In 1805, New Orleans and New Orleans Parish, La., became the first city-county consolidated government. In the 190 years that followed, 27 more city and county governments would merge. The 1960s was the most active merger period for cities and counties; seven city-county consolidated governments were formed during this period. The consolidation trend continued until 1976. Since the mid-’70s, only three consolidated governments have been formed.
Clark County and Athens, Ga. merged early in 1991, the only successful city-county consolidation in the 1990s until this year. Two new city/county consolidated governments will join the ranks of consolidated governments in 1996. Richmond County and the City of Augusta, Ga., and Lafayette Parish and the City of Lafayette, La. will be the 29th and 30th consolidated municipalities.
Richmond/Augusta
Richmond/Augusta hailed in the new year with a new government arrangement. On Jan. 1, 1996, the city and county consolidated their governments into one unified government. This merger made Richmond/Augusta Georgia’s second-largest municipality.
The new structure will mostly resemble a county government, but will have a wider range of revenue options, similar to those of Georgia’s cities. Citizens of the consolidated region will elect an 11-member board to represent their interests.
Unlike the previous Georgian consolidations, the merger will bring few visible changes to service delivery in the region. Except for the consolidation of city and county fire and police services, residents of Richmond/Augusta may not notice much change in the first year.
Residents within the city limits — who will be members of a new urban service district — will pay an additional property tax, which will provide for continuation of current service levels. Conversely, residents in the unincorporated areas of the county will not gain any new services initially.
Lafayette City/Parish
The planned merger for the City and Parish of Lafayette will be completed on June 3, 1996. But that is still months away, and citizens that oppose the consolidation have come forward to contest the new government structure.
The voters of the parish adopted a Home Rule Charter for Lafayette City/Parish consolidation in November of 1992. The charter established nine districts and a city/parish president, replacing the current city council of five with a mayor and the parish council of seven with a council president.
One Lafayette City resident appeared before the city council this January to state that the merger is a violation of the constitution of the state of Louisiana. Attorney Ed Abell, a member of the commission that drafted the consolidated charter, indicated that it is too late to challenge the outcome of the 1992 vote or the way in which the vote was conducted. Challenges to the ballot or ballot proceedings had to be raised within 60 days of the vote. It remains to be seen if Lafayette City/Parish will complete its consolidation in June of 1996, but the possibility is strong.
Future consolidations?
The new year ushered in a number of counties and cities to the consolidation debate. Knox County and Knoxville, Tenn.; Kansas City and Wyandotte County, Kan.; and Clark County and Las Vegas, Nev. have opened discussion about the pros and cons of merged services and governments. As in Louisiana, these and other proposed mergers are faced with strong opposition from citizen groups.
Will consolidation be the government form of choice for the millennium? Will the ‘90s see a city/county consolidation wave like that of the ‘60s? It is probably a little too early to predict the outcome for the decade, but the possibility for a consolidation wave is strong.
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