Why government doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective

There are fresh approaches to quickly forming a city of 40,000+ residents

We can establish a viable long-term municipal government with a year, if we follow the right process and have the right people on the merger/consolidation committee. First, the White River Township (WRT) Board needs to make sure the right parties are participating in the discussion. This means it can’t be limited to a two-way discussion between WRT and Greenwood. Ideally, the talks will include Bargersville and perhaps the County to consider how to provide services to the 40,000 or more residents of the currently unincorporated area.

Second, these individuals must be willing to open their discussion to new ways of providing service quickly and at low cost. We have three years once the recommendations have been accepted to put everything in place. But, we can do better. For example of Sandy Springs, GA. a city of 90,000 was formed within 13 months of the passage of enabling legislation by the Georgia legislature. Every detail of the process (including RFPs, responses, etc.) is in Oliver W. Porter’s book “Creating the New City of Sandy Springs: The 21st Century Paradigm: Private Industry.”  For example, the book includes a Request for Proposal of the “Required Services” a service proving company would have to provide: (These are just at a high level and not all apply to us.)

Administrative Services
- Contract Administration
- Policy Implementation
- Daily Communications
- Customer Service
- Departmental Support
- Clerking Support
- Records Management
- Public Relations
- Annual Reports
- City Website
- City Newsletter
- Program Presentation
- Information Technologies and Telephone Systems
- Databases — Municipal Management Software
- Court Services
- Police
- Fire
- Election Support
- Solid Waste

Financial Services
- Revenue Collection
- Capital Program Administration
- Investment Services
- Fund Accounting
- Accounts payable/receivable
- General fixed asset accounting
- Budgeting
- Forecasting
- Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
- Risk Management
- Human Resources
- Purchasing
- HIPAA

Community Services
- Water management and utilities
- Animal control

Emergency 911 Service

Physical Plant Requirements
- Office, Administrative and Facilities space
- Facilities Maintenance, Repair and Contracts
- Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and Supplies

Motor Vehicle Requirements

Staffing Requirements
- Key Positions
- Assistant City Manager
- Subcontractors
- Personnel
- Employment Practices

These needs were met through a five-year contract with a single firm. While a single company may not be our answer, this list is not that dissimilar to the issues that will have to be addressed by any merger committee. Some will say, “But Greenwood already provides these services, why should we duplicate that effort?” If we simply follow that logic, all the adjoining municipalities in northern Johnson County should just become part of Greenwood. But, a better answer is: we should not simply consolidate with Greenwood because there is a high likelihood that these services can be provided to a new (merged) city at a lower cost than what it would cost to have Greenwood provide them. While I don’t have the actual Greenwood figures at hand, I do know how the city of Sandy Springs stacks up against others in the state of Georgia. Sandy Springs has fewer than two employees per one-thousand residents.  By comparison, Atlanta has about 11 per-thousand and the state-wide average is about seven per thousand.

I’ve talked with the author of “Creating the New City of Sandy Springs”, Oliver Porter, and he offered an unspecified level of free consulting services. He would appreciate it if we could pay travel and expense. (And this should not be mistaken as “looking for business” as he does not have a “for fee” consulting business.) I also have been in contact with the Reason Foundation, a Washington D.C. think tank that has worked with Mr. Porter. They can help us understand what is happening in other areas of the country and how to apply it to our situation. The resources are there, we simply have to reach out and ask, and then be ready to act.

It seems some form of merger with Bargersville would provide would allow us to create a city that provides services at a lower cost and with a minimal number of city employees, something that would no doubt be attractive to many WRT residents. We could study and possibly maintain the option to allow sub-divisions to “opt-out” and provide for agricultural tax districts. All these things are on the table of any study committee that would be formed. The White River Township Board seems to think that the current capacity of the other party in the merger should be a factor in choosing the entity to explore merger. Sandy Springs proves this is not the case. Capacity is available and can be purchased at a reasonable rate if we remain open to creative solutions.

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