Bigger Is Not Always Better
Moving along in my 7th decade provides me with the opportunity to reflect and evaluate some of the things which I thought were very important at an earlier age from both a personal and community perspective. Some of my reflections have really surprised me, and I will attempt to explain this reevaluation in today’s blog.
Growing up in relatively modest circumstances made me yearn one day to have a much bigger house and nicer car. Today God has blessed me and my family richly with a much bigger house and now even four nice cars spread around four family members! But what I would have never contemplated 60 years ago is what comes along with a bigger house and nicer cars. A bigger house requires more work and expense to maintain, not to mention higher costs for utilities, insurance, and taxes. And cars---a never ending cost center for maintenance, fuel, insurance, taxes and occasional expensive trips to the body shop! Don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to retrace back 60 years to a small modest home and an old model car and farm truck, but today’s bigger house and nice cars bounty is by no means free. It surely comes at a cost that one can never contemplate at the dream stage.
Going back about 45 years, it was my conviction that the key to growth and prosperity for my hometown of Louisville, KY. required consolidated city and county government. I advocated for this development with family, friends, and anyone else who would give me the time of day to do so. I was convinced that consolidation would provide a unified community vison, eliminate duplication of departments, create economies of scale, improve public safety, and enable our community to grow and challenge neighboring cities such as Indianapolis, Nashville, and Cincinnati. After two failed ballot box initiatives in the 1980s, consolidation was finally approved by the voters in 2000! I was convinced that it was at last time to get on the fast train and buckle my seatbelt for a great adventure into the 2000s for Louisville. Louisville had finally arrived!
Boy was I ever mistaken and disappointed! While consolidation of Louisville and Jefferson County government placed Louisville Metro at approximately the 27th largest city in the United States, it quickly became apparent to me that consolidated government and an increase in a city’s size alone will not take it to the next level. It will not overcome racial, ethnic, and social class tensions which have festered for decades. It will not guarantee that good community leaders will step forward to lead and serve the greater good and not be captive to narrow special interests which delay and often impede important progress for the larger community. It will also not guarantee the election of effective leaders (especially Mayor) who have a passion to serve and make the community better. While the current mayor seems to bring a modicum of energy and enthusiasm to his work, it is not easy to overcome the 12 previous years of failed and lackadaisical leadership by the former mayor. One of the greatest disappointments has been the failure of consolidated government to improve public safety. Sadly, the police department was saddled with a string of incredibly incompetent police chiefs who do not serve either the community or the rank-and-file officers well, with the police department being 300 officers understaffed at one point recently. Thankfully, the current mayor has appointed a new police chief whose approach to the department now provides hope for better performance and service to the community, but the new chief surely has his work cut out for him. While the crime rate has come down, the perception that the downtown is unsafe persists, and many restaurants and small business have permanently closed, with their employees and customers as the big losers. In the spirit of eating some humble pie, I can say without reservation that if I had the chance to vote on city/county consolidation again for Louisville, it would be a hard no vote for me. Bigger has not been better. In so many ways, the opposite has been true. I can only hope that some valuable lessons have been learned and different approaches to leadership and governance will be undertaken.
So where do I end up in my “bigger is not always better” reflection. On a personal level, bigger can be better for homes and cars but there will almost always be higher costs and complications which could not have been fully anticipated. For city/county consolidation, bigger has not been better. Consolidated government alone will not solve underlying community pathologies. Unless public regarded community leaders emerge and the voters of the combined government elect good leaders with a desire to serve with a clear vision for governing well and a plan for establishing a unified community, bigger will not be better and will almost surely be a step backward with greater cost, a larger bureaucracy, and many opportunities for dysfunction and failure.
God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.
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