IV. CITY-COUNTY CONSOLIDATION IN OTHER In a number of other states provision has been made for the consolidation to some extent of city and county government for large cities; and in several European countries there is a similar consolidation of local government for larger cities. New York city includes five counties; Philadelphia city and county are identical in area; Baltimore, St. Louis and San Francisco combine city and county functions; and Boston includes most of Suffolk County. In all of these cases the city government includes some county functions and absorbs some county officers. In Denver, city and county governments have been more thoroughly consolidated. In the District of Columbia, a single government exercises some of the functions elsewhere divided between city, county and state. In Virginia, all cities are excluded from the counties; and the city government provides for county functions. Several state constitutions have provisions authorizing larger cities to be organized as counties. In Minnesota, cities of over 20,000 may be so organized; and in Michigan and Missouri, cities of over 100,000. The California constitution contains a general provision authorizing city and county consolidation, and special provisions for San Francisco and some other counties. Plans for city-county consolidation have been actively urged in recent years in a number of larger American cities. In England municipalities of over 50,000 population are regularly organized as county boroughs. In Prussia most cities of over 25,000 are classed as Kreis-stadte, combining the functions of cities. and the district known as the circle, which corresponds somewhat to the county. An examination of some of these cases of consolidated local government should be of value in considering the problem in Chicago. and Cook County. New York City. There are now five counties within the limits of the city of New York; and the county governments have been to some extent consolidated in and merged with the city government. But the counties are still retained as separate units for the administration of justice and the election of certain county officers prescribed by the state constitution. When the first counties were established in New York, in 1683, New York county comprised Manhattan Island and some small neighboring islands; and the first charter of New York City, in 1686, gave the city the same boundaries as the county. Thereafter the two were generally referred to as "The City and County of New York". With some minor changes, the boundaries remained unaltered until 1873, when three towns in Westchester were made part of the city and county of New York; and in 1895 parts of other towns and villages in Westchester county were added to the city and county of New York. From the beginning, the county and city government were closely connected. The sheriff of New York County was also sheriff for the city. In 1813 it was expressly provided that the chamberlain of the city and county of New York should be considered the county treasurer. When county boards of supervisors were established in New York none was provided for New York county; and the council, or mayor and aldermen, of the city were declared to be the board for that county. From 1857 to 1874 a separate board of supervisors was provided; but in the latter year its powers were again transferred to the board of aldermen of New York City. From time to time, however, various county officers were provided, who acted independently of the city government. Three of the other counties now included in New York City (Kings, Queens and Richmond) were also among the original counties created in 1683. Their government was similar to that of other counties and distinct from that of the villages and cities which developed within their limits. In 1854, however, when the city of Brooklyn included a large part of Kings county, the city and county governments were more closely inter-related; and in 1895 a larger degree of consolidation was brought about, similar to that effected in New York city and county in 1874. The powers of the county board of supervisors were devolved upon the common council of the city; and several county and city officers were abolished and absorbed. in other offices. When the greater New York charter was passed in 1897, it included in New York City the counties of New York, Kings and Richmond, and the western part of Queens County. The remainder of Queens county was about the same time organized as Nassau County. All of the former municipal or public corporations within the limits of the greater city, except the four counties, were abolished and merged in the new city government. Five new divisions, known as boroughs, were, however, created for local municipal purposes. As to the counties, substantially the same transfer of functions. which had been previously made in the counties of New York and Kings, were now made from the former cities of New York and Brooklyn and from the counties of Queens and Richmond to the new city of New York. The powers of boards of supervisors were transferred to the board of aldermen and to some city officers and boards. Statutory elective county offices and some appointive county offices were abolished and their functions transferred to city officers. There remained, however, in each county a number of elective county officers, provided for by the state constitution, which could not be abolished or consolidated with the city government; and some appointive county officers were also left unchanged. In 1914 a new county of Bronx was organized, comprising the region previously in Westchester county; and for this county a similar staff of county officials has been provided. The extent of consolidation of county and city government may be noted more definitely. In the first place, the work of financial administration has been completely consolidated. Appropriations and tax levies for county purposes are made by the city board of estimate and apportionment and the board of aldermen; and the same city authorities determine salaries for county officers, so far as they are not fixed by state law. The assessment of county taxes is made by the city department. The city chamberlain acts as treasurer for all of the five counties. The city comptroller audits county expenditures. Supervision of county property and public works, ordinance powers and other auxiliary powers, formerly vested in the boards of supervisors, are now exercised by the board of aldermen. The direct management of county property is exercised by various city departments, under the general administrative control of the mayor. All local charities are in charge of the city departments. On the other hand, in the administration of justice and related matters, there continues in each county separate courts and county officials. New York County is a judicial district for the election of supreme court judges; and also elects seven judges of the court of general sessions and two surrogates, or probate judges. The other counties elect county judges, and the counties of Kings, Queens and the Bronx each elects a surrogate. The following constitutional officers are elected: Supreme Court Judges (New York County 1 district). 