Does Kentucky really need 120 counties? (neighborhoods, school, taxi)

[mjlo]

Want to get long time Kentuckians(and others) opinion on this. I learned that earlier on in Kentucky's history how its counties were formed. In a nutshell if folks didn't like how the greater gov't was performing they'd just split off and form their own county. From an outsider perspective now that we are in the 2020's this many counties seem a bit counter intuitive. It would seem that tax payers and the state could save a decent amount of money by consolidating many of these counties. Do you think having this many counties is still beneficial? I'm curious to know if anyone has thoughts on it.

[marino760]

Originally Posted by mjlo

Want to get long time Kentuckians(and others) opinion on this. I learned that earlier on in Kentucky's history how its counties were formed. In a nutshell if folks didn't like how the greater gov't was performing they'd just split off and form their own county. From an outsider perspective now that we are in the 2020's this many counties seem a bit counter intuitive. It would seem that tax payers and the state could save a decent amount of money by consolidating many of these counties. Do you think having this many counties is still beneficial? I'm curious to know if anyone has thoughts on it.

Good question. I know my county was at one time part of Bourbon County and all of KY was a county of Virginia.

I think part of the reason of having so many counties is so people have better control of what happens locally. The larger the county, the less people have a voice of what happens in their own towns and neighborhoods and it helps prevent one large city from dominating everything around it. Remember any unincorporated town will be controlled and managed by the county. Taxpayer money stays more local too.


I've lived in the largest county area wise in the U.S. It was no fun and had few benefits. For me, this is much better. I know who the local politicians and county sheriff is. The county courthouse, clerk and others in county government are easily accessible to everyone and not crowded.

So having experienced both, large and small counties, give me a small county any day. I greatly prefer small.

[hogsrus]

All in a days ride...

https://conventionofstates.com/news/...e-120-counties

I was present at some political meetings probably 30 years ago now, where this was the focus of the meetings and an attempt to consolidate Counties. A LOT of questions and no answers. And a consensus that no one could possibly agree.

I learned a long time ago to "never say never" but, in this case I'm purty confident it will never happen

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by mjlo

Want to get long time Kentuckians(and others) opinion on this. I learned that earlier on in Kentucky's history how its counties were formed. In a nutshell if folks didn't like how the greater gov't was performing they'd just split off and form their own county. From an outsider perspective now that we are in the 2020's this many counties seem a bit counter intuitive. It would seem that tax payers and the state could save a decent amount of money by consolidating many of these counties. Do you think having this many counties is still beneficial? I'm curious to know if anyone has thoughts on it.

The counties were often named for the largest landowners at the time.

As far as consolidation, it’s been tried. When two counties merge, half the people lose their full or part time job, even a judge executive. Does anyone expect THAT effort to occur voluntarily?

[flashfearless]

SMH. You should take a look at the mess in PA. In Delaware county alone you have 66 taxing authorities. Whether it’s the township or the school. And look at the voting numbers in some of those townships. Like 1,000 or 2,000. Smh. I don’t see any consolidation happening in KY or PA.