In asking for a delay in the decision on which management company will operate the new Downtown Evansville arena, Republican Vanderburgh County Commissioner Marsha Abell warned that the situation creates the potential for competition between a city facility and a county facility.
She said, "This is all taxpayer money. You do not compete with taxpayer money."
To that, we would add "Precisely!"
Make it "double precisely!"
But we are not talking about the choice for a management company, nor for that matter the unlikely potential competition between the large arena and the small Centre.
No, we are talking about, on a broader scale, this absurd competition between county government and city government, two separate but overlapping government entities supported by many of the same taxpayers. Indeed, the city taxpayer would be totally justified in asking his government representatives, "Do you want me to pay for county government out of the money in my left pants pocket and for city government out of the money in my right pants pocket?"
That is because, for the most part, it is many of the same taxpayers who are paying for both city and county government. New census figures are expected to be released soon, but for now, the city of Evansville has some 121,000 residents, while Vanderburgh County has 175,000 residents. That means 121,000 of the county residents are city residents as well, and as such, the taxpayers among them pay for both city and county government. So why do local government representatives fight with each other if they have the same boss — the taxpayer?
This is old stuff. Some who have been around Evansville and Vanderburgh County for a long while may recall when the city renovated The Victory and the county modernized The Centre, both lovely facilities partly paid for by the same folks out in the neighborhoods. And what did the county and the city do? They fought over which one would land the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra.
This competition remains pretty much the same today, witness the arguing over management of the arena and The Centre.
So why do we continue to do it, to operate two similar governments, when one would be just fine? One reason is that those in political power don't want to give it up. Hence, with two governments, we have enough power positions available so that all who want to be political leaders have a place to sit.
Why do you think some City Council or County Council members might be opposed to consolidation? Because if consolidation is approved by a voter referendum, there would not be enough seats to go around. A new common council is proposed for 11 members, while currently the City Council has nine members and the County Council has seven seats. Do the math.
Currently, the County Commissioners and the City Council have in their hands a proposal to consolidate city and county governments. Eventually, if it or a similar version is approved by these two panels, the question would go to a referendum of city and county residents.
In the meantime, the city of Evansville is preparing to open its new arena in the fall. Nearby will be the county's Centre and the city's Victory.
Will The Centre, The Victory and the arena try to compete with each other, or will the facilities one day be operated under coordinated elected leadership?
After all, it is all taxpayer money.