WV Senate OKs government consolidation bill

[davidinalameda]

http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2005031717

A bill that would let cities and counties consolidate their services — or even form metro governments — was passed by the Senate Thursday on a 28-6 vote, after changes made at the request of the state’s county commissioners.

The state County Commissioners Association had raised concerns that, if a majority or near-majority of county residents also lived in the largest city in the county, the city could effectively force the county into a consolidated metro government.

Under the legislation (SB159), consolidation of cities, counties, or a county and the principal city into a metro government has to be approved by voters in both localities.

[MrSandman]

1. Great idea for Greenbrier County...

They can spread some of the liability for the lawsuits against the county around.

[eriffle]

2. I agree

i think this will enhance the services to people in rural areas. I think the next thing we need to look at is how the school system is set up. breaking up the state into counties and making it hard for a student in one county to attend a school in another county when the other county's school is closer is ridiculous.

[MountainLaurel]

3. I agree

Over the past few years, Marion and Taylor counties have gone to court over a bus going to Grafton that was turning around in Marion near Boothsville. The issue was that the bus was picking up a relatively low number of kids in Marion and taking them into Taylor, or was it vice versa? Anyway, it's all about school funding: Those kids going into the other county meant a budget laws of tens of thousands of dollars to the county where they actually resided.