Fictional Municipality/County Changes

[Scott5114]

Congressional districts don't fit what he's asking for, because:

1) they're actually a part of the federal government (it is hard to see how the House of Representatives is between the state and county level, given that Rep. Cole can and does vote on bills that affect Massachusetts just the same as they affect Oklahoma)
2) they provide no real government services other those provided by a single office holder (and his salary is not paid solely by the people of Oklahoma's 4th district, he's paid by the federal government)
3) the boundaries are subject to change every 10 years (and the district can even be abolished as part of that routine redistricting)

[NWI_Irish96]

Congressional districts don't fit what he's asking for, because:

1) they're actually a part of the federal government (it is hard to see how the House of Representatives is between the state and county level, given that Rep. Cole can and does vote on bills that affect Massachusetts just the same as they affect Oklahoma)
2) they provide no real government services other those provided by a single office holder (and his salary is not paid solely by the people of Oklahoma's 4th district, he's paid by the federal government)
3) the boundaries are subject to change every 10 years (and the district can even be abolished as part of that routine redistricting)

They're also not a geographic entity tabulated by the Census Bureau directly. You have to use the state's definition of the counties/tracts/blocks included in a congressional district in order to tabulate the data yourself.

[vdeane]

Why stop with counties?  We could make a real-world version of The Cession (which was depicted as being sovereign to the point of having border checkpoints and banning the entry of the US military and on-duty government officials).

[webny99]

For some reason, I was incorrectly under the impression that Native American "ethnic counties" existed. For example, in any recent electoral map, in the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming, you'll see a few blue counties in a sea of red, some of them dark blue. Most, but not all, of them are blue because of the Native American vote.

The reason I say "incorrectly" is because they just happen to be in the county; the county isn't explicitly for the reservation.

Doesn't Wisconsin have a county that was formed to include a reservation?

Menominee County is dark blue on a map surrounded by a sea of light-to-medium red. Looking at Wikipedia, it appears that yes, it's a reservation county.

New York also has several reservations, but none of them are their own county, and none are big enough to swing the vote of the counties they're located in (at least not to my knowledge).

[Chrysler375Freeway]

One idea I have for Virginia: Independent cities could be absorbed back into the counties they surround/border, including the return of counties abolished by independent city expansion, like Warwick, Nanesmond, Norfolk, Elizabeth City, and Princess Anne.
Reasoning: Three independent cities in the Commonwealth have reverted to town status. In 2014, many of these cities were experiencing very high fiscal stress. Martinsville has been trying to revert to town status. Virginia granted the option in 2017 for 27 independent county-level municipalities to revert to town status, all of which had populations of 50,000 or less without the requirement of action from the state legislature. Some cities if they didn’t have the county-level status already straddle two counties. I would, however, change some boundaries with the new map of Virginia:
1. Arlington County would be absorbed into Fairfax County.
2. Using blocks, the Public Land Survey system, and voting precincts, Fredericksburg would be split between Stafford and Spotsylvania Counties as evenly as possible.
3. Norfolk would return mostly to Princess Anne County’s jurisdiction, as it was during the 19th century, but the Berkeley and Campostella/Campostella Heights neighborhoods would be in Norfolk County, and thus also under the new Norfolk County’s jurisdiction, as would the Blackwater neighborhood of the current Virginia Beach.
4. Some neighborhoods of Lynchburg would be turned over to Bedford County, thus putting Lynchburg in both Campbell and Bedford Counties.
5. Some areas of Williamsburg would be placed in York County.
6. The area annexed from what was then Elizabeth City County would be placed back in EC County, thus placing a portion of Newport News in Elizabeth City County.
Outside of territorial changes, the new map of Virginia is mostly unchanged, other than adding new counties in Southeast Virginia, and county borders returning to pre-1900 borders.

[Poiponen13]

How about city names that seem unpronounceable?
- Lnrvdxkk
- Ghhhhhjjkjkkjkjkjkjklkjjj
- Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
- Qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
- Qazwsxedcrfvtgbyhnujmikolp
- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz City
- Pffffffffffffft City
- Nw Yrk Ct

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Zzyzx (except that one exists)

[Poiponen13]

Like Quebec Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, some places could have exclamation and questionmarks. Like:
- Greenville! Greenville!! Greenville!!!
- Noooo! Noooo!! Noooo!!! City
- Westfield of Pick! Pick!
- Question? City

[Takumi]

- Question? City

Ah yes, the new name for Maranello.

