After merging jails, schools and emergency services over the past three decades, the city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County also should combine their tax collections, court clerks and even major departments such as police, fire and parks, according to Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield.
"We're a growing and changing community, and we can't afford to continue to operate with all of these overlapping and disjointed services," Mr. Littlefield said. "I don't think there is anything as important for our future as the consolidation of government services and, ultimately, the consolidation of government itself."
Hamilton County leaders say they are open to talking about efficiencies through consolidation. But they remain to be sold by Mr. Littlefield on most of his proposed consolidations and are wary about any total merger of the city and county governments.
METRO COUNTIES IN TENNESSEE* Nashville-Davidson County, approved by voters in 1962* Lynchburg-Moore County, approved by voters in 1987* Hartsville-Trousdale County, approved in 2000Source: Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
"In my opinion, it's sweet to talk about," said Hamilton County Commission Chairman Curtis Adams, who met with city and county leaders once in February for a preliminary discussion. "But I don't think anything is going to end up being consolidated -- not in my lifetime."
Mr. Adams said most people are content with the way government now operates.
City and county leaders agree that the county trustee and city treasurer's offices could combine for efficiency. But even that idea is yet to take form six months after leaders endorsed the concept last fall when Mr. Littlefield proposed it in exchange for holding back on planned city annexations.
Hamilton County Trustee Carl Levi, a former city treasurer, said combining the city and county tax-collecting offices both could save money and help taxpayers be able to pay all of their property taxes in one place. Although he opposed such a merger a decade ago when he worked at City Hall because of the county's 2-percent fee for the service, Mr. Levi said he now supports a merger under an intergovernmental agreement to share the potential savings.
"There could be a cost savings and a convenience for taxpayers, and I'm sure we could work out something that is in the best interests for both the city and the county," Mr. Levi said.
Hamilton County Commissioner Bill Hullander, who is running this year in the Republican primary to unseat Mr. Levi as county trustee, also favors the trustee's office taking over city tax collections, if the City Council agrees.
"It's entirely up to the city, but I think it will help the taxpayers and it shouldn't be anything that will be a big conflict," he said.
Another idea that has been endorsed, at least in principle, is combining most of the functions of the City Court clerk's office into the county's Criminal Court clerk's office. Although the two offices are on the same floor of the county justice building, no study has been planned to consider how to put the offices together.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk Gwen Tidwell said she is willing to look at her office assuming most of the functions of the City Court clerk's office "assuming that the costs, staffing and liabilities were very carefully looked at" and adequate time is given for a transition.
"I have had a very brief, passing discussion with Mr. Littlefield last fall," she said. "I told him that I would certainly be very happy to take a look at it, but that is as far as it went."
The lack of any progress so far on the least controversial of the proposed government office consolidations gives Hamilton County Mayor Claude Ramsey pause about trying to tackle more complicated mergers involving police, fire or parks departments.
"I have consistently said that I think we ought to look at consolidating some things that make sense, including some of the court clerks and the trustee and treasurer's offices," Mr. Ramsey said. "But if you can't successfully do those kinds of mergers, it doesn't make sense trying to put together departments much more complicated like law enforcement. We ought to have a little success first before we tackle these bigger offices."
Mr. Littlefield said he will continue to push for consolidating city and county operations until his term as mayor ends in 2013. The Chattanooga mayor insisted that governmental change takes time and often is resisted at first. Voters initially rejected the current form of district representation for the City Council before a federal judge ordered the change to help Chattanooga comply with the Voting Rights Act. The merger of 911 emergency services two years ago ended years of negotiations.
"But I think most everyone recognizes now that calls are being better answered and the service has gotten better," Mr. Littlefield said of the 911 merger.
In three separate votes in the past half century, Hamilton County voters have rejected proposals for a metropolitan form of government. But Mr. Littlefield said that, short of an outright merger, police and fire services could be handled across local boundaries better with more cooperation or consolidation and a countywide parks authority, similar to what was adopted in Blount County, could improve recreational services.
In March when Chattanooga police Chief Freeman Cooper announced his retirement, Mr. Littlefield proposed using Sheriff Jim Hammond as the city police chief. The mayor met privately with Mr. Hammond again Friday to discuss the potential of combining some city and county police functions.
"Unquestionably, it's a slow-moving process and a lot of that quite frankly is political," Mr. Littlefield said. "The county is in an election cycle, and until the dust settles we probably can't move forward.
"We've moved a few baby steps ahead, and I know we have some giant steps ahead of us," he added. "But I've got three more years to work it out."
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Article: Mayor's next step is merger