Chillicotheans should take notice of some talks between the city and county of Peoria.
During Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis’ State of the City address Jan. 26, Ardis broached the subject of government consolidation in Peoria.
“We are fortunate to have a strong working relationship with county board chairman Tom O’Neill and county administrator Patrick Urich. The associations forming between the city and the county will benefit all of our taxpayers as we look for additional areas we can work together,” Ardis said.
The question for Chillicotheans is, how will this consolidation affect our town of almost 6,000, and the rest of the outlying communities within Peoria County but outside the city?
“You know, sometimes difficult times force us to concentrate on doing some things drastically different. We have to operate more efficiently with fewer taxpayer dollars,” he said.
“I don’t see that need changing in the years ahead. In that vein, I have spoken at some length with county board chairman Tom O’Neill, and we are prepared to put together a group that will be charged with exploring the opportunity to move Peoria city/county toward combined municipal government,” Ardis said.
It has been done successfully elsewhere — Indianapolis, Nashville, Lexington, Louisville and Kansas City, Kan.
“We acknowledge that this won’t happen overnight, and likely not in the next couple of years,” Ardis said.
“Ultimately, it may be determined that there is no feasibility to doing this here, but I am convinced that we owe it to you and the rest of our citizenry to perform the due diligence and make that decision based on facts.”
If Ardis and O’Neill can get an analysis done on this topic with facts, not politics, determining the outcome, they will have accomplished something of which they can be proud.
Ardis said he intends to put together a group of “visionaries and concerned realists” to analyze how other successful cities have made this transition, what mistakes were made and how to duplicate their successes. Ardis wants this group up and running within 60 days.
Chillicotheans, as well as others outside the city of Peoria, need to be involved in this group to represent our interests.
Will it save Chillicotheans money through taxes, or will the consolidation simply make things worse for Chillicothe?
Come November, two residents are running for Chillicothe’s District 13 seat on the Peoria County Board, now held by Bill Prather. This is just one of the questions Chillicotheans should be asking Democratic candidate Randy Stevens and Republican candidate Jim Fennell.
Will 2010 be the year we start moving toward consolidated government? Only time will tell.
