Local Government Consolidation Seen Attractive to Cash-Pinched Units

Merging Services Like Police and Fire Good Sense to Save Tax Dollars

October 13, 2009
By: Dave Rogers

The economic recession is sparking a movement to save taxpayers' money -- government consolidation.

Consolidation, or even county-wide government, hasn't been seriously discussed here since the 1970s. At that time local news media were promoting the idea and sending reporters to places like Indianapolis where the process was working well.

In the early 1980s Saginaw paid big bucks to a consulting firm to explore the idea for that county, but the report was thought to be so controversial it was never released to the public.

Difficulty of putting aside parochial interests and fear of losing jobs were the big roadblocks to the Saginaw plan.

But cooperative plans to operate major services without the encumbrance of actual mergers are considered more palatable, in fact are a logical way to go, several local politicians indicated.

Now Grand Rapids and surrounding cities are talking about consolidation of municipal services like police, fire and public works. The idea is to create a Greater Grand Rapids metropolitan response, officials said.

And predictions already are arising that the movement will spread statewide because of the economic benefits of working together.

"The time is absolutely ripe for local governments in the Bay City-Saginaw-Midland area to begin negotiations to cooperate," said one local official. "In fact some taxpayers have indicated they will be pushing hard for such talks."


Several joint ventures are already underway with quasi-governmental groups, including the Great Lakes Bay Solar Energy Alliance, the Great Lakes Regional Alliance with Dr. John Lore in charge and tourism promotion with Annette Rummel (Pictured Right) of Frankenmuth now in charge of the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the Saginaw Valley Convention-Visitors group. Local leader Shirley Roberts retired recently after a 14-year career as BACVB executive director but remains active in the Center Avenue Historic program and the Tall Ships Celebration.

"It's what the taxpayers are wanting, it's what the taxpayers should demand," said Don Stypula, executive director of the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council.

Declining tax revenues and property values are the basic drivers of the consolidation plan that is affecting every community in the state. Some officials pointed to the fact that state revenue sharing is being dramatically pinched year-by-year.

Mr. Stypula says when there is a fire, citizens do not care what fire department arrives at their burning home - just that the crew arrives on time to save the structure, and lives.

The consortium, besides Grand Rapids,includes Wyoming, Walker, Kentwood, Grandville and East Grand Rapids.

Mayor Richard Root of Kentwood noted that one of the main considerations of the cooperative plan is reduction of overhead.

"If you consolidate, you eliminate a certain amount of overhead. Is it important to have a Kentwood police car or is it important to have a police officer?" said Mayor Root.

Greg Sundstrom, Grand Rapids' city manager, indicated the consolidation could go deeper than just emergency services and public works, predicting: "the plan will shock you at the level, the magnitude of regional consolidation we're looking at."