Pacman, back again
Consolidation, consolidation, consolidation. Reminds me of the old adage: Simplify, simplify, simplify. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a good idea, this from the D&C:
A town supervisor recently faxed to this page a copy of a new survey which asked Monroe County Council of Governments members about “issues for consideration/action.”
Circled was this item. “Provide current costs for all police agencies in Monroe County. Would future consolidations in this area be effective, both from a cost and service perspective?”
The comments are interesting, too:
Interesting ideas, but I can’t see any of the burbs giving up control of their school districts or their town govts. It might be a money saver, but mark my words, nobody will be lining up to consolodate services with the city. Everyone is happier just complaining about how high their taxes are instead of trying to do anything to fix the problem.
I think this commenter hits on the crux of the problem. We’re comfortable with our local services and no one wants to change because we might not get as good service if someone else in in charge.
Complacency never solved a problem, my friends. If you don’t like the idea of consolidation, come up with another solution. My vote is with consolidation [just don't call it metro-government.] 
In fact - how about starting small. Share resources first or undertake some small consolidations - prove to the voters that the same level of service can be provided.
There are multiple paths to consolidation success and it doesn’t have to be done overnight, the key is to implement one that provides the same (or more) level of service at a proven lower cost.
I think the same has finally come. Both the city and the county are in deep and consolidation makes too much sense to ignore. The first time this came up it was killed largely because of the suburbanites hating Mayor Johnson. Now we have Mayor Duffy who is very popular with the white middle class. The question is who is going to show some leadership and get the ball moving?