While this may seem like a niche issue, companies playing municipalities off of each other for subsidies and preferential treatment is a significant issue in Florida. Because city annexation is almost entirely dependent on property owners here, corporations dictate the terms. https://twitter.com/Jason_Garcia/status/1300822885318250496

Here, Universal threatens Orange County with annexation into the City of Orlando over subsidizing a new road. If Universal had carried out its threat, Orange County would have been looking at a significant loss of tax revenue. Unsurprisingly, the county relented.

This annexation dynamic worsens when you remember that the vast majority of municipalities in Florida are tiny and suburban, essentially operating as tax fiefdoms for wealthy people to exclude their tax revenue from more working class and diverse large municipalities like Orlando

In fact, the city of Winter Park was pretty explicitly founded to separate itself from the city of Orlando, which (while segregated) allowed black Americans to reside in city limits. These dynamics have continued and are reflected in today's modern municipalities.

Orlando population: 285k+
Median household income: $48,511
Demographics: white: 37.3%, Hispanic: 31.1%, black: 25.4%, asian:4.3%

Winter Park Population: 30k+
Median household income: $71,749
Demographics: white: 75.9%, hispanic: 10.5%, black: 7.6% , asian: 3.4%.
Pretty stark!

Across Florida, these municipalities act as de facto segregators and economic parasites. In Miami-Dade County, a water utility owned by one city operates in the city limits of another and charges a 25% surcharge on services to the municipality it is located within. It's absurd.

Practically, the way municipalities operate and exist in Florida cause significant service waste. Public utilities and public services can change from street to street in parts of Orlando. The neighborhood across the street might be serviced by a totally separate fire department.

Here is a municipal map of Orange County FL. The city of Orlando is highlighted in red, and every other city is in gray. The rest of the map is managed by the county. You can see how there are issues with this. Worse still, the two cities in the bottom left are owned by Disney.

This intensely decentralized network of municipalities does not grant people more local control. In fact, it takes it away. Since city annexation and control in Florida is almost exclusively the domain of wealthy individuals or corporations, the average person has little say.

What is the solution to this? For all intents in purposes, creating a larger, single entity for a region is the best bet. Jacksonville is somewhat an example of this, however the wealthier beach cities were still excluded from the merged city and county.

The best, and relatively recent example of a solution, is in Canada, specifically Halifax. In 1996 several municipalities amalgamated: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County to create the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).

Locally, we have significant issues not only within counties, but between counties. Significant socio-economic ties exist between Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties, but their legal separation continue the same dynamics discussed earlier in this thread.

Ultimately, the best way forward would be to have a single regional municipal entity subject to the will of its residents. It's a longshot idea now, but a conversation that needs to be had.