Article source for : 21st Century Government Committee proposal
"21st Century Government Committee Final Report":http://www.toledoblade.com/assets/pdf/TO25911820.PDF (PDF)
br. Excerpts from an Aug 21, 2007 Ben Konop blog "posting":http://apps.co.lucas.oh.us/lcblog/BlogPage.aspx?BlogID=56
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The Committee has done an admirable and diligent job of researching and analyzing how government functions in Northwest Ohio and ways it can be improved. Overall the recommendations of the committee, if implemented, I believe will lead to higher quality government service at a lower cost. A more *regional approach* to government will also allow us to compete in the 21st century global economy as a region instead of competing within our region for a shrinking pool of jobs. Overall, I would like the communities input before I proceed with the committee's recommendations.
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br. Aug 21, 2007 Blade "story":http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/NEWS33/708210366
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... an 83-page committee report that will be presented today provides a blueprint for various governments within the [Lucas] county to merge. Mr. Konop assembled community leaders in May and asked them to examine ways to change or at least make government in Lucas County more efficient. The group, called the 21st Century Government Committee, spent the summer trying to answer Mr. Konop's questions and has produced a detailed, lengthy report.
Rather than continue to raise taxes or slash services because of a dwindling tax base, the report said governments in Lucas County could "change the way services are delivered." Mr. Konop said the 19-member group's document encourages a gradual move toward a *metropolitan* or *regional* form of government, often referred to as *unigov*.
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br. I'll refer to "lew's":http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/profile/lew Feb 26, 2005 Toledo Talk "posting":http://www.toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/comments.pl/4/974, which defines unigov and regionalism.
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There is confusion about what constitutes regionalism as opposed to Unigov. Unigov is easier to define: It is a combination of City/County Govt.. It has been sucessful in places like Indianapolis, which is located in the center of Indiana.
Regionalism, in most cases, involves more than one county. Silicon Valley is a region. New England is a region. The Research Triangle is a region, consisting of Raleigh, Durham and Chappel Hill.
In Ohio, Cincinnati has been a successful region that includes parts of Kentucky and southeast Indiana. Globally it identifies itself as Cincinnati,USA.
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It seems to me that the terms unigov and regionalism should not be used interchangeably. Government and media need to eliminate the confusion.
br. More from the Aug 21 Blade story:
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[E]ight areas, which are the preeminent focus of the report's first 42 pages, include:
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* Customer service
* Joint purchasing between the county's government entities
* The county's technology infrastructure
* Commitment to joint services
* Locations of service operations
* Goal setting and outcome measurement
* Spending below the rate of inflation
* Addressing urban sprawl
br. More from the Blade story:
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But Mr. Konop said the report's potentially biggest impact - in which *entire governments merge into one* - is introduced indirectly through the process the committee outlined for implementing change in those eight general areas.
The committee suggested a Regional Implementation Team, which would consist initially of one representative each from the city of Toledo, union labor, the Lucas County Township Association, colleges and universities, the Regional Growth Partnership, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Toledo Community Foundation, as well as one representative from the cities of Sylvania, Oregon, or Maumee.
The committee said the implementation team could grow to 25 members and should "work first on implementation of ideas" suggested in the report. But once the team experiences success, the committee said that "larger, more complex endeavors could be undertaken."
Mr. Konop interpreted that section of the report as the committee's way of introducing regionalism *without suggesting it be +forced+ on the county's different governments*.
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The "forced" part will happen later when the other communities don't agree with the Toledo focus.
br. Also from the Blade:
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Despite all the information provided about merging governments, Ben Marsh, a former Maumee solicitor who co-chaired Mr. Konop's committee and called the report a "rough draft of the future," said the report was only a "nudge" toward regionalism.
Mr. Marsh said the end result of the committee's report will *"not necessarily be a metropolitan form of government,"* but was a move "toward *greater cooperation* between governments at the least."
"I'm cautious to say 'metro government,'" Mr. Marsh said. "If I say it that way, some people will think the day after tomorrow we'll have one government [for the entire county], and that's not likely."
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"Forced" is Toledo's Plan B. And again, the above talk is unigov, not regionalism as reported in the story. But some aspect of regionalism may have been mentioned in the committee's report as listed in the second bullet point below.
Committee suggestions as reported in the Blade story:
* Designate one county employee as a citizens’ advocate, who will monitor the county’s responsiveness to residents’ concerns.
* Create the Northwest Compact, in which all of northwest Ohio, and not just Lucas County, could opt into an organization that delivers government services. Governmental units in Michigan may also be allowed to join the compact.
* Form the Lucas County Intergovernmental Networking Cooperative, which would provide technology services for all county offices, plus interested townships, cities, school districts, and other units of government.
* Begin the Model Student Metro Government Project, in which 11th-grade students from each high school in Lucas County meet twice a month and attempt to solve real issues facing local governments within the framework of a metropolitan, or regionalized, government.
* Build the Regional Implementation Team, which at first will push the 21st century committee’s suggestions, but eventually could be the bridge for Lucas County to adopt a more regionalized form of government, referred to by some as unigov.
Mainly, the report's focus is on unigov and not regionalism. As far as I can tell in the PDF report file, "Lucas County" is mentioned dozens of times, while "Wood County" is mentioned twice, and "[[Lake Erie West]]" is never mentioned.
"From":http://toledotalk.com/cgi-bin/tt.pl/article/2514/LEW_Open_for_Business#Too_many_cooks the 2005 Toledo City Paper article about Lake Erie West:
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But, while public agencies like the LCIC "have a supportive role to play, only the private sector can drive economic development at a regional level," ...
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[[Lucas County in 2050]]
