It probably should come as no surprise, but Maine’s counties, which are among the state’s oldest organized governments, are also the ones most in need of reform.

York County was incorporated in 1636, 130 years before the Declaration of Independence. Cumberland County is also older than the national government and got its start in 1760, 60 years before Maine became a state.

As Maine developed, state government has grown to take on one set of powers and responsibilities, leaving what’s left over to approximately 500 cities and towns.

Counties maintain records of real estate transactions, wills, name changes and other probate matters, and run sheriffs’ offices to provide law enforcement in areas that don’t have their own police departments.

What they don’t do is collect taxes. Although they are funded through property taxes, they receive revenues indirectly, assessing municipalities for the services provided rather than individual property owners.

This arrangement could be the way to restructure the counties to better serve Maine and its people.

A recent report by Envison Maine, “Reinventing Maine Government,” proposes reducing the number of counties and professionalizing their management to make them more nimble providers of regional services to the cities and towns that are their real constituents.

Some counties are already providing regional solid waste programs or law enforcement at prices that municipalities could not match on their own. Cumberland County has an expanded emergency dispatch center that serves 13 of its 28 municipalities, creating substantial savings.

Similar opt-in programs could be created in which county governments can contract with local governments to provide regional services to maintain or plow roads, regionalize fire service or provide business office functions for town offices.

In some cases, the towns may find that they could do better on their own, but the economies of scale that could be found at the county level could give municipalities options that would save money for the people who live in their communities.

According to Envision Maine, that means expanding the policy-making boards of commissioners (now just three members in most counties) so that they are more representative of the populations and replacing most elected positions (like sheriff or treasurer) with professional managers.

With a set-up like that, these governments, left over from Maine’s past, could have a bright future.