Hundreds of U.S. towns are pretending to be 'special districts' instead of cities just to dodge taxes and democratic oversight.
Most people assume that if an entity provides infrastructure and taxes residents, it is a 'city' subject to constitutional rules on equality and participation. This paper reveals the rise of 'quasi-cities' that provide identical services but use a specific legal classification to bypass the transparency and democratic requirements that govern traditional municipalities.
Quasi-Cities
SSRN · 6409838
Local government law relies on a dichotomy between the “city” and the “special district.” While the city is understood as a fundamental building block of the U.S. system of democratic governance, the special district is perceived as a mere bureaucratic entity. This Article argues that this simplistic distinction ignores a third category: the “quasi-city.” The quasi-city is an entity that functions like a city, but is legally a special district. As a result, despite its city-like nature, the quas