Regionalism advocate Kevin Vaughan is back with a kick-start for local government reform: a study documenting the cost of elected officials and their staffs. This should be yet another wake-up call to the apathetic legions, but I sadly doubt it will have much effect. The numbers are staggering: Erie County has almost twice as many elected officials as New York City, and slightly less than the combined totals of the greater Baltimore, Charlotte and Indianapolis areas. Gaughan proposes that all suburbs downsize their legislatures by two seats, which would result in a nearly 20% downsizing of local government.

Gaughan's report and related information: TheCost.org