Consolidate And Save? Hard To Say Unify And Simplify, Ok, But The Third Of Backers’ Promises Proves Elusive

“Unify, simplify and save,” promise campaign signs for Spokane city-county consolidation.

But government experts, even those who agree with the first two promises, say the third is impossible to prove.

“It’s not at all clear that economic efficiency has resulted” from consolidation in other communities, said David Olson, political science professor at the University of Washington.

Spokane voters decide Nov. 7 whether to combine the city and the county into one regional government.

David Rusk, author of “Cities Without Suburbs,” thinks it’s a good idea to preserve the economy, make better land-use decisions and provide better political representation.

“The consolidated city-counties have all outperformed the competition,” said Rusk, a former mayor of Albuquerque, N.M.

But Rusk, who has consulted for 65 cities in two years, wouldn’t promise the new government could do more with less money. “It may or may not be (more efficient), depending on your leadership,” he said.

And depending on taxpayers’ demands, said David Nice, who teaches political science at Washington State University.

“The big thing that drives growth in government has to do with what people want government to do and how much they (the services) cost,” said Nice. “Government structure … doesn’t usually make a big difference.”

After they were elected by voters and wrote the charter for the proposed government, the county’s 25 freeholders were told by a consultant that it would cost $20 million a year to provide city-style services to 80,000 people living outside the city limits.

Some of the assumptions used in that estimate were wrong; the consultant overestimated the work needed on roads outside city limits, for instance. But everyone agrees suburban residents will pay more taxes if they want better roads and more police.

The charter raises expectations for those services by creating an urban services area where residents would receive city-style services.

If more money is needed for those services, a utility tax is the most likely source, since it’s already used in the city.

The threat of that tax didn’t stop Washington Water Power Co. from making a $10,000 contribution to the pro-charter campaign. WWP officials say the benefits of creating a new government outweigh the risks.

“If this new government is implemented, we will be arguing that they should come up with the most equitable taxes possible,” said Tom Paine, WWP manager of government affairs, who calls the utility tax “regressive.”

Hedging by academics doesn’t discourage consolidation boosters from making bold claims, either in Spokane, in other communities considering consolidation or in those that already have taken the step.

“The theory is very simple: Fewer politicians means more efficient government,” Stan Campbell, a councilman from Charlotte, N.C., told members of the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

Charlotte consolidation supporters are so confident a single government would cut waste that their charter promises $20 million in savings in the first five years. Voters will be asked to approve the charter next year.

“I sort of hope you don’t consolidate,” Charlotte Mayor Richard Vinroot joked in a videotaped message to the chamber. “If we do and you don’t, we’ll be ahead of you” in cutting waste and recruiting new businesses.

In Spokane, boosters note taxpayers would save money on politicians’ wages alone. The combined salaries of the executive and 13 council members would be $155,000 less than is earned by City Council members, county commissioners and appointed executives whom they would replace.

The proponents predict government would save even more by not replacing employees who retire or quit during the two-year transition from two governments to one. The charter promises they won’t be laid off.

Kerry Lynch, a paid consultant for the pro-charter campaign, recently wrote that the reduction in employees would offset the up-front cost of the merger, estimated at $7 million by the freeholders’ consultant.

The experts think that’s optimistic. The only employees who could be easily eliminated, said Nice, are the people who run departments.

Line workers “are not really duplicating each other’s work, so there’s not a lot of jobs you can get rid of,” he said.

And the new government would have just as many potholes to fill and parks to groom, he noted.

, DataTimes MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: ABOUT THE CHARTER If voters approve the charter, they are choosing a new form of government to replace Spokane’s City Council and County Commission. All city and county departments would merge. The government would have 13 council members elected to represent districts of about 30,000 people. Voters countywide would elect an executive with authority similar to a state governor or strong mayor. The 10 small towns would remain independent. The charter does not set the government’s budget or its employee roster. Those and other policy issues can only be addressed by the officials that voters would elect to run the government.

ASK CITYLINE Have a question about the proposed merger of Spokane’s city and county governments? We’d like to answer it before the Nov. 7 election. Call Cityline, 458-8800, on a Touch-Tone phone, press 9865 and ask the question. Cityline is free, but normal longdistance tolls to Spokane apply.