League of Women Voters
of Salina, Kansas

A fitting study of government
The possible merits of city-county consolidation will get a look by a League of Women Voters commitee

Tom Bell, Editor & Publisher

At long last a committee is studying the issue of city-county consolidation. It has met twice and recently issued a report on its progress. The report states that the committee has established ground rules to its study, trying to avoid complexities that could make the study unwieldy. The report also says any results should not alienate public officials so they will keep an open mind to the issue at hand.

Several specific tasks were outlined in the committee's meetings. One of the most interesting involves compiling a list of job positions at both the city and county. The group also will contact others who have done similar studies and then set up a system to weigh the pros and cons of consolidation.

The group will sponsor a public forum in January, survey others for input, and then make recommendations by April.

This is an exciting project, but it has a couple of drawbacks.

For one, the effort is known only by a few in Salina and Saline County because it has not been widely publicized. The other problem is directly related to the first one: This is not an effort by city or county governments; it comes from the League of Women Voters of Salina. That is why it has not been discussed at city or county commission meetings.

We hope that changes, and that the league will be welcomed -- and listened to -- when it makes recommendations regarding consolidation.

Local governments should have undertaken a similar study long ago. But they didn't. However, now that the league has stepped into the gap we see the benefits of this citizen-based effort. The league's committee is able to look at this objectively. Its findings will not be encumbered by threats to job security, clashing egos, politics or concerns about territory.

It will have more credibility as a result.

David Norlin, committee chair, wrote the report we cite above. It was printed in the October 2005 issue of the league's newsletter. Those interested in more information can contact the league at P.O. Box 502, Salina, 67402-0502.

In addition, all of us can keep an eye on the Journal for news about the January public forum. It should prove educational.