The liberty cities model of fewer regulations, however, has also brought with it the challenge of dealing with a landfill that moved in just outside the tiny city’s boundaries. Some balked when Nolen began talking about passing zoning rules, she said.

“People are like, ‘Well, I don’t want anybody telling me what to do on my own property,’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t either.’ However, I don’t want Joe Bob’s unlined-hole-in-the-ground battery disposal coming in next to my house,” she said.

Sixty miles away in Von Ormy, two truck stops make up a significant part of the city’s revenue. Residents and businesses still rely on septic tanks, and locals say larger businesses have been hesitant to relocate there because of the lack of sewer service.

Why do libertarians insist on ignoring the lessons others have already learned?

Meet the Mayor of a Tiny Texas Town Who Wants to Limit How Cities Can Govern

A push to restrict local governments’ ability to decide how they spend their money and which policies they can adopt is having downstream effects in tiny towns and big cities like Dallas.

ProPublica (www.propublica.org)