This study examines existing theories regarding local government consolidation and applies them to four case studies. From existing theories, thirty-four factors that influence the outcome of consolidation attempts are identified. These thirty-four factors are applied to four case studies. These are Nashville/Davidson County (1958), Cleveland/Cuyahoga County (1959), Nashville/Davidson County (1962), and Jacksonville/Davidson County (1967). Thirty of the thirty-four factors prove to be less influential than theorized. Four factors prove to be essential to any successful consolidation attempt. They are as follows:1. The presence of long standing unsolved problems that are under the jurisdiction of the local government.2. The presence of a crisis situation.3. Favorable state laws regarding the types of voting majorities needed for passage of consolidation measures.4. The presence of a strong grassroots campaign for consolidation. / Department of Urban Planning

The Council of Governments is a significant new approach to metropolitan cooperation. Of the approximately 150 councils (as of January, 1970), all but 14 have been established since 1965. Councils across the country are characterized by great variety in organization and representation. This paper examines this complexity, particularly in terms of membership, representation and voting. The first chapter is primarily a short history of the council movement and the forces which have helped to shape its development. The second examines the variety of council functions, organizational structures and financial arrangements. Chapters III, IV and V are devoted to a detailed study of membership, representation and voting patterns. While the third and fourth chapters are concerned with the general aspects of these patterns, Chapter V examines in detail the arrangements used by twelve specific councils. The effect of the "one man, one vote" concept on councils is discussed in the sixth chapter. The concluding chapter analyzes the external and internal problems facing councils and their success in meeting these problems. The future development of councils is also explored. While the future of the councils and the movement may take one of many avenues, including evolution into regional governments, it appears that the likely development will be mixed. Uniformity will continue to be imposed by HUD regulations, but the local councils will continue to explore for experimental solutions to satisfy their own individual problems and needs.

Addressing the current homeland security challenges requires scholars, practitioners, elected officials, and community partners working in unison to mitigate the hazards confronting first responders. Built on public choice theory, this research addressed a specific component of the emergency preparedness matrix: the most preferred fire service organizational design. The fire department organizational designs in this study included a Florida county, city, and independent special control fire district (ISFCD) that serve residents on a full-time platform. The concurrent embedded methodology used attempted to unearth which organizational design achieves economies of scale based on quarterly emergency service calls: the centralized county model or the decentralized city/ISFCD models. This study was an inquiry into the centralization versus decentralization argument, with emphases on fire service scale economies and inter-local service agreements Using multiple linear regression modeling accompanied by face-to-face interviews with the respective fire chiefs, this research showed that the county and ISFCD achieve scale economies over 44 quarters, fiscal years 2004-2014. Moreover, the interviews uncovered that response times were the driving factor behind instituting voluntary inter-local service agreements between the three fire departments. Other positive benefits from the service agreements include an increase in personnel and scene safety, dispatch center protocol enhancements, multi-company/jurisdictional training, overtime savings on large-scale disaster incidents, and trust building. The implications of this research for the scholarly and practitioner community include a better understanding of the technical and allocative efficiencies within the fire service arena. Melding public choice theory with strands of inter-local service agreement literature provides policymakers and scholars with a template for uncovering the fire service production/provision narrative. Though the centralization-decentralization argument is not solved within the research scope presented, the future narrative as uncovered in the research requires a citizenry inclusion. The future public choice prescriptions regarding fire service consolidation requires not only statistical modeling, but a normative democratic ethos tone incorporating multiple stakeholders with the citizens’ concerns at the forefront. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

David Rusk claims in Cities Without Suburbs that elastic American cities are less segregated than other American cities. I demonstrate through statistical analyses that there is a strong correlation between Rusk's elasticity (an index comprised of a central city's annexation history since 1950 and its population density) and his income segregation index. The statistical correlation between these two variables is stronger than between Rusk's segregation index and any other variable I test, including city age, size, regional location, and black population percentage. I then consider several hypotheses that may explain these correlations and propose that the continuous annexation of peripheral, developing land by a central city prevents the incorporation of affluent suburbs. Suburban boundaries, especially those of affluent suburbs, function as population sorting mechanisms, which segregate migrant households by socioeconomic status and life-style. I ascertain that only rapidly growing, unbounded central cities prevent or ameliorate segregation by being elastic. / Department of Urban Planning