Youngstown Annex Boardman Austintown

[South Range Family]

Jeff, that was a good find. Since the notch has been there since at least 1895, I'm going to say that everybody responsible for that is probably dead. I'll feel better knowing that I can take them off of my brick list.

JR, I couldn't figure out why you kept saying that part of Salem city is in Mahoning County. After studying your map I see it. It looks like we lost an annexation fight without even knowing it. The people responsible for that are now being added to my brick list.

That portion is only a few hundred feet. It is a hillside with powerlines that runs beside the Home-Depot. In the next year or two, they are going to build a road on that property to connect with Egypt Road. There aren't any residents there. Income taxes, and residency aren't an issue, and it wasn't any great loss. You are right that there must have been some kind of deal there.

Annexation still comes down to which kind of local government a person wants to live under. I did my moving around, and tried different things. I decided that I like township living with a Trustee type Government. I paid the entry fees, and bought enough land to assure that type of living.
When sombody comes along and tells me that I'm now going to live under a City Government without any choice in the matter, they are going to end up on my brick list.

[jam40jeff]

I'm not sure I agree with annexation of a township without the township having any say in it, but you did know that was possible entering into the situation. It's not like annexation of townships is a newly created policy.

[yagisenin]

Originally Posted by bethany12

Ok, I know I don't live in Ohio, but I have lived in large cities that have annexed boarding towns.

1. The taxes do increase. A lot of people don't realize that the small town will now be taking on the financial burdens of the large city. For example, pensions. With the drop in the market, many cities have seen their pension funds decline. If you are now using the same services as the city, then you can expect to pay for any existing contracts that were previously established such as waste disposal, communications, government employees, etc.
2. The next step will be a push for countywide government agencies. Merging of school districts, police, etc.
3. Small town loss in representation. Larger population always gets more of a say in how things are run.

The problem is actually in the way local government was designed and cast into law... in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, well before cities such as Youngstown emerged and experienced massive, industrial-boom-fueled expansion in the 20th century. Townships in many states, including Ohio, are simply a basic, statutory form of government that was never designed, much less intended to address or handle the comprehensive and complex challenges of urbanization.

Nevertheless, our cities have grown, changed and evolved with such speed in the past century that laws defining and outlining the structure of local government have yet to catch up with this reality. In many cases these very same laws have changed little, if at all from the time when they were originally established.

Since the end of WWII, suburban/exurban sprawl has presented a major challenge for local governance in most metropolitan areas within the US, as it has blurred the line between what was once clearly defined as "city" and "rural" areas. Prior to the emergence of suburban sprawl, urbanizing areas at the fringes of existing municipal boundaries were quickly annexed into these cities, usually leaving rural areas in the care of townships.

Suburban sprawl, however, has been fueled by the social and economic drive outward from the central city and inner-ring suburbs, into rural areas and the townships that govern them. As these areas have developed and grown significantly in population, they have not surprisingly taken on characteristics of the central city, including the need for increased police, fire, infrastructure expansion and maintenance, and other services traditionally provided by central cities.

The problem, once again, is that township governments were not designed to provide for and maintain these services on the same scale or basis as a city, hence the emergence of municipal government structure in the first place. At this point, the township faces a choice: petition the city for annexation or incorporate into a suburban municipality.

Incorporating into a separate, suburban municipality has its' benefits; You do have a representative government that is comparatively closer to it's population than that of a much larger, central city. However, it also comes with added costs. With fewer citizens than a larger, central city, a suburban municipality's citizens are going to pay a much higher amount in relative terms to maintain what are essentially duplicated services on a smaller scale -- police, fire, road maintenance, water, etc. -- as provided by their government. This particular issue is likely on the minds of many suburban/exurban residents these days, given increasingly tough economic conditions and less money available to cover even just basic living expenses. Also, as the federal and state governments are running into massive operating deficits due to collapse of tax revenues, due to the flagging economy, next in line to feel the pinch are going to be local governments, the smallest of which are going to feel the greatest pain.

What is needed at this time is a much more comprehensive, "Big Picture" view of our metropolitan areas, from urban centers, to rural areas, to all of the suburbs and exurbs in-between. None of these areas exist in a true social, political and economic vaccum, completely apart from the other types of areas. Attempting to pretend or perpetuate the idea that there is indeed a figurative line separating one type of area from another in a given metropolitan region is both myopic and counterproductive where each region's future is concerned.

Regional governance at the county level or over a multi-county area may be the best way to address metropolitan issues and policy as a whole. In this way, it would be much more possible to effectively regulate and prevent additional suburban/exurban sprawl into rural areas, for example. Also, regional consolidation and administration of services, such as police, fire, schools, maintenance, etc., would be much less costly than the present parochial duplication and administration of these services.

I would suggest here, that a proposal for a regional Youngstown/Mahoning Valley government not be viewed as a bad thing (i.e. something to be feared). Rather, I believe it would actually be an excellent and positive thing for the region, for the reasons mentioned above and more, including the fact that it would unite the region in the eyes of its' people, as well as in the eyes of the outer world. A "Unified Youngstown" is something that could be very good in terms of attracting and fostering desperately needed economic development for the region. I am not proposing here precisely how government of a unified regional Youngstown should be structured. However I do believe that respect must be given to the need for specifically designated urban and rural areas and the working relationship between the two, as it supports the entire region.