Metropolitan Government: Success in the Sharing of Power Jay West Former Council Member and Vice Mayor Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County 615-943-9378 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 a. What is a Metro Government? b. What are its advantages? c. What is the main possible issue that could arise? Problem Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 a. Power: An issue with distribution b. How is power managed in a Metro Government? 1. Solution Examples Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 2 WHAT IS A METRO GOVERNMENT? A Metro, or Metropolitan, based government system is simply a merger of both local city and county government entities. A Metro Government is often referred to as a consolidated government or a city-county government. More specifically, a Metro Government is defined by the Tennessee General Assembly as “the political entity created by the consolidation of all of the political and corporate functions of a county and a city or cities.” A consolidated government typically arises from consenting agreement to merge the distinct governmental bodies, resulting in the formation of a new entity unified under one jurisdiction. It can also be helpful to look at a Metro Government as a large merger. Instead of merging private company, there is a large scale merger of political responsibilities of both cities, big or small, (also known as a municipal corporation) and the county itself. This can easily be confused with concept of an acquisition, but it is important to understand the difference between the two. An acquisition, is a takeover of a separate entity. Acquisitions essentially bring about an absorption of 3 one body into another. This is not synonymous with a Metro Government, because consolidated government combined two different bodies to form under a new body. This is much similar to a merger. Just like in a consolidated government, mergers formulate new enterprises, whereas acquisitions expand upon a previous corporation. Under these consolidated jurisdictions, every major political sects of each body are a part of the re-formation. This includes the consolidation of the legislation, chief executive positions, school systems, police department, etc. The overall result is a new government that is neither the city, nor the county, but rather is a jurisdiction over both, with power of a city and a county. While this form of government is rather rare, it has its benefits and advantages. 4 WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A METRO GOVERNMENT? There is a plethora of advantages to consolidating city and county governments. The most outright potential advantages include purpose of unification, economic advantage, enhanced accountability, and the consolidation of overlapping power. While there are others, they for the most part are included by these encompassing beneficial opportunities. A major advantage is the ability to briskly respond to economic challenges that arise, as well as develop at a faster economic rate overall. This benefit derives from having one focal point of communication, as opposed to having multiple points in both the municipal areas of governmental and the county itself. Cooperation between the cities and counties are crucial, in order to best plan for economic development. If this cooperation is successful, the communication between officials and citizens are greatly improved, and there is also possibilities for greater efficiency within the government. No longer will there be an issue of having to fund multiple area of government, for consolidation will not only simplify the 5 need for certain position, but it will also allow for better use of services and government personnel, such as law enforcement. Without a consolidated government, there are typically issues with repetitive areas of government and multiple government operations simultaneously co-existing. This can be problematic, and it can also be wasteful of valuable time and resources. Consequently, having one consolidated department replace multiple departments can be advantageous, to say the least. While the previous benefits are without question rewarding consequences of government consolidation, unification is arguably the most important. The harmonious resolution of disputes is of utmost importance, for you relieve the possibility for a number of disputes. Problems with annexation, boundaries of growth, or determination for each side’s cost for capital projects could easily be at issue if there are multiple capable actors in the same area of government. Conversely, having a unified governmental body especially ensures that there is an existent cohesive economic and civic cooperation, which operates under an adequate distribution of power. That being said, it is important to be able to comprehend how these advantages are “opportunities”—meaning there is a greater responsibility to work together. In order to ensure the 6 maximum benefit of the consolidation is reached, the transition to a Metro Government must be orderly. WHAT IS THE MAIN ISSUE THAT COULD POSSIBLY ARISE? As previously mentioned, a consolidated government is more of a merger, rather than an acquisition, in that you’re not absorbing governmental departments, but instead you’re merging them together. But consolidated government have one action often found in acquisitions—elimination of positions. Municipalities and their counties usually have more than one of the same departmental position. Perhaps they each have their own administrative or executive office positions. With the consolidation, there is most likely no longer a need to have multiple positions. This can begin to create an extensive list of issues and difficulties. The real question is where does the genesis for these problems originate? Of course the fear of losing money or potential job loss can stir up some natural resistance, but that is not the underlying issue. When you have multiple power brokers being thrown at each other and be forced to intertwine, 7 there is going to be a struggle for the domination and control of political resources and governmental personnel. “Which officers do we use?” “Who gets which administrative position?” “How do we propagate executive duties of the newly appointed or elected?” All of these are questions that circumvent the ideas of distribution of power. POWER: AN ISSUE WITH DISTRIBUTION Every governing entity, whether it be a Metro Government, a county, or even a small town, needs certain positions filled in order to function. These positions include, but are not limited to, a Sheriff, Trustee, a Registar of Deeds, County Clerk, ect. Without these positions, the Metro Government is severely lacking. However, this does not mean that there needs to be multiple positions of each. That being said, how the power of the Metro Government is distributed plays a large role in the success of the newly formed government. When a Metro Government is consolidated the power distribution goes only as far as the responsibilities attached to the resulting power. At stake is the ability to cooperatively transition, and then proceed to execute effectively. While it may seem like individual positons and personnel power are what is largely at issue, there is also the residue problem with 8 procuring economic resources and separate general services. What resources remain intact for each original city and county’s original purpose is also at question. For example, certain tax dollars may still be used for the same general service areas, but the may be reallocated for different specific functions. This can cause some uncertainty, and consequently some possible animosity. Such an issue can deter successful consolidation of the new government. Parts of a Metro Government, though created through consolidation, can be divided in the distribution of resources and power because a new entity is created, and sometimes different needs have to be met. 9 HOW IS POWER MANAGED IN A METRO GOVERNMENT? The purpose of a consolidated government is ultimately to be as efficient as possible in relation to local government. In order to have this accomplished, management of the formulated body must be superb. The hardest part of accomplishing this feat is the management and regulation of power and resources. There is a step by step process for doing such, and it goes without saying that this process is ultimately one of the toughest. Regardless, it must be done effectively. The first part of creating a consolidated government is formulating a Charter Commission. Now, this charter has a copious amount responsivity and duty, but it also has the obligation for establishing all of the powers that both the original city and county now have under the consolidation. This particularly important to how the Metro Government functions in regards to these defined powers. While Charter Commissions set out the powers for the new government, an Exploratory Committee can be an effective, yet 10 not necessary, tool for determining how the Charter Commission would act procedurally. If the Charter Commission wanted to select certain aspects of the city or county’s responsibilities to remain unchanged, with exception of a name change, the Exploratory Committee could divulge in such action. An example of how this can be exhibited through the Hartsville/Trousdale County Government Consolidation,