Metro form of Government, what do you think?

[kingchef]

Originally Posted by Bowyer

That is laughable, weisenheist.



True.

to add to an already good post. i believe that it was mayor wharton, during the mayoral debates, that pointed out a consistently growing black population in shelby county, then estimated to be well in excess of 60,000+. nothing was said about other ethnic groups; however, i assume that indo-europeans, asians, and some latinos and hispanics would add to that number.

it is just ridiculous to believe that most citizens of shelby county wouldn't desire and strive to live in the places that best suit their needs and those of their families. weisenheist probably doesn't want to acknowledge it, but many blacks are now being marginalized by the overwhelming growth of the legal immigrant hispanic/mexican/ latino population; not to mention the illegal immigrant influx. this emergence of a new and larger minority has been evident for no less than the last 12+ years. population gain of the hispanics and latinos in many places throughout the u.s., including memphis, is and has shifted blacks from traditionally mostly black neighborhoods. as an e.g. in memphis proper, consider the hickory ridge neighborhood, winchester road, mendenhall road, the summer avenue neighborhoods in binghampton, berclair, hillcrest, and many others. middle and upper middle class blacks, by and large, seek to pay lower taxes, have better schools, avoidance of crime, and a generally higher quality of life.

i will not be convinced that an offer of 300-450,000+ dollars made to any realtor in any area would be turned down by realtor or seller, white, black, purple, muslim, or christian. the same is true for properties ranging well below the above figures, also. no matter how much you desire those circumstances, weisenheist, money talks even louder than you. reps to the bowyer and tigertate.

ginsaw's astute observations regarding duplicate services are well-noted. even the candidates concede relatively small duplication of services. the waffling that tends to be smoothed over comes in on the issues of schools, fire protection, 911 services, and, perhaps, sanitation. again, consolidation issues, w/ the consideration of a multi-state metro would be an added burden, in the case of shelby county, because of state boundaries, and, naturally, county boundaries. though it hasn't been discussed, their are factors which complicate the issue of consolidation, and would ultimately be a factor for consideration for future economic growth. again, we shouldn't dismiss the administrative assistant positions and the area administrator positions to be tacked on to run the proposed biggest county government in the state.

basically, as i see it, the man w/ a dog in the race, along w/ his administration, certainly has the most to gain financially over the next probable two terms.
also, in that time, they will most assuredly be working for their continued power base. that is as unimpressive to me as the visit of jr. today, on behalf of his uncle. i wonder if that trip was on the taxpayer's dime. and, how lame, he gives no reasons why his uncle should be chosen to govern. we should vote for uncle because he wants the job and he can and will lead shelby county---no reasons or firm plans for economic growth and development---just vote for him. don't ask questions now, just be ready to pay later. perhaps, if ford were elected, he could serve out an 8 year term, and then, help consolidate the county, and ultimately hold the office of mayor of memphis. he has been their too long, and 20 years on the public tet is long enough.

[Ginsaw]

There's still another practical factor to consider, the comparative size of alleged duplicative services vs. the total size of expenses to be shifted to county residents once the city schools are included in a merger, and make no mistake, they will be in time. The politicians will not be able to resist that.

It's simply this - assume for the sake of discussion you could come up with one million or even two million in savings, OK, so then those in favor of this scheme go look up the annual expenditures of the Memphis city schools. Now, can anyone still say whatever the alleged savings are even matters in that magnitude of comparison?? In other words, do you know how fast the city schools go thru one million dollars?

I am personally a fan of de-centralization. I just think it is more democratic and allows the individual citizen more of a voice, more choices and more competition. I am also not a fan of the "every proposed change is good" school. That's how costly mistakes get made. That's how world-wide some of the worst government mistakes ever have been made. When a mistake gets made under centralization, everyone and not just some are stuck with it.

Did you know there are serious voices who'd do away with the states altogether and substitute super-regional units? Do you know we now already have appellate judges in Tennessee making highest level political policy decisions and who've insulated themselves from having to run for office in a genuine election? Are you fully aware of how the unelected federal judgeships have created a last vestige of royalty in America? Are you aware there is/was a serious movement in Memphis and Shelby County to start appointing public officials rather than allow you the voters to pass on them?

If everyone here thinks these kinds of trends are "change we can believe in", then why not do it up right and abolish city and county governments altogether and tell the politicians in Nashville, or in D.C., to run the whole thing and our entire lives, businesses, homes, farms, property of all kinds and our families thru government edict from unelected, nameless political appointees?

If I had my way, more not less politicians would have to face election.

I say skip the centralization of local political power and let Shelby County residents keep their county. I'm not one of them and potentially even might save a little something if merger occurred. But, I'm not willing to do that to those out in the county. I think they deserve better.

Now, if ever anyone wants to get a serious movement started to divide Memphis and Shelby into two separate counties, let me know..

[tomguleff]

Our group that opposes consolidation : Save Shelby County - Good Government

[skipper69]

I to will vote NO!!! Here are my reasons.
For years Memphis kept voting for that joke of a mayor.
The nitwits on city council and the clowns that run the city school system.
Crime is at an all time high !!!! This once great city is in the verge of
bankruptcy. Who in there right mind outside the city would vote for this train wreck.

[maximus10]

This is what I see happening. Consolidation will be voted down by the county. But it won't end the debate completely. It will still keep coming up because in the future there will be no need for county government do to the fact that all areas will eventually be apart of either Memphis or its surrounding suburbs. At the present moment, the county mayor controls only 20% of the budget. The rest is distributed to the schools and incorporated cities. The county mayor is just a figure head position when it comes down to it.

As far as business goes, what you'll probably see on this end is some type of county/city consolidation on business development. The CA mentioned this in article a few days ago and said that it was being discussed amung county and city leaders.