Metropolitan Government: Success in the

Sharing of Power
Jay West
Former Council Member
and Vice Mayor
Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County
615-943-9378
west@coatn.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

a. What is a Metro Government?
b. What are its advantages?
c. What is the main possible issue that could arise?
Problem Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8
a. Power: An issue with distribution
b. How is power managed in a Metro Government?
1. Solution Examples
Conclusion----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

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 WHAT IS A METRO GOVERNMENT?
A Metro, or Metropolitan, based government system is simply

a merger of both local city and county government entities. A

Metro Government is often referred to as a consolidated

government or a city-county government. More specifically, a

Metro Government is defined by the Tennessee General Assembly as

“the political entity created by the consolidation of all of the

political and corporate functions of a county and a city or

cities.” A consolidated government typically arises from

consenting agreement to merge the distinct governmental bodies,

resulting in the formation of a new entity unified under one

jurisdiction.

It can also be helpful to look at a Metro Government as a

large merger. Instead of merging private company, there is a

large scale merger of political responsibilities of both cities,

big or small, (also known as a municipal corporation) and the

county itself. This can easily be confused with concept of an

acquisition, but it is important to understand the difference

between the two. An acquisition, is a takeover of a separate

entity. Acquisitions essentially bring about an absorption of

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one body into another. This is not synonymous with a Metro

Government, because consolidated government combined two

different bodies to form under a new body. This is much similar

to a merger. Just like in a consolidated government, mergers

formulate new enterprises, whereas acquisitions expand upon a

previous corporation.

Under these consolidated jurisdictions, every major

political sects of each body are a part of the re-formation.

This includes the consolidation of the legislation, chief

executive positions, school systems, police department, etc. The

overall result is a new government that is neither the city, nor

the county, but rather is a jurisdiction over both, with power

of a city and a county. While this form of government is rather

rare, it has its benefits and advantages.

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 WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A METRO GOVERNMENT?

There is a plethora of advantages to consolidating city and

county governments. The most outright potential advantages

include purpose of unification, economic advantage, enhanced

accountability, and the consolidation of overlapping power.

While there are others, they for the most part are included by

these encompassing beneficial opportunities.

A major advantage is the ability to briskly respond to

economic challenges that arise, as well as develop at a faster

economic rate overall. This benefit derives from having one

focal point of communication, as opposed to having multiple

points in both the municipal areas of governmental and the

county itself. Cooperation between the cities and counties are

crucial, in order to best plan for economic development. If this

cooperation is successful, the communication between officials

and citizens are greatly improved, and there is also

possibilities for greater efficiency within the government.

No longer will there be an issue of having to fund multiple

area of government, for consolidation will not only simplify the

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need for certain position, but it will also allow for better use

of services and government personnel, such as law enforcement.

Without a consolidated government, there are typically issues

with repetitive areas of government and multiple government

operations simultaneously co-existing. This can be problematic,

and it can also be wasteful of valuable time and resources.

Consequently, having one consolidated department replace

multiple departments can be advantageous, to say the least.

While the previous benefits are without question rewarding

consequences of government consolidation, unification is

arguably the most important. The harmonious resolution of

disputes is of utmost importance, for you relieve the

possibility for a number of disputes. Problems with annexation,

boundaries of growth, or determination for each side’s cost for

capital projects could easily be at issue if there are multiple

capable actors in the same area of government. Conversely,

having a unified governmental body especially ensures that there

is an existent cohesive economic and civic cooperation, which

operates under an adequate distribution of power.

That being said, it is important to be able to comprehend

how these advantages are “opportunities”—meaning there is a

greater responsibility to work together. In order to ensure the

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maximum benefit of the consolidation is reached, the transition

to a Metro Government must be orderly.

WHAT IS THE MAIN ISSUE THAT COULD POSSIBLY ARISE?

As previously mentioned, a consolidated government is more

of a merger, rather than an acquisition, in that you’re not

absorbing governmental departments, but instead you’re merging

them together. But consolidated government have one action often

found in acquisitions—elimination of positions. Municipalities

and their counties usually have more than one of the same

departmental position. Perhaps they each have their own

administrative or executive office positions. With the

consolidation, there is most likely no longer a need to have

multiple positions. This can begin to create an extensive list

of issues and difficulties.

