Budget woes generate consolidation thoughts

A few months ago, while reviewing Las Vegas' fiscal woes, Mayor Oscar Goodman mused about the future of Southern Nevada and wondered whether radical change was needed.

"The way this community was founded may no longer be relevant to how it proceeds in the future," Goodman said at a budget hearing. "We have to start thinking a little bit differently than we have in the past, be less territorial, not be so possessive of our fiefdoms.

"There has to be some evaluation as to a regional government."

And so the idea of consolidating local governments is on the table again.

Sort of.

Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby broached the subject at a recent meeting with Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine and Gregory Rose, city manager for North Las Vegas.

"So far, only the Las Vegas City Council has indicated an interest in this," said city spokeswoman Diana Paul, adding that Valentine and Selby "agreed to look at some operational areas that might be of mutual benefit."

"They all agree that consolidation or merger of entire governments is a policy matter for our elected officials, not a topic for managers to decide," Paul said.

And that's where it stands, for now.

"They agreed to discuss it further, but they didn't discuss any specifics," said county spokesman Dan Kulin.

"I don't know that it has been given any serious discussion between the jurisdictions," Rose said. "It's a policy issue, and the electeds will have to determine how they believe the constituents can best be represented."

The idea of consolidating governments or services surfaces periodically in the valley and in communities nationwide.

Some of the potential benefits include lower operating costs and greater efficiencies, although there are some significant caveats.

Merged city-county governments are rare, according to the National League of Cities. Out of 3,069 county governments in the United States, only 33 are consolidated city-county governments, says a report based on 2002 Census data.

Even so, the league notes several potential benefits to consolidation, including cost savings, greater efficiency because services aren't duplicated, a broader tax base, better planning abilities and the removal of city-county rivalry and bickering.

That potential isn't universal, though.

For instance, costs usually go up in the short-term after consolidation, and there's no guarantee they'll drop in the future.

Consolidations can also lead to service and staff cuts.

It's definitely not a simple issue, said Guy Hobbs, a local economic consultant and former finance director for Clark County.

Perhaps most significant is the fact that many public employees -- municipal workers, police or firefighters -- are represented by several unions and have contracts with existing governmental entities.

Those contracts, pay scales and benefit packages have to be blended, and usually that process gravitates toward the higher end.

The National League of Cities report notes that "when the personnel systems of two governments merge ... the combined costs of salaries and fringe benefits can overburden a new government."

Hobbs agreed, saying, "That's a major hurdle to overcome."

Goodman has brought up city-county consolidation before, arguing that it could lead to more uniform planning decisions and tax structures throughout the valley.

The idea had plenty of detractors, though, who worried about higher taxes, as well as reduced service and accountability in a much larger, consolidated government.

Hobbs said good places to start would be "those things that create confusion for people," such as business licensing and building permits in which people must determine which governmental entity has jurisdiction over whatever it is they want to do.

In the end, any consolidation proposal must be rooted in the practical, Hobbs said.

"If it's being done for political reasons, as opposed to operational reasons, that's going to die. If it's done for operational reasons, that might have legs."

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate @reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.