Discuss The Pros And Cons Of City-County Government

As Mayor Lenny Curry considers a plan to reserve the consolidation of Duval County and the City of Jacksonville by forming component municipalities, a similar arrangement local governments established prior to the consolidation; it is important to understand the pro and cons of city-county consolidation as well as the motivations that influence the need for consolidated governments. Although metropolitan government can be achieved in a number of ways, reformers have traditionally sought to capture the benefits of regional governance through the consolidation of a county and one or more city governments (Feiock and Carr, 2000, p224). The major policy arguments in support of city-county consolidations are greater efficiency in service delivery,
When a city and county consolidate, a new and different form of local government is created that has elements of both city and county government but is actually neither (Martin and Schiff, 2011, p 168). The Jacksonville/Duval consolidation allowed for the creation of a strong mayor-council government. This form of government allows for a less fragmented executive office with a strong structure of administrative authority. Strong mayors are likely to have a veto power that usually can be overridden only by a two-thirds or three-fourths majority of the council (England et al, 2017, p78). Through the strong mayor-council form of government, our nineteen member city council works closely with the mayor’s office on effective legislation for policy and public interests though there are valid critiques of this government arrangement. The strong-mayor form of government requires that the mayor be both a good political leader and a competent administrator-two traits that are not always found in a single mayoral candidate (England et al, 2017, p79). Although the process by which city-council members are voted in the office allows for fair representation of our regions various demographic populations, it can be argued that the efficiency and progress made towards initiatives and goals is not due to a faulty consolidated government but rather the ineffectiveness in administration.
Consolidating local government is a radical form of organizational change because it is so complete and often difficult to reverse (Savitch and Vogel, 2004, p760). The space that we inhabit gives us identity, and the boundaries around that space define how we organize our economic, political, cultural and social lives (Savitch and Vogel, 2004, p761). Power is an underlying force in political pressure that often goes unmentioned. Local personalities use it to build their strength within a locality and can rely on it to enhance their influence at other levels of government (Savitch and Vogel, 2004, p762). As the more wealthy suburbs of the greater Jacksonville area may advocate for component municipalities, the creation of those unique territories is likely to lead to an unequal distribution of good and services throughout areas that are not as politically influential thus presenting the possibility that these areas would once again experience a severe decline in public health and safety. Should the decision to create component municipalities occur within our neighborhoods, it is likely that the heavily populated and economically inclined communities would continue to receive a high percentage of aide and resources from City Hall whereas neighborhoods with high minority density and less economic