Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 20, 1994 TAG: 9405210006
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bragging rights, however, do not in themselves justify voter approval of city-county consolidation, which is now under study in Bedford. Indeed, it would be a silly boast. The character of a town-sized city in a mostly rural county wouldn't be magically altered by the megacity distinction. Square miles do not a metropolis make.
Nor is merger justified by aversion to annexation by a larger city, Lynchburg. The proposed consolidation would presumably foreclose attempts by Lynchburg to expand in Bedford County - a hazily perceived bogy that triggered the latest merger talk. (Under current law, cities can't annex land in other cities.)
But Lynchburg officials say they have no plans to grow in Bedford if a moratorium against annexing county land is lifted in 1995 - and it's far from certain that the General Assembly will lift it. What's more, if the law ever does change and Lynchburg were to attempt to expand its territory, that shouldn't necessarily be for Bedford residents a terrifying prospect. Elastic city borders can be a good thing, including for suburbanites.
There may be better reasons to approve a government-merger plan when the issue goes to public referendum next year. But these reasons would tend to apply generally to local governments across the state:
An end to costly duplication of government services and functions. More efficient delivery of services. Better use of existing resources, including tourist attractions. Better long-range planning for regional growth and development.
In terms of potential cost savings, Bedford residents might see fewer benefits from consolidation than would others in Virginia, because the city and county - to their credit - already have agreed to provide jointly many services, including schools, libraries, courts, the health department and social services.
Joining forces will become increasingly practical in other areas as well, especially considering Bedford County's growth rate - fastest of any county west of the Interstate 95 urban corridor. Certainly, such growth argues for more coherence in planning efforts, a touted benefit of consolidation. This planning, however, ought to encompass a region larger than the county.
A merger plan has been mandated by petitions of both city and county voters. A committee of representatives from both localities will meet for the next several months to draw up the plan. While neither Bedford City Council nor the county's Board of Supervisors has endorsed consolidation, members of both have said they'll keep an open mind while awaiting the committee's report. City and county residents should do the same.
In the meantime, though, no further study is needed to conclude that local governments can't be rationally reorganized without reform at the state level.
Indeed, should Bedford voters eventually approve a merger, the effect - whatever it may be for Bedford - will further muddle Virginia's already disordered local-government system. The state's largest city will be a mostly rural bedroom community sandwiched between two metropolitan areas with cities - Lynchburg and Roanoke - that are landlocked and unable to grow.
If the trend continues - suburban areas moving to insulate themselves from traditional cities by becoming cities themselves - the ills of cities can only worsen. Eventually, some may try to give up their charters and resort to town status, in effect dumping more of their troubles on suburban counties.
No problems will have been solved - not for cities, counties or towns - nor will regional cooperation be fostered. And boundaries will only have grown more irrational and inhibitive.
Face it. The General Assembly has made a mess of local government. Legislators should clean up the mess before it becomes even more of a jumble out there.
by CNB