One way to transform the land is to weed, prune, water and carefully tend individual plants into full flower. Another way is to bulldoze the property, truck in fresh topsoil and start all over again.

State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, a Reading Democrat, has taken the latter approach in proposing legislation to remake the municipal map of Pennsylvania. His dramatic proposal recognizes the enormous amount of duplication and waste inherent in the state's pastiche of 2,566 boroughs, townships, cities and home-rule communities all subsumed under its 67 counties. Instead, House Bill 2431 says, give all responsibility directly to the counties for local law enforcement, fire protection, land use, road repairs and sanitation.

Not even Mr. Caltagirone thinks his measure has a shot at becoming law, but it does present an opportunity to start an important statewide conversation. The first public airing will take place at a hearing set for Aug. 18 in Harrisburg.

A restructuring of government of this magnitude requires a constitutional amendment, which means a bill would have to be adopted in two consecutive legislative sessions and then approved by voters in a referendum. More fundamental, though, is this drastic revision to how Pennsylvania operates will require a wholesale change in thinking, scrapping the popular notion that smaller is always better.

Many tiny towns no longer can afford to pave streets, collect garbage and ensure that an ambulance can reach an ailing resident quickly in an emergency. Local government officials know this, and most of them already work with their neighbors in some way, whether to boost their purchasing power by buying in bulk, merge police departments or jointly contract for garbage collection. Yet many remain resistant to broader change.

It's time for Pennsylvanians to start tugging at the roots and contemplating a whole new landscape for municipal government. Let the work begin by exploring Mr. Caltagirone's ground-breaking idea.

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