DALTON, Ga. – Rome and Floyd County have considered consolidation three times but never put the issue to a countywide vote, officials from the two governments told the Dalton and Whitfield County Charter Commission on Wednesday.
Over the past 30 years, the two governments have consolidated many departments, including parks and recreation, Rome City Manager John Bennett and Floyd County Manager Kevin Poe said. The city also provides contracted fire services to the county. The two large departments that remain independent are public works and police.
Several issues have impeded complete consolidation, including the fact that Rome has an independent school system that would be folded into the county system under consolidation, the two said.
That issue is not a factor in Whitfield County and Dalton’s consolidation. State legislation ensured that the city and county school systems could remain separate.
Bennett also said the rural versus urban mentality has been part of the equation.
“All of the counties that have consolidated so far have been much smaller,” Bennett said. “The mentality of a lot of people in the unincorporated areas is different than the city.”
Bennett and Poe spent nearly two hours talking about how their consolidated departments work.
Bennett said the differences in mentality between city and rural areas also raises the question of the level of services offered. Both counties have large rural areas.
The services question is one Whitfield County Chairman Mike Babb has raised repeatedly.
If a consolidated government offered Whitfield County residents the same level of services that Dalton provides its residents, more funding would be required.
Next week the charter commission will hear from Whitfield County and Dalton parks and recreation departments.