Florida State Universities assessment of the ramifications of City-County Consolidation
Excerpts from the FSU study to consolidate the City of Tallahassee and Leon County that has failed at the polls on four separate occasions:
“What makes renewed interest in consolidation difficult to explain is that consolidation efforts are costly and contentious and the attempts meet failure about three-fourths of the time. In addition, the collective benefits promised for consolidation have not always been evident.”
“This paper critically reviews arguments for consolidation of governments in metropolitan areas and the performance of consolidated governments. Based on this evidence we argue that communities pursue consolidation for political rather than economic reasons.”
“We find that arguments for consolidation are based on heresthetical strategies by supporters, not on its empirical consequences.”
“The general conclusion of extant research is that consolidation in practice has fallen short of its promise. Market theories for public goods have generated a body of empirical evidence indicating that decentralized government results in greater efficiency than consolidated government and offer an approach to democratic governance based in civil society (Oakerson, 1999).”
“Arguments for cost savings through economies of scale, reduced duplication of effort, and greater technical capacity in service provision have been largely discredited by empirical research in the last fifteen years.”
“Electoral participation in the greater Jacksonville-Duval County area declined significantly following the consolidation of Jacksonville into a metro government (Seamon and Feiock, 1995).”
“Manufacturing, retail, and service sector growth were not significantly different after consolidation and the growth patterns of consolidated counties were not statistically different from counties in the same state that not enacting the regional government reform.”
“City-county consolidation is not about efficiency, racial division, or even economic development. It is fundamentally about political losers trying to be winners and the current winners trying to prevent this turn of events.”
Please review the complete study on the following link.
Somebody better tell the geniuses over at the Chamber of Commerce’s Interference in Governmental Affairs Division. After all, the Chamber claims to know what’s best for the ignorant masses.
Consolidation?
It’s as plain as the nose on your face,
The Goal is for Power over the Citizenery and NOTHING else.
Lets keep the Checks and Balances we now have in place.
This City boy is voting No to “Vandy-Grab”.
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