Merger Mania: The Assault on Local Government

by Sancton, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780773521636
• ISBN10: 0773521631
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

Outside the United States, forced municipal mergers were a popular policy in many European countries and Canadian provinces during the 1960s and 1970s. The city of Laval, just north of Montreal, and the "unicity" of Winnipeg owe their origins to this period - both amalgamations failed to meet their original objectives. Despite the emergence of "public choice" theory - which justifies municipal fragmentation on market principles - some politicians and public servants in the 1990s have continued to advocate municipal amalgamations as a means of reducing public expenditure, particularly in Ontario. In Merger Mania Andrew Sancton demonstrates that this approach has generally not saved money. He examines the history of amalgamation, as well as studying recent forced municipal mergers in Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Sudbury. In the concluding chapter he examines the case for municipal amalgamation on the Island of Montreal and argues that those who would abolish locally elected municipal councils are obligated to explain very carefully - especially in light of evidence to the contrary - exactly why they think such drastic measures are necessary. A compelling examination of a timely issue, Merger Mania is a must-read for anyone interested in the politics of city governments.

Table of Contents

Summary	7	(14)
Introduction	21	(4)
Municipal Amalgamation in the United States, 1854-1942	25	(16)
Consolidation in Philadelphia, 1854	27	(3)
Consolidation in New York, 1898	30	(6)
The consolidationist retreat	36	(5)
The Era of Big Government: The 1960s and 1970s	41	(28)
Great Britain	42	(4)
Metropolitan Toronto and Ontario's Regional Governments	46	(5)
Laval, Quebec	51	(6)
Winnipeg	57	(6)
Europe	63	(6)
The Decline of the Consolidationist Movement in the United States, the Emergence of ``Public Choice,'' and the ``New Regionalism''	69	(14)
Municipal Consolidation in the U.S. Since 1945	70	(4)
Public Choice	74	(4)
New Regionalist Approaches in the U.S.	78	(5)
Amalgamations in the 1990s	83	(30)
New Zealand	84	(1)
Australia	85	(2)
Great Britain	87	(2)
Nova Scotia	89	(12)
Ontario	101	(12)
Toronto's Megacity	113	(28)
The Golden Task Force	115	(2)
The Harris Conservatives and Toronto's Megacity	117	(6)
Staffing Issues	123	(2)
Financial Implications	125	(11)
Governance	136	(5)
More Change in Ontario: Ottawa, Hamilton, Sudbury, and Toronto (Again)	141	(20)
Restructuring Controversies Prior to 1999	142	(2)
The Special Advisors	144	(10)
The Fewer Politicians Act, 1999	154	(7)
Conclusion	161	(8)
Bibliography	169