Ohio is drowning in local governments—a staggering 2,234 separate cities, villages, and townships, each with their own councils, services, and parochial interests, and Today in Ohio podcast hosts applauded a new bipartisan effort aims to tackle the fragmentation.

How? With the power of the purse. Lawmakers propose offering financial incentives for mergers. Sadly. Podcasters said in Tuesday’s episodes, the obstacle is the entrenched self-interest of local officials.

The numbers tell the story: Ohio has 253 cities, 673 villages, and 1,308 townships. In Cuyahoga County alone, as Chris Quinn pointed out, “We have just under 100 elected town and village councils and elected school boards. Think about that. Almost 100 elected bodies, all working in isolation, only thinking about what’s on th

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