933 towns. 532 villages. 61 cities. 62 counties.

It seems as if every time an early settler’s horse died in New York, they stopped traveling and started a government.

But having random municipal boundaries every few miles, with some overlapping forms of government creating another layer of bureaucracy, isn’t necessarily a cost effective way or efficient way to manage the needs of the people.

Roads that have to be paved and plowed don’t stop at the village line. Underground aquifers don’t know whether it’s a city or town or village above them. A fire or police or EMS station might be closer to a neighboring community than the municipality it’s officially........

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