[kphoger]

How about city names that seem unpronounceable?

- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz City
- Pffffffffffffft City

Those are easy to pronounce.

[SP Cook]

Consolidating counties has been an at least semi-serious discussion in West Virginia as the state empties and leaves behind political entities that are simply too small to function effectively. 

They have done a few things.  The state got the counties out of the jail business over the last 20 years or so, which was a good idea.  However they created an intermediate level of fat between the county school system and the states, which served no real purpose and was abandoned.  Not exactly county related, but the state has WAY too many judges (which between their over-pay and their over-staffed staff's over-pay cost the state about $400K/year) because counties which have emptied still have judicial staff based on the population from decades ago.  When the parties changed control about 10 years ago, they said they were going to look into it, but nothing ever changed.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

How about city names that seem unpronounceable?

- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz City
- Pffffffffffffft City

Those are easy to pronounce.

Janesville, Wisconsin used to have a restaurant called the Hhffrrrggh Inn.

[kphoger]

Hhffrrrggh Inn

I think I pronounced that very phrase yesterday evening, when I was lifting a heavy box.

[CoreySamson]

- Greenville! Greenville!! Greenville!!!
- Noooo! Noooo!! Noooo!!! City
- Westfield of Pick! Pick!

I don't think anything on this forum has made me laugh as hard as this.

[CoreySamson]

A reading from II Dissolutions 4:56-70...

  So that it was, when the proclamation had came to pass, the village of Westfield of Pick! Pick! was decided against war with the Nimbyans. Whereunto, on the sixth hour of the third day of the thirteenth month, the Warbler said unto the lord Mandunaterrasta, "Dost thou understand the graveness of the circumstances? The battle shall be long and there shall be a great slaughter of our own. The enemy will pursue with caterpillars and chariots of the sea." "Be not afraid, chief Warbler," Mandunaterrasta responded unto him, "for it is from thine own house that victory will be secured." "My begotten is not readied to command such an army," the Warbler replied unto Mandunaterrasta. "No, it shall be so. I prophesy that if the battle is won by your begotten Greenville, however great the loss will be, then my curse of blight shall not be on you and your descendants." So Mandunaterrasta went to his own land. It so happened that on the fifth day that Greenville led the village into battle. As the armies came to the valley, there was a great slaughter, and many were slewn by the sword. But the battle went sore against Greenville and his armorbearers, hence that his body was cut into a hundred pieces. Nevertheless, the village repelled the invaders, and a great sacrifice was held in honor of the slain. Then it became known to the Warbler that Greenville had perished, so he tore his clothes and covered himself with ash, mourning him, saying, "Oh my begotten, Greenville! If only I were slain instead of thee! Oh Greenville! Greenville!! Greenville!!!"

[kphoger]

A reading from II Dissolutions 4:56-70...

  So that it was, when the proclamation had came to pass, the village of Westfield of Pick! Pick! was decided against war with the Nimbyans. Whereunto, on the sixth hour of the third day of the thirteenth month, the Warbler said unto the lord Mandunaterrasta, "Dost thou understand the graveness of the circumstances? The battle shall be long and there shall be a great slaughter of our own. The enemy will pursue with caterpillars and chariots of the sea." "Be not afraid, chief Warbler," Mandunaterrasta responded unto him, "for it is from thine own house that victory will be secured." "My begotten is not readied to command such an army," the Warbler replied unto Mandunaterrasta. "No, it shall be so. I prophesy that if the battle is won by your begotten Greenville, however great the loss will be, then my curse of blight shall not be on you and your descendants." So Mandunaterrasta went to his own land. It so happened that on the fifth day that Greenville led the village into battle. As the armies came to the valley, there was a great slaughter, and many were slewn by the sword. But the battle went sore against Greenville and his armorbearers, hence that his body was cut into a hundred pieces. Nevertheless, the village repelled the invaders, and a great sacrifice was held in honor of the slain. Then it became known to the Warbler that Greenville had perished, so he tore his clothes and covered himself with ash, mourning him, saying, "Oh my begotten, Greenville! If only I were slain instead of thee! Oh Greenville! Greenville!! Greenville!!!"

I like how you added the extra exclamation points at the end for more emphasis.  That was a nice touch.

