NEWBURGH –New York City, with over eight million people, has one mayor, one police department and one fire department.

Yet in the Hudson Valley, there are nine counties, 13 cities, 137 towns, 88 villages, 123 school districts, 220 fire districts, 53 drainage districts, 114 fire protection districts and more. There are 227 lighting districts, 32 park districts, 24 refuse and garbage districts, 329 sewer districts, 238 water districts, and another 102 miscellaneous districts. That totals 1,709 units of government and special districts for a population of 2.4 million.

With that backdrop, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress has drafted a white paper on government efficiency – creating a positive approach to change.

Despite those numbers, consolidation is not necessarily always the answer, said Pattern President Jonathan Drapkin.

“We think what is different now is that the timing and feeling among the electorate is that they cannot tolerate the threshold of taxation anymore and that unless something changes, it is going to become increasingly difficult for people to be able to provide the same amount of services that they used to,” he said. “We think the people are going to say there has to be a different approach to this.”

The white paper suggests a spectrum of options including shared services, collaborations and possible consolidations.

There have been a number of shared service agreements in the region in the last year or two. One recent consolidation saw the Village of Liberty Court become part of the Town of Liberty Court.