From the Jeffersonville News and Tribune:
Partnering with area entities to accomplish economic growth and improve services was an idea central to many of the topics discussed by the Floyd and Clark County Commissioners during a joint forum for One Southern Indiana members Tuesday.
Floyd County Commissioners President Steve Bush went as far as to say combining city and county operations would save up to $300,000 for Floyd County taxpayers in the initial year.
“I think we ought to merge government,” Bush said.
He specifically mentioned zoning, 911 dispatch and stormwater services as departments prime for merger between New Albany and Floyd County.
Partnerships between the two entities have been focal points over the past year, as the city spurned a proposal to merge 911 dispatch centers with the county last year.
...
Also, Floyd County and New Albany continue to negotiate over a joint parks funding agreement. A new deal was vetoed by Mayor Jeff Gahan after it had been passed by the New Albany City Council and the county, as the disagreement started over past funding discrepancies.
The city provided about $4 million more than the county toward the department over an eight year span, and Gahan called for restitution before he would agree to a new deal.
Floyd County Commissioner Chuck Freiberger provided a different perspective on the situation. He acknowledged that the city has given more money to the parks department, but said the Floyd County Council and city council were to review the budgetary requests and decide if they could afford the bill.
According to Freiberger, that didn’t happen in the past. He blamed lack of communication, and said one way of looking at the past is that the “city was just writing checks to whatever the parks department wanted and the county was being more responsible.”
The parks budget has been cut considerably over the past decade, and now stands at about $1 million annually.
All six commissioners from Floyd and Clark counties were present for the forum, and they answered questions from 1si members and spoke about their own initiatives.
http://newsandtribune.com/business/x1483808215/Clark-Floyd-County-Commissioners-talk-mergers-revenue-during-forum
