropolitan government or a metropolitan county.
A similar arrangement used to exist in the United Kingdom where it was known as a county borough.
Similar arrangements exist in other countries such as Landshut, Germany and Landshut County, Bavaria, Germany and Seoul, South Korea which is a Special City.
Wyandotte County, Kansas uses the term "unified government" to refer to its consolidation where a few city governments have been merged with the county government while other cities and towns retain a traditional relationship with the county.
List of consolidated city-counties:
- Anaconda, Montana and Deer Lodge County, Montana [1] (http://www.anacondamt.org/)
- Athens, Georgia and Clarke County, Georgia
- Augusta, Georgia and Richmond County, Georgia
- Broomfield, Colorado and Broomfield County, Colorado [2] (http://www.ci.broomfield.co.us)
- Butte, Montana and Silver Bow County, Montana
- Columbus, Georgia and Muscogee County, Georgia
- Denver and Denver County, Colorado
- Hartsville, Tennessee and Trousdale County, Tennessee
- Honolulu and Honolulu County, Hawaii [3] (http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us)
- Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana--Not completely consolidated; four communities within Marion County retain separate governments.
- Jacksonville, Florida and Duval County, Florida--Four cities within Duval County retain separate governments; all other rural land is incorporated by Jacksonville, preventing any annexation by them or new cities.
- Juneau City and Borough, Alaska
- Kansas City, Kansas and Wyandotte County, Kansas--are part of the "Unified Government" which contains Kansas City, Kansas, Bonner Springs, Kansas and Edwardsville, Kansas. The "Unified Government" retains a county relationship with other communities within its borders.
- Lafayette, Louisiana and Lafayette Parish, Louisiana
- Lexington, Kentucky and Fayette County, Kentucky [4] (http://www.lfucg.com)
- Louisville, Kentucky and Jefferson County, Kentucky [5] (http://www.loukymetro.org)
- Lynchburg, Tennessee and Moore County, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County, Tennessee--Not completely consolidated; six communities within Davidson County retain separate governments, although all participate in the metropolitan government in a two-tier system.
- New Orleans and Orleans Parish, Louisiana
- City of New York [6] (http://www.nyc.gov) and:
- New York County, New York (Manhattan) (Note that New York County was for many years coextensive with New York City. When the five-borough "Greater New York" was created in 1898, New York County became coextensive with the two boroughs of Manhattan and The Bronx, while the other three boroughs became separate counties within the city. In 1916, Bronx County was separated from New York County, which from that point on coincided with the borough of Manhattan, reverting to its territorial extent before the annexation of portions of what had been Westchester County in the 1890's.)
- Queens County, New York (Queens)
- Kings County, New York (Brooklyn)
- Bronx County, New York (Bronx)
- Richmond County, New York (Staten Island)
- Philadelphia and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
- San Francisco and San Francisco County, California
- Sitka City and Borough, Alaska
- Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska
Potentially consolidated governments
- El Paso, Texas and El Paso County, Texas [7] (http://www.elpasotexas.gov)
- Fort Wayne, Indiana and Allen County, Indiana
- Houma, Louisiana and Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
- Montgomery, Alabama and Montgomery County, Alabama
- Toledo, Ohio and Lucas County, Ohio
Many cities around the United States are considering merging their governments with the county that comprises them. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, New York are among these cities.
Formerly consolidated governments
- Boston and Suffolk County, Massachusetts--the city government of Boston held county authority until the Suffolk County government was abolished in 1999. Note that there were (and still are) three communities in Suffolk County outside Boston.