The Evansville City Council and Vanderburgh County Commissioners are nearing the completion of their joint review of a local consolidation proposal, and it appears they have improved the plan and its chances for adoption by voters.

The original plan for one countywide executive and one common council was drafted by a citizens reorganization committee before its completion earlier this year. As provided by law, that plan was passed on to the City Council and the County Commissioners, who can amend the original, but must agree on a final version before it can become eligible for a voter referendum.

If that all occurs, then residents of the city and county will vote in a referendum on whether or not to merge their two governments. At its earliest, that could take place in 2012.

The plan, as likely to be amended by the two elected boards in the coming weeks, is not perfect — it is not in our view the optimum plan for streamlining local government — but it is an improvement and it presents a reasonable opportunity for voter approval.

That wasn't possible under the original proposal, which placed the city police department and the county sheriff's department under the leadership of the elected sheriff. The committee likely did that because its members heard more support voiced for the sheriff's department and its popular head than for the city department with an appointed chief. But that overlooks the argument that the larger city police department is far more specialized in urban law enforcement.

It is a political reality, as well, that should the plan keep the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer, the referendum would likely be defeated with aggressive opposition from city police officers and their supporters. A sheriff-led consolidated department is a deal-breaker for a referendum, just as a city-led department might be.

Hence, the decision of the City Council and the County Commissioners to keep the departments separate for now, although it is expected the final version will contain a provision for a date certain — perhaps 10 years out — when next to consider consolidating the two departments. That would prevent consolidated officials from taking up the law enforcement change every time there is a change of administrations.

The other positive change expected from the City Council and County Commissioners is to increase the size of the common council from 11, as originally proposed by the citizens committee, to 15 members. It is obvious that this would give residents of all districts better representation via smaller districts. As with the original plan, three members would be elected at-large, with the remaining members from districts.

On a lesser matter, the two boards have dropped a proposal, not from the reorganization committee but from some officials, to place term limits on the consolidated mayor. That struck us as more of a distraction than any meaningful part of a consolidated government.

In the drafting of a final plan, attorneys for the boards are to look into the question of whether some board appointments could be made the responsibility of the new common council and not the mayor. It strikes us as a reasonable consideration.

The answer could come at the next consolidation meeting, scheduled for June 30.

No final vote is expected at that time, but when that time does come, we believe, the boards should have ready for city and county voters a plan worthy of a lively and intelligent public debate.

© 2024 courierpress.com, All rights reserved.