Hamilton County: Small-city mayors receptive but hesitant on consolidation

Most mayors in the nine Hamilton County municipalities besides Chattanooga say they’re open to the idea of government consolidation, but only to a point.

“Conceptually, the idea has merit,” said John Turner, mayor of Collegedale.

Mr. Turner’s city long has been against joining the county’s Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority for sewer service, but he said that wouldn’t stop him from considering a regional sewer authority.

Robert Mullin, mayor of Lakesite, said he hasn’t really had a chance to formulate an opinion on consolidation. Lakesite has an interest in looking at ways to consolidate and save money, he said, but its citizens are also comfortable where they are.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office provides police service to Lakesite through a contract, and the Dallas Bay Fire Department provides fire protection. The city provides garbage pickup.

“Hamilton County is a great place to be a small town,” he said.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield, who brought up the topic of government consolidation on April 20 during his inaugural address, said that, once the nuts and bolts of consolidating services is complete, all that’s left to discuss are the politics.

“These issues always bring up the question of how autonomous or how separate a community wants to be,” Mr. Littlefield told the Times Free Press editorial board Tuesday.

Red Bank Mayor Joe Glasscock said he wants his city to stay entirely autonomous.

“I can’t go with big government getting bigger,” he said.

Mr. Glasscock said Red Bank’s decision to join the county’s wastewater authority was a mistake, and that other consolidation efforts, such as in the school system, have led to even bigger financial troubles.

East Ridge Mayor Mike Steele said he would be interested in looking at areas where local governments could look to save taxpayers’ money.

“I think that’s practical,” he said.

Mr. Steele said he has reached out to Mr. Littlefield so he can take part in those discussions.

One place officials should look, he said, is at a county-wide public transportation system. But as for fire and police, Mr. Steele said he didn’t know how consolidation could make things any cheaper than what East Ridge already provides.

Geno Shipley, mayor of Soddy-Daisy, said he could see advantages and disadvantages to consolidation. One thing Mr. Shipley said Soddy-Daisy residents almost certainly would not go for is metro government.

“I would like to sit in and see what the proposals are,” he said.