May 23, 2005

Lessons from Merger Workshop — November 8-9 Louisville, KY For community leaders who want to get 'behind the scenes' of the largest city-county merger in three decades. The workshop will be designed to answer specific questions communities have about: the events that led to Louisville-Jefferson County's successful merger vote in November, 2000 the preparations made to establish a new merged government the challenges facing Louisville Metro government since it began operation January 6, 2003 cost savings, service streamlining, new partnerships and other benefits of merger. The workshop also will present a diagnostic tool participants can use to analyze the pros and cons of merger and consolidation for their communities. For information on the merger workshop, contact Joan Riehm, Deputy Mayor, Louisville Metro: louisvilleworkshop@loukymetro.org, (502) 574-8141. National Stewardship Forum — November 9-11 Louisville, KY Theme: Collaborative Government: Is Your Community Ready? For government, business, civic and non-profit leaders to network and explore the many ways that local governments are saving money, improving services, and promoting economic development through collaboration and partnerships. Organized by the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national network of community leaders from more than 100 metropolitan and rural regions across the U.S., promoting collaborative problem'solving to address regional challenges. The agenda will feature -best practice- presentations from community leaders, mobile workshops to examine model projects, and a -dine-around- evening for small-group exchanges with Forum speakers in interesting Louisville restaurants. For more information on the National Stewardship Forum, contact the Alliance for Regional Stewardship: info@regionalstewardship.org, (303) 477-9443.

Not the 19th century novel by Charles Dickens, but rather a 21st century saga about his hometown, where Louisville Mayor Jerry E. Abramson has spent much of his career in public service.

"The first city in the tale is the old city of Louisville, where I was mayor for 13 years," says Abramson. Its 61 square miles, carved out of a curve in the Ohio River, had a population of 256,000.

"The second city is the new city of Louisville — born January 6, 2003, created through the merger of our city and county governments. It's now home to some 695,000 residents, covers 386 square miles, and stretches from downtown to the county line with 83 incorporated suburban cities."

Abramson is again mayor, presiding over an expanded city that zoomed overnight from the 67th most populated U.S. city to the 16th largest.

And this fall, Abramson will tell the story of how it's working as the new Louisville-Jefferson County Metro hosts a national conference on government collaboration.

The conference, "Collaborative Government: Is Your Community Ready?" will examine successful models of local government collaboration across the United States. It will be held November 8-11 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, and will feature a special -Lessons from Merger- workshop.

Louisville Metro government is co-hosting the conference with the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, a national organization that fosters regional cooperation and action among government, civic, business, and non-profit leaders.

The conference "is a great way for people to apply the lessons from Louisville's merger to their own communities — even if they never plan to merge their governments," said Abramson. "And we will explore the many ways that local governments are saving money, improving services, and promoting economic development through collaboration."

The saga of the country's first large'scale city-county merger in three decades has attracted interest from more than 50 cities and counties who have contacted Abramson's office for information.

Louisville's tale of two cities is a story of great expectations, being written in installments, just as Charles Dickens wrote his novels — with twists and turns, suspense and adventure.

Civic leaders lobbied for merged government for 40 years. Three proposals were voted down until voters finally said -yes' to city-county unity in November of 2000.

The arguments favoring merger were powerful: greater government efficiency, higher national visibility, and a united voice with a single community agenda and vision that could help Louisville shape its future.

"Our city and county governments had combined some departments, created countywide service districts, and even adopted a revenue'sharing compact," Abramson said. "But we basically had two urban governments, with the equivalent of two CEOs and two Boards of Directors, and a Noah's Ark of duplicative government functions."

The arguments against merger are familiar to any community that has sought government consolidation: city residents worried they would lose clout and services; suburbanites feared a bigger government, higher taxes, and taking on -urban- problems like poverty and crime.

The winning proposal stressed simplicity: only the executive and legislative branches of city and county governments would merge. The merger of any department, including city and county police, was left up to the new government. The plan left intact dozens of incorporated suburban cities and suburban fire districts.

"We promised there would be no change in taxes and no cuts in services because of merger," Abramson said. "And we have kept that promise." Another selling point was a new Metro Council of 26 members, with districts drawn to ensure representation from every part of the city and county, and proportional representation for minorities.

After voters approved the plan by a 54-46 percent margin, "the really hard work began," Abramson said. He ran for mayor on a platform to merge all of the city and county departments, including city and county police. But government services had to continue being delivered while departments were restructured and operations re-engineered.

"One advisor said what we were doing was like changing the tires on a truck going down the highway at 60 miles an hour," Abramson noted.

The "Lessons from Merger" workshop on November 8 will highlight at least seven areas where Louisville has seen the benefits of consolidation:

• Saving money
• Streamlining services
• Encouraging innovative solutions
• Forging more effective partnerships
• Improving focus for economic development
• 'Bigger-picture' thinking and planning
• Attracting better talent to government

"It's clear after 2-1/2 years that this business of re-inventing our government is a marathon, not a sprint," said Abramson. "The changes have been hugely challenging, to our leadership team and to our employees. But the changes required have also energized and engaged our new government and our community."

All in all, the great expectations for Louisville's new merged government seem on the way to being realized.

For more information, contact Abramson by email at jerry.abramson@loukymetro.org.

For more information on the -Lessons from Merger- workshop, contact Joan Riehm, Deputy Mayor, Louisville Metro: louisvilleworkshop@loukymetro.org; (502) 574-8141.

For more information on the Forum on Collaborative Government, contact the Alliance for Regional Stewardship: amy@regionalstewardship.org; (303) 477-9443.