Columbia-Richland County government merger? (West Columbia, Cayce: neighborhood, construction, income)

[Buckeye in SC]

"On January 6, 2003, the city of Louisville and Jefferson County governments merged to form one Metro Government." - from Wikipedia

I was curious as to what people in the area thought of this concept occuring here in Columbia. I love the idea of less local government while realizing that the whole metro area benefits when any of the local municipalities benefit i.e. Columbia benefits when a new company adds jobs in NE Cola, etc. As a relatively newcomer to the area (almost a year now) just wondered if this idea had been tossed around before. I know Louisville, KY is the pioneer of this concept, but I think it would be great for the most part for many other cities to adopt this mentality, including Columbia. I believe Charlotte is moving this way w/Mecklenburg Co. if I'm not mistaken as well. Thoughts?

[waccamatt]

I have been advocating that move for years, but annexation laws in South Carolina are some of the most restrictive in the country and I do not have high hopes for this eventuality. There are way to many layers of government in place, but you'll find that South Carolinians tend to like control of things to be as localized as possible. I have the opposite view because of economies of scale, but I'm in the minority, I'm sure.

[Buckeye in SC]

I've heard the annexation laws are very restrictive, however, I saw today Cayce annexing more land now into Richland Co., how have they been able to do that? Here is a link to the Louisville merger site: LouisvilleKy.gov - Your Government - Louisville/Jefferson County Merger

Notice all of the cost savings towards the bottom. I think if the county & city could get across to the taxpayers the significant savings, many more people would likely be open to this. Also, if you click on 'about metro government' you'll see that each suburban area still has a representative (26 in total for the county), which keeps each neighborhood area represented in the government. Is it still tough to annex areas that are willing to be annexed in the state? I can't understand why the many residents in NE Cola wouldn't be open to this if they can save money on govt. taxes, not to mention as city residents they would pay far less for water & sewage, plus they'd probably have better fire & police service.

[Captain Worley]

People in southeast Richland want absolutely nothing to do with Columbia, and I tend to agree with them, even if I don't have a dog in that fight.

[Woodlands]

It is tossed around all the time, but I do not think it has much support. One issue, more so, in smaller cities than in the Columbia metro, is many SC residents do not like being in towns or cities in part because of the tax burden and the belief that the town/city adds another layer of bureaucracy over ones property. A community where I worked, the only reason why someone, GOD FORBID, would annex into a City/ Town was to obtain services (trash leaf/limb, better police or fire response time, etc) that were not being provided by the County and for a lower water-sewer bill or sometimes for the actual water or sewer service. In Richland County, I believe, there are less incentives to come into the City since the County or its designees provides many of the same services as the City and the issue of double taxation.. . Thus a merger would seem more palatable as opposed to the annexation of the County. However; The other issue is of course politics. Restructuring the government, districts, management, Police vs Sheriff, Planning functions etc. Both Planning and Law Enforcement mergers have been discussed to no avail. I dont know about the percent of Louisville and its County that is urban, rural, and suburban but the rural portion of Richland County may be opposed to consolidation for fear that they would be under-represented in terms of getting the attention of those downtown. Lower Richland is a prime example... When the Town and Country master plan was developed, some property owners were opposed to some of the zoning that would have limited development options for their property. They felt it denied them the opportunity to sell/develop their property and actually derive income or the opportunity to sell their property at a profit. Others wanted to preserve the rural nature of the area and reduce sprawl. Issues such as water and sewer are now being addressed, but many have felt it has been ignored because the NE was more lucrative and developing faster and more politically connected with big time developers and landowners.

As for Cayce annexing into Richland County..that is definately an interesting phenomenon. Columbia annexed into Lexington County and took in the Columbiana Center and all hell broke loose..mainly with the Town of Irmo who was also eyeing that development as tax base. So, Cayce coming into Richland to annex the Green Diamond site is probably poetic justice, though they will have to travel through a portion of Columbia to access that section of their City for services. It will be interesting to see how they provide water-sewer service particuliarly if that site is in the City of Columbia's Water District/Franchise area. Columbia (and I believe Richland County) are against that site being developed because of the flood plain issue and, if allowed by law, could attempt to block Cayce from providing services into their service area which would hamper development opportunities.

The areas that probably should consider consolidation (other than Columbia Richland) should be Springdale, Cayce, and West Columbia.. .but that was attempted as well and failed in the 80s.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

I've heard the annexation laws are very restrictive, however, I saw today Cayce annexing more land now into Richland Co., how have they been able to do that? Here is a link to the Louisville merger site: LouisvilleKy.gov - Your Government - Louisville/Jefferson County Merger

Notice all of the cost savings towards the bottom. I think if the county & city could get across to the taxpayers the significant savings, many more people would likely be open to this. Also, if you click on 'about metro government' you'll see that each suburban area still has a representative (26 in total for the county), which keeps each neighborhood area represented in the government. Is it still tough to annex areas that are willing to be annexed in the state? I can't understand why the many residents in NE Cola wouldn't be open to this if they can save money on govt. taxes, not to mention as city residents they would pay far less for water & sewage, plus they'd probably have better fire & police service.

The area Cayce annexed is not populated, it is owned by a developer who didn't want to abide by Richland County's zoning so "poof" they asked Cayce to annex their property.

A strong central city is important for the health of the economy in the entire area, but until many South Carolinians put aside their myopic view and look at the big picture I don't see this happening.

[Frankie117]

Well, as a South Carolinian I can agree that we like the feel of 'local' control as opposed to a centralized authority, even if it is just the next county over. And while the benefits arguably outweigh the negatives, it does open up a new window for corruption that is clearly visible in other metro areas in the South such as Atlanta or Charlotte.

So far, Columbia has enjoyed considerable growth with the status quo, and there is no need to change things at the moment. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Frankie117

And while the benefits arguably outweigh the negatives, it does open up a new window for corruption that is clearly visible in other metro areas in the South such as Atlanta or Charlotte.

What corruption? Perhaps you mean "construction" since it's all over the place in both cities. Furthermore, neither of those cities have consolidated city-county governments (Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have consolidated some services, but the governments themselves are not).

So far, Columbia has enjoyed considerable growth with the status quo, and there is no need to change things at the moment. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Technically, Columbia's growth has been a bit on the slow side, having only gained about 3,000 people since 2000. However, the growth of Richland County and the metropolitan area has been healthy. At any rate, growth is but one measure of progress and doesn't come close to telling the entire story. You must consider it among other factors. McAllen, TX is growing faster than Columbia and its metropolitan population will soon overtake Columbia's. But I promise you, you wouldn't want the kind of growth McAllen is having.

[CarolinaSouth803]

I wouldn't mind it...i'm currenly in Savannah, GA and the city of Savannah and Chatham County have consolidated. It seems to be going well at the moment and from what i understand it was done under a trial basis. I think one of the officers said that they were to try it out for like 3 or 5 yrs and if the good outweighed the bad then they would keep it. They did decide to keep it and most people are happy with the outcome. I would love to see Richland and Columbia atleast try it for a trial period...atleast that way they will have some concrete feedback on if it would work or not...instead of speculating figures and arguing selfish views.

[Captain Worley]

Originally Posted by Woodlands

The areas that probably should consider consolidation (other than Columbia Richland) should be Springdale, Cayce, and West Columbia.. .but that was attempted as well and failed in the 80s.

It'd fail again, if voted on today. Generally people are happy with the three towns the way they are. As a resident of Cayceland, I wouldn't want a merger.