Consolidation Talks…
Houston County committee holds public forum

Story by Teresa N. Settle

Over 40 members of the Houston County community turned out last week at Houston County High School to hear from members of a committee studying governmental consolidation. Attendees were welcomed by Chairman John Law and the other 14 members on the committee. Law gave a brief history of the committee and said the committee’s final recommendation (for or against) consolidation should be ready for the January meeting of the Houston County Legislative Body.
“Your presence here tonight shows your concern [for this issue],” Law said, adding that the committee’s work since last July has been a very good civic exercise.

Merits for exploring consolidation
Using a PowerPoint presentation, Law listed five points why the topic of consolidation has come and gone over the years in Houston County:
1. Consolidation can give an economic development edge;
2. Consolidation can bring combined purchasing power for economies of scale;
3. Consolidation would bring less duplication of operations, offices, and employees;
4. Government Accountability; and
5. More harmony and less discord (with only one governing body).
Law reminded members of the community that the committee’s findings and recommendations, whatever they will be in January, will not be binding.

Members of the committee
Law introduced all of the other committee members, saying they were appointed by Houston County Mayor George E. Clark with the approval of the Houston County Commissioners. They include, along with Law: Russ James, Byde Simpson, Paul Moody, Ken Douglas, Nina Finley, Clay Hataway, Polly Fussell Miller, Frank Goodwin, Webb Mitchum, Kent Tyler, Daniel Whitaker, Paul Lyle, Jerome Parchman, and Kenneth Adcock.

A brief history of consolidation
In 1953, there was an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution allowing for city and county governments to consolidate, but it wasn’t until 1987 that two counties did so. They were Nashville-Davidson County and Lynchberg.
In 1990, Hartsville-Trousdale (population 7,259) and Moore County (population 5,740) consolidated.
The Houston County committee has studied the Trousdale consolidation and paperwork extensively, since it is similar in size to Houston County.

A unique situation
Since Houston County has two incorporated cities (Erin and Tennessee Ridge), there is a bit of a snag to consolidation.
“Tennessee Ridge is simply in charge of their own destiny,” Law said, explaining that since Erin is larger (by just 90 residents), the city of Erin would become the “urban services district.”
Tennessee Ridge could continue to be a city unto itself, or it could try to become a part of the consolidation process. Members of Tennessee Ridge and Erin, however, would have to approve Tennessee Ridge’s becoming a part of the Urban Services District because it is the smaller city.

Those who have tried, but failed
The committee looked at a number of counties who have tried, but failed, to consolidate. Law delineated each county and their population. The committee tried to establish why the move to consolidate didn’t work.
For Franklin County (population 39,000), they found consolidation to be a very emotional issue, since there were five smaller cities that would be giving up their identities;
For Coffee County (population 48,014), they found the issue to be schools;
For Hamblin County (population 58,128), the issue was law enforcement.
Residents in Sullivan County (population 15,300) told committee members that they are just “not much on change.”
Other counties where consolidation has failed include: Warren, Knox, Madison, White, Hamilton, as well as neighboring Montgomery County (population 134,768).

Committee members speak out
During the public forum, several members of the committee answered questions from the audience about issues such as the question of “identity.” Several committee members said consolidation would not affect the identities of the communities in Houston County. In other words, Erin would still be Erin, Tennessee Ridge would still be Tennessee Ridge, Stewart would still be Stewart, and so on.
Although most of the night’s comments seemed to be pro-consolidation, Russ James added that the committee is getting both sides of the issue “pretty vehemently.”
Webb Mitchum spoke briefly on zoning and planning. He said even though “zoning” is a dirty word for some, planning, on the other hand, is a very important part of the process. He reminisced how the Arlington community was annexed years ago, stating it still hasn’t lost its identity. He touted community functions in Stewart, McKinnon, and Tennessee Ridge, as well.
Another concern brought up is a way to maintain certain ordinances, like the no beer sales in Tennessee Ridge. Erin also has zoning laws, while the county doesn’t. Law said the committee has looked into ways to maintain local ordinances like this.
One committee member said that while Trousdale is not saving any money yet, the county is convinced that they will be saving within five years.

Finance committee findings
Byde Simpson talked about findings from the finance committee. The committee studied such things as revenues and expeditures for the local governmental entities of Houston County, the City of Erin, and the City of Tennessee Ridge.
The total revenues, for instance, for Houston County, are $17 million, or 86 percent. For the City of Erin, they are $1.6 million, or eight percent; and for Tennessee Ridge, revenues are $1.2 million.
Of total expenditures, schools takes up $8.7 million; general administration gets a $3.4 million chunk; and roads gets $2.2 million. The rest includes law enforcement, solid waste, and fire.
Another interesting comparison by the finance committee was the annual local tax revenue per capita. In Tennessee Ridge, it’s about $196.43 per person. In Erin, it’s $489.38; and in Houston County, it’s $415.76.
The annual expenditures per capital are: $200.26 per person in Tennessee Ridge; $730.68 per person in Erin; and $1,800.58 per person in Houston County.
Of course, it was explained that there are different services for Tennessee Ridge, Erin, and the county.

Public Works findings
Ken Douglas chaired a committee looking into public works, such as water, sewer, roads, solid waste, and parks and recreation. He compared the two cities and the county water departments and noted how many employees and the pay scales for each, as well as which ones have benefits. For instance, the City of Erin pays nine full time employees and three part time employees in their water department. The pay scale ranges from $7.83 to $14.21 per hour. The City of Tennessee Ridge has three employees (who do double dutyu with the street department). The pay is $11.47 to $15.68 per hour.
When comparing road figures, Houston County maintains 313 miles of roads at $6,166 per mile. Erin maintains 19 miles of streets at $19,958 per mile. Tennessee Ridge maintains 13 miles of streets at $2,769 per mile.
“I do believe that some monies could be realized by consolidation,” Douglas said, while comparing the figures.

Where do they go from here
“Regardless of what we recommend, the county can take it or leave it,” Law said, adding that even residents themselves could call for a vote for consolidation with a petition only 272 registered voters. That would enable the forming of a charter commission.
The commission, made up of 10 members of the county and five from the city of Erin, would take nine months to prepare and file a charter for consolidation. Then a referendum election would take place within 80 to 100 days. If voted on by the county, the new consolidated government would levy a property tax, establish legislative districts, outline a budget, etc.

Your comments are welcome
Law said the committee wants to hear from members of the community on this topic soon, since they will meet again in mid-December before coming up with a recommendation for the county commission. You can write your comments down and mail them to Law at P.O. Box 196, Erin, TN 37061. Read more!