Recent talks of consolidating local government should be deferred until pressing community issues are resolved, a committee commissioned by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce found.The committee on Friday released findings from its Local Government and Community Study. While dormant for years, the controversial idea to consolidate functions within the city of Tallahassee and Leon County government was revived after the Chamber’s 2017 delegation trip to Nashville, Tennessee, which has a combined government structure. The Chamber hired the group to examine the benefits of consolidation. The group found it could be an economic boost for Tallahassee after its study examined five cities: Jacksonville, Nashville, Tennessee, Louisville, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Indiana and Athens, Georgia.
The cities had employment and population growth that outpaced the national average. In addition, the city’s growth exceeded Tallahassee’s by nearly 4 percent. According to the Washington Economic Group study, consolidation could encourage more jobs growth, household income and gross domestic product, which prompted the Chamber to take a closer look with its own subcommittee. Click here to read more….
