I live in a tiny hamlet in western St. Louis County called Ballwin. That is just the one I happen to live in, but St. Louis is filled with these little municipalities. I think there are something like 82 others in St. Louis County. Each has their own government structure, most have their own police force, and all in all it has always struck me as something of a waste. There is a whole extra level of government for people to deal with, complete with a whole new level of taxes that one has to pay.
It seems to me it would make tons more sense to eliminate this level of local government and just have one entity, St. Louis County in this case, with one big police department, and one public works department, and so on. I have never been presented with a compelling argument as to why that would not make more sense.
It seems like the only thing these municipalities, or suburbs, are really good at is electing control freaks that pay themselves a tidy little salary and make stupid rules about their fiefdom that impede real progress and defy common sense. Kind of like politicians at all levels, I know, but like I said, probably unnecessary.
I am just saying…of course, I am offering no evidence, but I will highlight some cases that I think illustrate this in the coming days…stay tuned.
