Although Hamilton County voters have rejected metropolitan government three times in the past half century, proponents of government consolidation insist that public support can be built for a merger of city and county governments.
But getting the required majority for any metro charter from among voters outside Chattanooga is likely to be the most difficult.
Only three of Tennessee's 95 counties have voted to consolidate city and county governments. Metro referendums have failed 23 other times since 1958, according to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
Despite that record, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield proposed last week that the city and county consider consolidating their governments. Mr. Littlefield agreed to suspend planned annexations to allow such discussions to begin with the county.
"I think there is a substantial base of people who think that consolidation is something we should pursue," Mr. Littlefield said. "I really think that the last vote would have gone differently but for the concerns about schools and the prospect that was raised about countywide busing."
Mr. Littlefield, who supported the last vote for metro government in 1984, said he believes the majority support for the idea was undermined in the final days of the campaign when opponents said metro government would lead to more busing of students across Hamilton County. The city and county eventually combined their two school systems in 1997, taking away that contentious issue.
A survey of 1,000 adults in Hamilton County in 2006 showed greater support for consolidated government. The poll done for the Community Research Council found that 40.3 percent of respondents favored combining Hamilton County and Chattanooga governments, while 36 percent opposed such a merger.
"There was less support outside of Chattanooga than within the city, but I think that survey showed that it's very much an open question," said David Eichenthal, president of the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies, the successor to the Community Research Council.
To consolidate local governments, a new metropolitan charter must be written and voters must approve the charter in both the city and the precincts outside Chattanooga. Ed Cromer, editor of the Tennessee Journal, noted that the path to metro government "is a long, difficult process" that has failed in Tennessee nearly 90 percent of the time.
"It's a tough thing to get passed, and it doesn't happen very often because you have to get a majority of the vote in both the principal city and in the area outside of the city," he said. "You can have a majority of all voters in support of consolidation, but it still won't pass if voters outside of the city reject the plan."
Shelby County is in the early stages of considering a consolidated government with Memphis, but Mr. Cromer said "there is very strong resistance in many of the suburbs" around Memphis.
LOCAL VOTE
In 1984, metro government was supported by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Hamilton County Taxpayers Association and the Chattanooga Jaycees, among others.
But voters supported the proposed metropolitan government charter in only 16 of the city's 49 precincts and only three of the other 40 precincts outside Chattanooga. Overall, the measure was defeated in 1984 by a margin of 71,044 against to 36,550 in favor of the metro charter.
In many rural areas such as Apison, Birchwood, Flat Top and Sale Creek, more than 90 percent of voters cast ballots against the charter.
Hamilton County Commissioner Fred Skillern said he believes public support for metro government is even less in those areas today.
"I think it's less popular than it was in 1984," he said. "The people who have moved into most of the subdivisions that have been built in this area in the last 10 years have wanted to get out of Chattanooga."
Hamilton County Commission Chairman Curtis Adams said he rarely hears anyone talk about a need for government consolidation.
"I think people are very pleased where they are, and I think you would spend a lot of time and effort to try to do something that the people don't want," he said. "We should work to have two good governments and sit down and talk with each other about ways we can do things better."
The Community Research Council survey showed nearly two-thirds of those who live outside Chattanooga fear that consolidated government would raise their taxes.
Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey said opinions remain divided over the merits of metro government. But he said there is significant support for combining some city and county operations to save money.
"You have a mixed bag of opinion about metro government, which brings me back to the position I've taken," he said. "Let's put as many services together as makes sense and is good for efficiency and cost savings and see where it goes."
Over the past four decades, the city and county have combined health departments, jails, school systems and emergency services, among other areas.
"There have been some kinks along the way, but I think over time it's worked pretty well and it could continue to work," the county mayor said.
Mr. Ramsey said the county trustee's office could assume some of the functions now done by the Chattanooga city treasurer's office as is done in the other municipalities in Hamilton County. Additionally, the county court clerk offices could assume fee collections now performed by the Chattanooga City Court Clerk.
"Those kinds of things could be done with an inter-local agreement between the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County," he said.
Metro counties in Tennessee
* Nashville-Davidson County, approved by voters in 1962
* Lynchburg-Moore County, approved by voters in 1987
* Hartsville-Trousdale County, approved by voters in 2000
Source: Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
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