(For the uninitiated, I should explain that, in the oldest manuscripts, verse 70 ends with "... slain instead of thee!"  The extra bit at the end appears to be a gloss added later by scribes.  So CoreySamson's additional punctuation serves to further reinforce the gloss.)

[Poiponen13]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

[kirbykart]

How about city names that seem unpronounceable?
- Lnrvdxkk
- Ghhhhhjjkjkkjkjkjkjklkjjj
- Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
- Qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm
- Qazwsxedcrfvtgbyhnujmikolp
- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz City
- Pffffffffffffft City
- Nw Yrk Ct

But why?

*calls 911*
Dispatcher: Where are you?
Caller: Chestnut Street in *fails to pronounce Ghhhhhjjkjkkjkjkjkjklkjjj*
Dispatcher: Where?
Caller: *passes out from blood loss*

[bing101]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

Good point but San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles proposed a Brexit type move one time when the Valley would be a separate city from the rest of Los Angeles until it was canceled in 2002.

https://www.dailynews.com/2012/11/04/secession-drive-changed-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles/

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

There have been noises made regarding the fiscal sustainability of the smaller towns and villages of rural Louisiana (mostly populations <1000). Some of them operate and control municipal water systems that also serve areas outside of the municipal boundaries and earn money for the municipality; however many of those water systems are aging and lack funds for repairs/upgrades to current EPA standards.  Maybe disincorporation and absorbing the water systems into larger entities would be the best option for many of these places. The communities themselves are in long-term decline with little economic viability.

This is certainly an issue for many rural communities across the country.

[mgk920]

There have been noises made regarding the fiscal sustainability of the smaller towns and villages of rural Louisiana (mostly populations <1000). Some of them operate and control municipal water systems that also serve areas outside of the municipal boundaries and earn money for the municipality; however many of those water systems are aging and lack funds for repairs/upgrades to current EPA standards.  Maybe disincorporation and absorbing the water systems into larger entities would be the best option for many of these places. The communities themselves are in long-term decline with little economic viability.

This is certainly an issue for many rural communities across the country.

This could very well be a long-term issue with many sprawling, spread out suburban munis, as well, if they were developed on the late-20th century WWII Veteran/Boomer/Xer model.  Their infrastructures will be wearing out and/or becoming functionally obsolete without the tax base needed to rebuild and/or update them to the then needed levels of service.  Will their metro central cities be able to take them in?  I have seen many articles on this subject within recent years.

Mike

[Poiponen13]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

Good point but San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles proposed a Brexit type move one time when the Valley would be a separate city from the rest of Los Angeles until it was canceled in 2002.

https://www.dailynews.com/2012/11/04/secession-drive-changed-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles/

Los Angeles could also be separated from Los Angeles County to form City and County of Los Angeles.

[mgk920]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

Good point but San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles proposed a Brexit type move one time when the Valley would be a separate city from the rest of Los Angeles until it was canceled in 2002.

https://www.dailynews.com/2012/11/04/secession-drive-changed-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles/

Los Angeles could also be separated from Los Angeles County to form City and County of Los Angeles.

In that same light, I sometimes wonder how long it will be (after the city gets its governance act together)  before some of those 'basket case' south Chicagoland suburbs (ie, Harvey') throw in the towel and seek to join the city.

Mike

[Evan_Th]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

Good point but San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles proposed a Brexit type move one time when the Valley would be a separate city from the rest of Los Angeles until it was canceled in 2002.

https://www.dailynews.com/2012/11/04/secession-drive-changed-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles/

Los Angeles could also be separated from Los Angeles County to form City and County of Los Angeles.

Upgrade them both.  Los Angeles City becomes its own county; Los Angeles County becomes its own state.

[Scott5114]

Los Angeles could grow bigger in area when many too small municipalities are absorbed into it. Such as Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Monica.

Good point but San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles proposed a Brexit type move one time when the Valley would be a separate city from the rest of Los Angeles until it was canceled in 2002.

https://www.dailynews.com/2012/11/04/secession-drive-changed-san-fernando-valley-los-angeles/

Los Angeles could also be separated from Los Angeles County to form City and County of Los Angeles.

Upgrade them both.  Los Angeles City becomes its own county; Los Angeles County becomes its own state.

California becomes its own country. The United States becomes its own continent. North America becomes its own planet. Earth becomes its own solar system. The solar system becomes its own galaxy. The Milky Way becomes its own universe.

I think this is needed.