15 County Judges (7 in New York, 5 in Kings, 1 in each of the other counties). 5 Surrogates (2 in New York, 1 each in Bronx, Kings and Queens). 5 County Clerks. 5 District Attorneys. 3 Registers (New York, Bronx and Kings counties). 5 Sheriffs. In addition there are the following appointive county officers, provided by statute: 3 Commissioners of Records (2 in New York and 1 in Kings county). 5 Commissioners of Jurors. 5 Public Administrators. The cost of county government for 1914 was $7,348,010, as shown below: New York County Bronx County Kings County Queens County Richmond County Total $4,108,855 592,047 County expenditures had increased from $3,701,916 in 1901, largely as the result of mandatory special legislation, which in county matters is not subject to the mayor's veto, as is special city legislation. Nearly 70 per cent of the total expenditures are mandatory; and 9 per cent more is for items for which any reasonable expense necessarily incurred must be paid; leaving about 21 per cent of the county expenditure discretionary with the local authorities. In 1915 a study of county government within the City of New York was prepared for the constitutional convention of that year by the Commissioner of Public Accounts and City Chamberlain. This pointed out the waste and inefficiency of the separate county organizations, and urged a consolidation of the several counties, and the merger of some of the county offices with municipal departments. The plan proposed would have reduced the number of county departments from 40 to 8, two of which would be merged with city offices, and would have simplified elections and secured better official service and more economical administration. The reduction in expenses was estimated at $1,000,000 a year. No action was taken by the constitutional convention to unite the county governments. The proposed revised constitution contained provisions for the consolidation of local courts in the city; but this also failed on account of the defeat of the constitution. Some mention may be made of the administrative subdivisions of New York for municipal purposes. The greater city is divided into five boroughs, corresponding to the five counties; and in each borough there is elected a borough president, who is a member of the city board of estimate and apportionment, and has supervision over borough property and public works including street paving and lighting, sewers and public buildings. The boroughs are also utilized as administrative districts by some of the centralized city departments, as the parks; but these are not under the control of the borough president. The city is also divided into 25 local improvement districts, for each of which there is a local improvement board, consisting of the borough president and the aldermen (usually three) elected within the district. These boards initiate and authorize local improvements, subject to the approval of the city board of estimate and apportionment (and in cases where the city's share of the total cost is over $500,000, subject also to the approval of the board of aldermen).1 Boston, Suffolk County and the Metropolitan District. Boston comprises much the greater part of Suffolk County, both in area and population; and a good deal has been accomplished in the con 1 Arthur Ludington: The Relation of County to City Government in New York. In Proceedings of the American Political Science Association, VII, 73 (1911). Henry Bruere and Leonard M. Wallstein: Study of County Government within the City of New York and a plan for its Reorganization (1915). solidation of city and county government for this territory. But Boston and Suffolk County comprise less than half of the metropolitan urban area, which includes parts of five counties, with a complex array of municipal authorities and state boards, subject to no general supervision except that of the state legislature. Suffolk County includes, besides the city of Boston, the much smaller city of Chelsea and the two towns of Revere and Winthrop. The consolidation of city and county functions began when the town of Boston was organized as a city in 1821-2. At that time, the court of session for Suffolk County was abolished, and its administrative functions (corresponding to those of the county board) were transferred to the mayor and aldermen of Boston. By the present city charter of 1909, these functions are vested in the city council and the mayor. The treasurer and the auditor of the city of Boston act as treasurer and auditor for Suffolk County. The ownership and jurisdiction of all county property is vested in the city of Boston; and the entire county expenses, including those of judicial administration, are paid by the city of Boston. Under the Massachusetts judicial system, there are no locally elected judges. The judges and justices of the supreme judicial court, the superior court (the judges of which hold sessions in the several counties), the probate court, and the district and police courts, are all appointed by the governor and council; and are paid by the commonwealth, except the justices of the district and police courts who are paid by the county. There are, however, seven elective county officers and a number of appointive county positions. The elective county officers are: Register of probate, register of deeds, district attorney, sheriff, clerk of the supreme judicial court and two clerks of the superior court, "one for criminal and one for civil business." Among the appointive positions are the medical examiners (who act in place of the coroner) and index commissioners. In 1910 there were a total of 596 paid county officials and employees, while for the city there was a total of 13,068. The relations of Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop to county and city administration are varied and peculiar. They are part of Suffolk County for the administration of justice and for the election of county officers. In some matters, Revere and Winthrop are under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners of Middlesex County and the aldermen of Chelsea exercise in most cases the functions of county commissioners. These three municipalities also are freed from taxation for county purposes. This situation has given rise to some criticism; and there has also been complaint of the unsatisfactory condition of county finances, and of the fact that county employees are not subject to the civil service law and regulations. It is also urged that under present conditions the court expenses borne by the city of Boston are further increased by the trial in Suffolk County of a large and growing number of cases from other counties in the metropolitan area, since the courts in |