Lexington, Louisville, and Indianapolis have it, why not Evansville?
I'm not talking about a new baseball stadium (that's for another column), I'm talking about Vandigov.
One county, one mayor, one council. Sounds like a good idea. Might save money. Be more efficient. Let's give it a try. Don't hold your breath waiting for consolidated government to happen here, it is not likely.
The idea won't go away though. Even after a whopping 3-1 defeat back in the early '70s, it bobs up in each new administration. Mike Vandeveer had a committee look at it as did Frank McDonald II.
Mayors like the idea because it expands their power. No more county commissioners to deal with. Just one executive for the whole county, the mayor.
Let's take a trip down memory lane. As a freshman state legislator I was the House sponsor of the Vandigov bill which finally passed the legislature in 1973 after several failures. Unlike Unigov for Indianapolis, the Vandigov bill had a referendum added to it. Most legislators consider that to be a "killer" amendment.
I remember working through the night drafting the final bill in the Indianapolis Columbia Club with Senators Robert Orr and Phil Hayes, the senior Frank McDonald and his city attorney Bob Mathews. We tried to cover everything and ended up with a 200- page behemoth. This worked against us in the referendum phase as opponents would wave the bill shouting, "Has anybody read this monstrosity. It's a power grab." These were the days of Watergate and the charge resonated.
Natural opponents of consolidated government are blacks and Democrats, they both see their vote diluted by county voters who are mostly white and Republican; current officeholders, particularly those who see their offices deleted, and county voters who see their taxes rising. Natural supporters would be Republicans and all city residents who should expect a tax decrease.
The overwhelming defeat of Vandigov was the perfect example of the Machiavellian principle that change cannot occur unless "The Prince" uses his power to make it happen. That's because those who see themselves adversely affected by change loudly and vehemently object and those who might be helped are only lukewarm supporters.
The Vandigov bill that was defeated in the '70s eliminated the county commissioners and the county council. A new 15-member common council was created. Township government was abolished. Under the plan, the city police would patrol to the county line leaving the sheriff to be just a jailer. The plan would not effect the fire department. Volunteer fire departments would be left in-tact.
Fortunately the school system had already been consolidated by the 70's. Indianapolis dodged this political bullet by avoiding it altogether.
They still have 13 separate school systems there. They also avoided merging the police departments and to this day still have the city police for the old city and the sheriff and his deputies patrolling the county.
As in Indianapolis, Vandigov maintained substantial county government. The constitutional offices of clerk of the circuit court, auditor, recorder, treasurer, surveyor, and coroner had to be maintained thus guaranteeing overlap with city offices with the same duties.
Since Vanderburgh County is one of the state's smallest counties with one of the largest populations, it would be much easier to consolidate than larger, sprawling counties. All in all, I believed then and I believe now that we would be better served with a consolidated government. Lower taxes may not follow for all but efficiency and decision making should be greatly enhanced.
