Part 4 of 4
Combining the police and sheriff’s departments might be a good decision or a bad decision. But the one thing it won’t be is a quick decision.
Long before consolidation ever gets to the ballot box in Lyon County, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. To start with, there’s:
The task force
This group was appointed by the Emporia City Commission and the Lyon County Commission to see if consolidation can or should be done here. It started as a seven-member group. It may soon be eight.
That’s because, when the group was formed, five of the members were Emporia residents. Only former county counselor Phil Winter and Hartford Mayor Paul Cassity were from out of town. The public’s response to that led the task force to decide it needed at least one more rural resident.
“Let’s ask people to volunteer and see what we get,” Winter said at the group’s first meeting on March 1.
County Chairman Marshall Miller, who also chairs the task force, said in a February interview that there had been attempts to find other rural residents when the group was first created. At the time, none were successful.
The other members are City Commissioner Julie Johnson, Emporia businessman Dale Davis, County Attorney Marc Goodman and Emporia State University professor Nate Terrell.
Right now, the group is still feeling its way in — March 29 will be its second meeting since its appointment.
“It was difficult to have that first meeting,” Miller said, chuckling. “Seven people, all with busy schedules.”
The task force has until August 21 to make its recommendations, at which point it will go to:
City and county
commissions
This is the first point where the project could lose momentum. Regardless of what the task force recommends, if the Emporia City Commission or the Lyon County Commission says no, then the issue is dead.
What will happen is hard to predict, and not just because the task force hasn’t reached its conclusions yet. By August, the city commission will have at least two new faces and possibly three. Its principal adviser, soon-to-be City Manager Matt Zimmerman, is also brand new. On the county’s side, Commissioner Scott Briggs will have been in office all of seven months when the decision comes up.
Cost isn’t the only concern, but it is likely to be a key one.
“It would be hard to convince the taxpayers, if it’s going to cost more, that they’ll get better service,” Mayor Jim Kessler said. “But to me, that’s what the study is about — finding out the potential cost of it and whether service is going to be better for the people receiving it.”
If the commissioners give it the nod, the proposal then goes to:
The Legislature
In a way, Emporia is a victim of a quirk in the rules. Larger cities have permission to consolidate. So do smaller cities. But Emporia doesn’t. Its permission slip expired after the consolidation vote failed in the ‘70s.
So, before the issue can come to a ballot, it has to be voted on by the House and Senate. However, local legislators didn’t foresee much difficulty in getting a measure through.
“I feel confident that it would be pretty widely accepted, if that’s the choice of the city and county,” said Rep. Peggy Mast, R-Emporia. “If it’s been approved by both law enforcement agencies, that’s a win-win. The problems occur when you have differing opinions and you have to choose between them to get things resolved.”
“I think the Legislature is open to greater efficiency in government, particularly when it’s locally driven,” said Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia. “Certainly, if this is something the people of Lyon County want, I’m present and willing to look at it.”
That would likely come as a relief to task force member Dale Davis. At the group’s first meeting, his greatest concern was that months worth of work could be instantly killed by the Legislature.
“To establish a plan based on what the Legislature does scares the heck out of me,” he said at the March 1 task force meeting.
However, this year’s session will be long over by the time the city and county commissions make their call. That means the proposal wouldn’t come before the Legislature until the 2008 session. And that could present an interesting problem when it’s time to go to:
The voters
Normally, the county likes to combine special questions with a regularly scheduled election in order to save costs. That might not work this time.
Here’s the problem: A consolidated government, if chosen by the voters, would abolish the sheriff’s department. But on the fall 2008 ballot, voters will be asked to elect a sheriff.
“I don’t know how that’s going to work out,” Miller said. “I don’t quite see both questions on the same ballot.”
That means either a special election, or an election that waits until 2009, or a confusing election. Take your pick.
After all that, if the question doesn’t seem to favor city or county voters, and if it doesn’t seem to cost too much, and if it looks like the departments will work as well or better, and if everyone feels they have enough information on the subject ... then just maybe consolidation will fly.
“Ultimately, everybody will have a voice into what will be the final decision,” Miller said. “We’ll just do our best to get Emporia and the citizens of Lyon County the best information possible.”
lincoln (anonymous) says...
I find it interesting that a "committee" selected to review contracts that the County should pay the City for services all of a sudden all they talk about is combining the two entities. Is someone pushing their own agenda here?
March 21, 2007 at 2:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pizza (anonymous) says...
I find it interesting that Marshall Miller says no one else was interested in serving on that committee. At the time one rural resident, that I know of, requested to serve on the committee and Miller rejected him. In addition Miller has never, to my knowledge, ever explained how the committee members were chosen but, instead, evaded the question when asked. And they wonder why the rural residents do not trust the city.
March 21, 2007 at 8 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tunit (anonymous) says...
I don't support the consolidation issue for the main reason of cost. Consoliating the Police and Sheriff Departments would cost the taxpayers millions. Riley county just recently (within 5-10 years) got out of the red from their consolidation. It is not broke, we do not need to fix it. And Snake, the last time I checked, Emporia was in Lyon County.
March 21, 2007 at 9:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tunit (anonymous) says...
I understand what you are saying Snake. However, I also understand that I too am a rural resident. I also understand that there is not adequate representation of rural residents on the task force. I was only pointing out the fact that Emporia is in Lyon County. Which brings me to my next point, hows come I see more Sheriff Deputies driving around in Emporia than Police Officers?
March 22, 2007 at 8:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JessicaNelson (anonymous) says...
Dr. Terrell, chair of the Sociology and Anthropology department at ESU, is perfect for that committee. If you want to learn more for yourself before you go slamming him (snake!), visit his web page at ESU's faculty directory web page.
And also, this is all money driven. It's got nothing to do with Emporia's citizens hating rural residents. That's taking the easy excuse way out. It's all about the money, and that's it. Period. And if snake really distrusts Emporia, well, I'll betcha he shops at wal-mart!
March 22, 2007 at 9:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JessicaNelson (anonymous) says...
wow... nice...
March 22, 2007 at 2:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
tunit (anonymous) says...
Somehow Snake, I don't think that is what's going on......There are a lot more places to hide in the county.
March 22, 2007 at 4:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )