Strategic Decision-Making Capacity:
Decision-Making Structure
Perhaps no greater obstacle to seeing ourselves as part of one region exists than the one that is invisible to the naked eye — the state line.
Multi-State Metropolitan Areas Over 1 Million,
Percent of Population Living in Dominant State, 2004
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While we are not the only multi-state metropolitan area, the Kansas City region is one of the most evenly divided — essentially tied with Washington D.C.
The lack of a dominant side means regional decisions can only occur through consensus. In many cases, this is a good thing, because decisions reached by consensus tend to be well-researched and well-supported. However, building consensus takes time, meaning that necessary decisions, especially when difficult or controversial, take longer here. This puts the region's competitiveness at risk.
Number of Local Governments
With 482 individual units of local government — counties, cities, school and special districts — public decision-making in the Kansas City region is highly fragmented.
Population Per Local Government
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On average, a unit of government exists for every 4,000 people, a rating that places us in the middle group of our peers. This average is misleading, though, because many of the jurisdictions overlap — school districts, cities, sewer and fire districts, for example.
While this overlapping structure is designed to clarify spending responsibilities at the micro-scale, the end result is a cacophony of spending decisions that don't necessarily complement or build upon each other at the macro-scale.
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Regional Problems
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