In recent years, and especially since the November elections, there has been much discussion about downsizing, or right-sizing government. Residents seem tired of paying taxes for programs for which, in some instances, they no longer see a need. This discussion has many facets, some structural and some philosophical, but the end result is a move to eliminate funding for certain public programs.

While the main focus of the downsizing efforts has been at the Federal level, state and local governments are feeling the effects, directly and indirectly. Cutbacks in Federal spending and elimination of programs affect the intergovernmental support received by many local governments. In addition, efforts are underway to limit the revenues received by local governments from property taxes. In Illinois, for instance, a major effort has been started to cap property taxes in Cook County with some interest in extending these caps to downstate governments. The downsizing thrust is not limited to funding, of course, and may change the entire structure of government. Unfunded mandates are a major concern for local governments, for example, and efforts are underway to address this issue.

Not discussed as much during the current debate, even though it has been debated extensively in prior times, is the structure of governments providing public services. Illinois has the largest number of governmental units of any state. Because of the limited revenue-raising powers available to special districts, by type, a fragmented government is more dependent on property taxes to finance services. A study of local governments in the 1980s, for instance, revealed a positive relationship between number of governments per population and property tax collections though not necessarily level of expenditures. ¹

This article examines the number of governments in Illinois as reported by the 1992 Census of Governments and compares trends since the early 1980s. Illinois is also compared with other states. The findings are somewhat encouraging because, while the number of governments has increased in Illinois, the percentage increases is approximately one-half of the national average. However, decreases in number of school districts have been more than offset by increases in special districts.

Factors Affecting Governmental Structure
Many factors determine arrangements for providing local public services. First, settlement patterns affect government formation and delivery systems. Within Illinois, 85 counties have township government

1. David L. Chicoine and Norman Walzer, Governmental Structure and Local Public Finance (Boston, MA: Oelgeschlager, Gunn, and Hain, Inc., 1985).

*The author is professor of economies and director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. He thanks Lori York and Stacey Swisher for their assistance in tabulating the results.

April 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 9

whereas 17 do not. This occurred partly because settlers in northern Illinois favored town governments but settlers in southern Illinois were more familiar with centralized local governance. Second, the presence of restrictive taxing limits promotes creation of additional governments when tax rate limits are reached. Third, education is financed by a separate unit of government in Illinois while these services are provided by general purpose governments in many other states. Fourth, especially in rural areas, it may be difficult to provide public services such as ambulances or fire protection to areas of low population density unless the service is provided through a special district with boundaries beyond a city.

Statewide, Illinois had 6,627 units of government in 1987 and 6,722 units in 1992, according to the Census of Governments (Table 1). The 1.4 percent increase compares with a 2.1 percent increase nationwide. A closer examination, however, shows a noticeable shift between school districts and special districts. In 1987, there were 1,029 school districts but this number decreased to 985 in 1992, a decline of 4.3 percent. Special districts, on the other hand. numbered 2,783 in 1987 and 2,920 in 1992, an increase of 4.9 percent. Of substantial interest is that 1,189 of the 2,920 special districts in Illinois do not have property taxing authority.

The decrease in school districts and growth in special districts is part of a national trend. The 4.3 percent decline in school districts in Illinois compares with a 2.0 percent decline nationally and the 4.9 percent increase in special districts compares with a 6.9 percent increase nationwide. The changes were not evenly distributed among states, however. New Jersey reported a decline of 23 percent in special district governments whereas substantial increases were reported in other states, including Delaware (31%), Louisiana (25%), Ohio (25.1%), South Dakota (23.6%), Utah (39.1%) and Wyoming (49.2%). These comparisons are affected by the number of special districts in 1987. Even small changes in states with few districts represent relatively large percentages. Thus, the increase of 137 districts in Illinois represents a 4.9 percent growth while an increase of 123 districts in Wyoming is 49.2 percent.

Natural resource districts (drainage and flood control and soil and water conservation districts) represent the largest number (903) of special districts in Illinois.

