Clarksville Metro Government (Third Largest City) (Knoxville, Jackson: neighborhoods, schools, pros and cons)

[Shakeesha]

Officials in Clarksville are studying whether the city should choose metro government. Doing so will make Clarksville the third largest city in Tennessee.

Task force to consider Clarksville-Montgomery County merger

[llsmith42]

Interesting.

[DianeMartin]

This is one topic that deserves coffee over conversation. :-) like everything there are pros and cons. I personally do not see much benefit. The Davidson county Metro seems to always be the example, they forget to mention that Goodlettsville is part of Davidson County, not part of Metro.

[Hey_Hey]

Originally Posted by DianeMartin

This is one topic that deserves coffee over conversation. :-) like everything there are pros and cons. I personally do not see much benefit. The Davidson county Metro seems to always be the example, they forget to mention that Goodlettsville is part of Davidson County, not part of Metro.

That isn't true. Goodlettsville is a split city. Part of it is in Sumner County and part of it is in Davidson County. The part that is in Davidson County is part of Metro. Goodlettsville residents vote for the Mayor of Nashville and have a Metro Councilman. They also have a leadership structure for the city of Goodlettsville. 100% of residents in Davidson County are part of Metro Nashville. The few "satellite cities" in Metro (Goodlettsville, Berry Hill, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, & Belle Meade) maintain some functions like land use policies, but all rely on Metro for schools, EMS, parks, and police. Goodlettsville maintains a Fire Department, but Metro Fire supplies EMS service and also provide "backup" to Goodlettsville Fire. Goodlettsville, Belle Meade, and Berry Hill all have police departments, but those cities are also fully in the jurisdiction of Metro Nashville Police. These satellite cities are something more than neighborhoods but something less than cities - hence the name "satellite city."

As far as benefit, I think there are plenty of positive examples. Nashville has a Metro Government and is clearly successful. Other large cities with metro style governments include Louisville, Lexington, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis, all of which are doing well.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by Hey_Hey

That isn't true. Goodlettsville is a split city. Part of it is in Sumner County and part of it is in Davidson County. The part that is in Davidson County is part of Metro. Goodlettsville residents vote for the Mayor of Nashville and have a Metro Councilman. They also have a leadership structure for the city of Goodlettsville. 100% of residents in Davidson County are part of Metro Nashville. The few "satellite cities" in Metro (Goodlettsville, Berry Hill, Oak Hill, Forest Hills, & Belle Meade) maintain some functions like land use policies, but all rely on Metro for schools, EMS, parks, and police. Goodlettsville maintains a Fire Department, but Metro Fire supplies EMS service and also provide "backup" to Goodlettsville Fire. Goodlettsville, Belle Meade, and Berry Hill all have police departments, but those cities are also fully in the jurisdiction of Metro Nashville Police. These satellite cities are something more than neighborhoods but something less than cities - hence the name "satellite city."

As far as benefit, I think there are plenty of positive examples. Nashville has a Metro Government and is clearly successful. Other large cities with metro style governments include Louisville, Lexington, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis, all of which are doing well.

I agree. I think Clarksville has a good argument for going metro. Being the only incorporated city in a largely rural county does help the city streamline services. I also think it will help Clarksville be seen as a more serious city in the state rather than a small town. Once metro government occurs, the city can start to invest the new tax dollars into creating more urban development in the core. Clarksville is also long overdue for infrastructure upgrades. Lexington and Louisville are good models.

[BlueRedTide]

Ohh Really

[Shakeesha]

Clarksville is putting metro government up for a vote November 6th.

https://www.newschannel5.com/news/co...ounty-heats-up

[nashvols]

I think you're burying the lede here. You don't create a metropolitan government for the simple reason of becoming the "3rd largest city in the state." That's ludicrous. Clarksville would still be the 6th largest metro and Montgomery County the 7th largest county.

What would actually be significant from a state perspective is that it would be the first significant city-county merger since Nashville and Davidson County in 1963 -- 55 years ago. Yes, Lynchburg and Moore County and Hartsville and Trousdale County have merged....but those are tiny towns with largely rural counties. If Clarksville and Montgomery County merge, it opens the door to other mid to large counties exploring the metropolitan government (and whether its benefits make sense in today's era).

I always thought Knoxville/Knox county made a lot of sense for metropolitan government, but one of my professors at UT laid out some fair points on why it wouldn't be as beneficial as you see in Nashville.

[llsmith42]

Originally Posted by nashvols

I always thought Knoxville/Knox county made a lot of sense for metropolitan government, but one of my professors at UT laid out some fair points on why it wouldn't be as beneficial as you see in Nashville.

Care to share those points, Nashvols?

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by llsmith42

Care to share those points, Nashvols?

Mind you, this conversation was probably 12 years ago, so I can't remember too many specifics -- but this was a professor that I respected because he was very independent minded and, as far as I could tell, unbiased.

He did some research into the cost savings and found it would have minimal financial benefits -- and neither the city nor unincorporated county are too bad off with the current situation (unlike Nashville and Davidson County in the 1960s, where the city had the services, but a crumbling tax base, and the county had the tax base, but almost no services).

The other main point that stuck out was that it would dilute minority representation within the county. Census numbers at the time put the black population of the city of Knoxville at 16% (of 174,000 people) and Knox County at 8.6% (of 382,000).

Also (this is not from the professor's points), it would pretty much neutralize the Democratic party within Knox County. If you are a Democrat in Knoxville city currently, you have little chance of electing a Democrat to a county-wide office (though it is kind of cool that Knox County has the most kick-***** mayor in the country).



I'm not saying that Knoxville/Knox County should never consider it -- but it actually makes sense for the city of Knoxville to stay where they are right now.

Another quick statistic (relevant to this thread):

Percentage of county population:
Clarksville (153,205) ==> Montgomery (200,182) = 76.5%
Knoxville (187,347) ==> Knox (461,860) = 40.6%

It kind of makes sense for Clarksville to consolidate, because not only is it the only incorporated place in the county, but it already dominates. Knoxville, relatively speaking, is a smaller part of it's county.