Memphis government is an often talked about subject. There are always issues at hand and everyone always has an opinion. A very hot topic right now is that of consolidation. Not debt consolidation, but the consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County Governments. As far as I’m concerned, consolidating the numerous governments would hinder more than it would help.
Consolidation is defined as bringing together separate parts in unification. What this means as far as Willie Herenton and Memphis government are concerned, is that instead of having a dozen separate governments for Memphis city and the suburbans in Shelby County, there will be one governing body. Mayor Herenton has pushed this issue many times but it always fails. So why is he trying again?
Many citizens in the suburbs are concerned with the proposal. As well they should be. Mayor Herenton has not set forth any concrete pros or cons for consolidation. Therefore, citizens are concerned with what this would mean for their community. Some potential changes to the combining of governments could include taxes, schools, jobs, etc. Many people do not want to consolidation in fear that their schools will be rezoned, and I think anyone attended a county school would prefer it to a city school in most cases. There are enough problems with the school system as it is, what would consolidation contribute to that issue? It has also been mentioned that consolidation of governments could mean more money for suburbs. However, after studies of cities that have consolidated governments, this has not been proven.
Mainly citizens are just uninformed. They see the problems that exist in the city limits and do not want those to spread to their community. Herenton has not addressed that issue. One thing that some do not realize is that in order to consolidate governments, a bill would have to pass to amend the Tennessee constitution. It would change the required vote for consolidation to a single-majority instead of a dual-majority. As a dual-majority, the vote has to pass a moajority in the city of Memphis, and in the surrounding areas of Memphis. Mayor Herenton has done this in the past and the vote never passes outside of Memphis. Because of this, he has proposed that the citizens in the communities such as Germantown and Bartlett, should not be able to vote and the issue. Thus, changing it to a single-majority vote. Obviously, the citizens and the mayors of these suburbs have a problem with that. Herenton has been very disrespectful towards these communities. He wants to take away their power to vote on an issue that affects them. Needless to say no one is really happy about that.
Right now that is Herenton’s biggest issue as far as consolidating is concerned. Until the vote process is changed, or a vote passes, there is nothing more he can do about consolidation. What he should do is speak out about the benefits to a combined government if he really wants people to change their minds. Most people are voting against it, it seems, out of fear instead of actually knowing the facts. Could there be an advantage to consolidating the governments? No one will know until someone steps up and states the facts.
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