I will be the first to admit I have called the Mayor out on his secret tax raising meeting, his trying to claim the mantel of fiscal conservative, the misleading statements on the new stadium, but on this I will give him some credit.

“I think the time is coming in this community where we do need to take a good hard look at what consolidation might offer, especially with the property tax caps (passed last year) and the fact that, with our annexations, with the growth in our community, it’s becoming more and more urban,” Weinzapfel said.

“I support the process moving forward.”

I am glad to see the Mayor say that it is time to start looking seriously at government consolidation. With the property tax caps coming into full effect next year there is really no reason all Counties shouldn’t be looking at this. The Mayor gives a great example of what can be accomplished by looking at combining purchasing power. Remember this is not just about County and City governments. The example the Mayor gives also brings in the school system.

Weinzapfel said January’s decision to have local governments buy supplies jointly with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. is a prime example of the movement toward streamlined government.

Largely because of that decision, the mayor said, the City County Purchasing Department eliminated two positions and submitted a 2010 budget request of $139,136 — 46 percent less than 2009.

“It’s moving beyond simply just city and county to include other units like to school corporation when it’s practical and feasible,” he said.

So far the only person that is not open to the idea of this is State Senatore Vanetta Becker.

State Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, who says many of her constituents in nonincorporated Vanderburgh County oppose consolidation, believes the energy for it has waned.

“We gave (advocates) a legislative mechanism for it in 2006, and no one has done anything with it,” Becker said. “We’ve already consolidated a lot of our local government in Vanderburgh County, and that may be why there hasn’t been a big push for it in either 2006 or since then.”

What she is saying is true, but on the other hand she needs to keep in mind the property tax caps had not been passed at that time. Now one of the largest roadblocks to consolidation has been removed, which has always been that the folks outside the City would be big losers in the deal. Also, keep in mind with the annexation plans 80% of the people will be in the incorporated City anyway.

I applaud the efforts in Vanderburgh County, and hope that they continue to move forward in a constructive way toward finding a consolidation plan that works for the benefit of the taxpayers and their long term prosperity.

Full article from the Evansville Courier and Press