Table 2. Governments by State	State, 1992 1992 No. of Governments	1992 Population (000)	Residents per Governmental Number	Unit Rank
New England
Maine	797	1,236	1,551	11
New Hampshire	528	1,115	2,112	20
Vermont	682	571	837	6
Massachusetts	844	5,993	7,101	43
Rhode Island	126	1,001	7,944	45
Connecticut	564	3,279	5,814	39
Middle Atlantic
New York	3,299	18,109	5,489	38
New Jersey	1,513	7,820	5,169	35
Pennsylvania	5,159	11,995	2,325	21
East North Central
Ohio	3.524	11,021	3,127	28
Indiana	2,899	5,658	1,952	17
Illinois	6,722	11,613	1,728	14
Michigan	2,722	9,434	3,466	30
Wisconsin	2,739	4,993	1,823	.16
West North Central
Minnesota	3.580	4,468	1,248	9
Iowa	1,881	2,803	1,490	10
Missouri	3,310	5,191	1,568	12
North Dakota	2,765	634	229	1
South Dakota	1,786	708	396	2
Nebraska	2,924	1,601	548	3
Kansas	3,892	2,515	646	5
South Atlantic
Delaware	276	691	2,504	22
Maryland	402	4,917	12,231	47
Virginia	455	6,394	14,053	49
West Virginia	692	1,809	2,614	23
North Carolina	938 .	6,836	7,288	44
South Carolina	698	3,603	5,162	34
Georgia	1,298	6,773	5,218	36
Florida	1,014	13,483	13,297	48

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Table 2. Governments by State, 1992 (cont.)
State	1992 No. of Governments	1992 Population (000)	Residents per Governmental Number	Unit Rank
East South Central
Kentucky	1,321	3,454	2,615	24
Tennessee	924	5,025	5,438	37
Alabama	1,122	4,138	3,688	31
Mississippi	870	2,615	3,006	27
West South Central
Arkansas	1,447	2,394	1,654	13
Louisiana	459	4,279	9,322	46
Oklahoma	1,795	3,205	1,786	15
Texas	4,792	17,683	3,690	32
Mountain
Montana	1,276	822	644	4
Idaho	1,087	1,066	981	8
Wyoming	550	465	845	7
Colorado	1,761	3,465	1,968	18
New Mexico	342	1,582	4,626	33
Arizona	591.	3,832	6,484	41
Utah	627	1,811	2,888	25
Nevada	208	1,336	6,423	40
Pacific
Washington	1,761	5,143	2,920	26
Oregon	1,451	2,972	2,048	19
California	4,393	30,895	7,033	42
Alaska	175	588	3,360	29
Hawaii	21	1,156	55,048	50
Average	1,702	4,984	4,908

April 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11

Fire protection districts (804) represent the second largest type, followed by parks and recreation (356) and library districts (262). Between 1987 and 1992, the largest increases were library districts from 182 to 262 in the five-year period. This represents a conscious effort to extend library services to unserved areas of rural Illinois. Numerically, the other increases were relatively small.

Governments Per Population
Comparing arrangements for providing public services using only numbers of government can be misleading. While Illinois has the largest absolute number of governments, it does not lead states when number of governments is adjusted for population. In fact, rather than ranking first among states, when adjusted for population, Illinois ranks 14th, the same rank as in 1987. In Illinois, there is one government unit for every 1,728 residents, compared with an average of 4,908 nationwide.

The main factors explaining differences in governmental concentration among states are population density and size. A cemetery district, for instance, can serve 1,000 residents or 100,000 residents. In the former case, more likely to occur in sparsely populated rural areas, the concentration of governments will be much higher than when the fixed costs are spread over a larger population base such as in urban areas.

The highest density of governments is found in rural states such as North Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. The fewest governments per residents are found in Florida, Maryland, and Rhode Island. Thus, governmental structure is affected both by preferences for ways in which public services are delivered and by the density of population served.

Effects of Governmental Structure
Estimating the effects of differences in structure of government is not easy because many governments have no full-time employees and finance services through user charges or based on benefits received. In addition, a case can be made for small local govern-

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merits providing an opportunity for involving citizens in decision-making.

On the other hand, providing services through a complex structure of local governments, rather than general purpose units, can disguise decision-making practices and the costs of services provided. It is more difficult for residents to identify those responsible for public services and funding decisions in a fragmented system of governments. Inability to assign responsibility for decisions can ultimately bring higher tax collections.

More indirect effects can occur also. Property tax increases often are blamed on the largest or most visible unit of government, in most cases municipalities. While residents tend to blame municipal officials for these increases, in practice, the growth may result from additional special districts or other units of government. While this information is a matter of public record, it can be time-consuming and frustrating for voters to obtain a complete picture of who is responsible for the changes.

Summary
Illinois clearly retains its title for the largest number of local governments and probably will for a long while. At the same time, compared with other populous states, it is in only about the 75th percentile. For residents who favor smaller (or fewer) governments, the trend between 1987 and 1992 was in the wrong direction. Compared with the national average, however, the percentage increase in Illinois was about one-half.

There was a decided shift in Illinois in types of governments. The number of school districts decreased while the number of special districts increased. Especially noteworthy was the growth in number of library districts.

While number of governments is interesting to compare, the real issue is cost of government and the relative importance of each type of government in property tax collections or other revenues collected. A subsequent article will examine this question in more detail.

April 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 13