The real question is where does the genesis for these

problems originate? Of course the fear of losing money or

potential job loss can stir up some natural resistance, but that

is not the underlying issue. When you have multiple power

brokers being thrown at each other and be forced to intertwine,

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there is going to be a struggle for the domination and control

of political resources and governmental personnel. “Which

officers do we use?” “Who gets which administrative position?”

“How do we propagate executive duties of the newly appointed or

elected?” All of these are questions that circumvent the ideas

of distribution of power.

POWER: AN ISSUE WITH DISTRIBUTION

Every governing entity, whether it be a Metro

Government, a county, or even a small town, needs certain

positions filled in order to function. These positions include,

but are not limited to, a Sheriff, Trustee, a Registar of Deeds,

County Clerk, ect. Without these positions, the Metro Government

is severely lacking. However, this does not mean that there

needs to be multiple positions of each. That being said, how the

power of the Metro Government is distributed plays a large role

in the success of the newly formed government.

When a Metro Government is consolidated the power

distribution goes only as far as the responsibilities attached

to the resulting power. At stake is the ability to cooperatively

transition, and then proceed to execute effectively. While it

may seem like individual positons and personnel power are what

is largely at issue, there is also the residue problem with

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procuring economic resources and separate general services.

What resources remain intact for each original city and county’s

original purpose is also at question.

For example, certain tax dollars may still be used for the

same general service areas, but the may be reallocated for

different specific functions. This can cause some uncertainty,

and consequently some possible animosity. Such an issue can

deter successful consolidation of the new government. Parts of a

Metro Government, though created through consolidation, can be

divided in the distribution of resources and power because a new

entity is created, and sometimes different needs have to be met.

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 HOW IS POWER MANAGED IN A METRO GOVERNMENT?

The purpose of a consolidated government is ultimately to be

as efficient as possible in relation to local government. In

order to have this accomplished, management of the formulated

body must be superb. The hardest part of accomplishing this feat

is the management and regulation of power and resources. There

is a step by step process for doing such, and it goes without

saying that this process is ultimately one of the toughest.

Regardless, it must be done effectively.

The first part of creating a consolidated government is

formulating a Charter Commission. Now, this charter has a

copious amount responsivity and duty, but it also has the

obligation for establishing all of the powers that both the

original city and county now have under the consolidation. This

particularly important to how the Metro Government functions in

regards to these defined powers.

While Charter Commissions set out the powers for the new

government, an Exploratory Committee can be an effective, yet

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not necessary, tool for determining how the Charter Commission

would act procedurally. If the Charter Commission wanted to

select certain aspects of the city or county’s responsibilities

to remain unchanged, with exception of a name change, the

Exploratory Committee could divulge in such action. An example

of how this can be exhibited through the Hartsville/Trousdale

County Government Consolidation, which allowed all County

Constitutional Offices, barring Executive and County

Commissioners, to continue their same position and duties under

the name of Hartsville/Trousdale County Government. 1

Another way either the Exploratory Committee or the Charter

Commission could regulate power amongst the newly created

government can lie in the form of basic selection procedures. An

effective option to do this is to have an agreed upon criteria

for distributing the duties and capabilities of consolidated

possessions, as well as the selection process for these

positions. Even the amount of positions can be decided this way.

However, the means by which this is accomplished is determined

by one of these committees.

An example of putting this concept into practice is the

resolution of an adoption of consolidated government positions

in Title Seven of the Tennessee Code Annotated. One section of

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Hartsville/Trousdale County Commission §5.01

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Tennessee’s Code authorizes the counties executive or mayoral

positon to appoint six commissioners, the county board to

appoint six officials, and the city involved in the

consolidation to also appoint eight officials to fill

Consolidation positions.2

2
TN Code § 7-2-102 (2014)

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 CONCLUSION

Metro Governments can provide a creative and effective

alternative option to tradition local government. The ability to

maximize resources and individual governmental participation is

a capability that should not be overlooked, and if successfully

implemented, can provide both better accountability and better

overall governmental efficiency. Governmental consolidation can

be an asset in reducing confusion and disputes amongst citizens,

and it can lead to resolving problems within a community more

effectively. While unification and harmonious transition is

required between to consolidating bodies, the process can

prepare and equip a local area more so for challenges that may

arise.

Governments impact everyone. State and national governments

for sure make significant impacts on our everyday lives, but

local government have a direct impact that most may not even

realize. For this reason, it is important to provide ourselves

with the assurance that our local communities are doing

everything possible to ensure our most prosperous future. While

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a bit unorthodox, a consolidated Metro Government, can do

exactly that.

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