Consolidating Rural Pennsylvania Local Government: A Taxpayers Choice

Abstract

This paper presents a case for the amalgamation of local government municipalities in parts of the US and, in particular, rural Pennsylvania (PA). It presents a case by first examining recent international trends in local government management including council consolidations (or mergers) and second, by showing that municipalities in rural PA are, for the most part, too small to: 1) be democratically effective, 2) attract and retain quality management, and 3) deliver the services their constituents expect. This paper concludes by suggesting that the present structure of local municipalities in rural PA is out of date and reform is needed.