Cities...

[fajrdrako]

I was looking a picture online today of a young man standing under the highway sign for El Dorado, Kansas. On the sign, under the name of the city, it said "Unincorporated".

What does that mean?

Comments

[sraun]

It means there's enough buildings together in one place to be called a town, but the population has never gone to the trouble to become a self-governing unit - all their governance, public services, etc., are handled by the next larger up geographical unit (probably a county).

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Right - so the sign is meant to mean that this is a place on a map, with a name, but not really a political unit?

[sraun]

Yep!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So why do they bother mentioning this on their sign? Why would they think it important enough to announce? Do all villages with signs do this?

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

More like not an indepently admnistered unit. Politic doesn't really enter into it.

An unincorporated township won't have its own police, fire department, public library or post office. They'll be dependent on the county for emergency services, and on the nearest city for the library and post office. They won't have their own school district (all schools are locally managed, here) and have no right to collect taxes of any sort or set zoning policy (which influences development) that differs from the county's. Etc.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

So why do they say this on their sign? Wouldn't saying 'El Dorado' be enough? Why would anyone passing by need to know that?

[brashley46.livejournal.com]

So the visitor knows not to look for any local authority. There are no police, call the sheriff or the State Police/Highway Patrol/whatever. There is no local fire department, unless there's a volunteer hall, etc.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Right. Thank you. That makes sense.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

The City of Ottawa, for example, is formally "The Corporation of the City of Ottawa". Under the Ontario Municipal Act -- and the equivalent of whatever province or state the town is in -- being incorporated or not makes a huge difference as to the powers and responsibilities of the town council. It could also mean that the Corporations Act (or equivalent) applies as well in terms of reduced liability for the town councillors (acting as directors of the corporation).

So seeing this on a sign implies the town is very small & doesn't do much. On the other hand, the taxes will be very low from the town, at least.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

The City of Ottawa, for example, is formally "The Corporation of the City of Ottawa".

Yes, but as far as I know (or noticed) I've never seen it listed that way on our road signs. They tend to say "The City of Ottawa" or "Canada's Capital Region".

Do small Ontario towns have signs "Unincorporated" on them, where applicable? It's just nothing I've noticed, and I find it intriguing.

[majkia.livejournal.com]

It of course can get far more complex than it seems there. For instance, my address is Niceville, FL which is an encorproated city, but we are not a part of the city so our services (most of them) come through the county altho some city services are available to us too, PO, Fire Department, water and sewer. But we have separate services for other things and do not pay taxes to the city of Niceville.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What does it say on your sign?

Is it named Niceville because it's... nice? Or is it named after the city in France? How do you say it?

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

I think I've seen that in some towns on the Prairies, but not in Ontario. It may just simply be that I don't go through rural Ontario as much.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

No, I don't either. In fact, road trips by car have always been rare for me. So I just don't know these things.

[majkia.livejournal.com]

It's pronounced Nice Ville. It was named in a contest in the 40s, alas. The orignal name of the town was Boggy Bayou and they wanted to sound, er, nicer. Many of us would prefer Boggy Bayou!

I don't know if your town sign says incorporated or not. I'll have to look, but I'm fairly sure it does.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Boggy Bayou is a wonderful name! I'd rather live there than in Niceville.

I don't know if towns in this area don't say "unincorporated" or if I just never noticed.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

Wiki knows EVERYTHING.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unincorporated_area

[sraun]

As other people have commented - so you know who to go to for services.

The other reason is population - if that sign is the standard US highway sign I'm thinking of, it says "Unincorporated" where there would normally be a population listed.

Part of the reason you may not have seen any like that before is that they're pretty uncommon. My understanding is that the situation referred to be that sign is - as of sometime in the last 25 years - no longer allowed in the state of Minnesota. I think it was restricted to the US between the Rockies and the Appalachians - it may have been unique to 'west of the Mississippi, east of the Rockies'.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Not surprising, then, that it would be unfamiliar to me.

[gryphons-lair.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Y'know, I'd never actually thought about that.

If it's one of the green-and-white signs, those are provided (mandated?) by the state/federal gov't, so possibly federal regulations re: uniform signage require it. I know the green sign for the small town I live in says "City of (Smalltown)", for example, and I've seen "Village of (Name)" ones, too.

If it's not a federal or state regulatory thing, I don't have a clue.

[teaphile.livejournal.com]

I've driven through a lot of rural Ontario, including up north, and I've never seen "unincorporated" on a sign. That's something I think I'd remember.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I am somewhat relieved that it isn't just something that's there and I missed it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That's a very clear explanation - thank you!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It isn't a big deal but I get curious about why people do things the way they do, especially when it's unfamiliar to me, as in another country. (Though I can't be sure they don't do this in Ontario and I've just never noticed.)