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ordinances and not enforce them. The Pros and Cons of Consolidated Government By Patrick Hardy, MTAS, updated 2012 Introduction This essay is meant to provide a list of items to consider when examining city/county consolidated government. These are presented in the form of a list of “pros” and “cons”. The list is by no means all inclusive. Certainly there are other items which should be deliberated, especially in light of particular circumstances surrounding any given consolidation effort. Whether any particular item belongs of the list of “pros” or on the list of “cons” may depend on which jurisdiction you are from. That’s because an item may be a “pro” to one jurisdiction but a “con” to another. This list was generated from articles and books written on the subject of consolidation and thus represents the opinions or perceptions of these authors. Therefore these views may or may not apply in other circumstances, and as noted in a previous paper, very little “hard” (empirical) research exists which verifies some of these opinions. The “Pros” of Consolidation: Real and Perceived Efficiency: There is a perception that a consolidated government will be more efficient (services delivered at less cost) than will separate city and county governments. However, this may only be a perception. A number of studies have been done in this regard and the results are mixed. In other words, efficiency of consolidated government has not been demonstrated or verified empirically. Efficiency can only be realized in certain cases, and there is no guarantee that on the whole service-delivery costs can be reduced. What this probably means is that in order for efficiencies to occur, the “system” must be actively and very well managed. Less Duplication of Services: There are a few services provided by cities and counties which are currently duplicated and may better be provided jointly. For example, road and bridge construction and paving, fire protection, animal cont