Should Little Rock and North Little Rock merge?

[Mith242]

I couldn't agree more!  Are there any major costs involved of a merger like this?  I can't think of any.  As a matter of fact, I would think that it would be more cost beneficial to be one city.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The biggest problem I could see is the elimination of certain official's positions. Which would of course could also save money in the long run. But of course no one is going to want to give up their job either. But if that were a problem I would think that they could simply set things up and then finalize the merger after everyone's terms were over.

[skirby]

After a decade of very little growth Jacksonville looks like things have started to change. At 30,000 population it has been passed over by Cabot for new growth but things are changing. Jacksonville has 1,300 lots in various stages of development. There is also talk of a very large mixed development in the beanfield South of the city. The Air Base in the city is the main C-130 base in the country. There is also a movement to from their own school district away from the Pulaski County School District.

[Aporkalypse]

After a decade of very little growth Jacksonville looks like things have started to change. At 30,000 population it has been passed over by Cabot for new growth but things are changing. Jacksonville has 1,300 lots in various stages of development. There is also talk of a very large mixed development in the beanfield South of the city. The Air Base in the city is the main C-130 base in the country. There is also a movement to from their own school district away from the Pulaski County School District.

The BRAC realignment strongly favors LRAFB and will bring in a number of new units and an additional 4000 personnel. I'm glad we were on the right side of those cuts.

[CentralArkansas]

The BRAC realignment strongly favors LRAFB and will bring in a number of new units and an additional 4000 personnel. I'm glad we were on the right side of those cuts.

Are you sure?

I thought that it was going to turn out being a push for LRAFB after all was said and done.

[Architect]

Wow...this is a big issue with me. There is no question that central Arkansas should merge into one municipality. However, this isn't simply a LR-NLR merger - that would be short-sighted. If this were to take place, it should only happen as a consolidated county government, which is how Nashville (20 years ago?) and Louisville (2 years ago) consolidated. Everyone knows that LR, NLR, Maumelle, Sherwood (and to some extent) Jacksonville are completely contiguous and for all practical purposes interacts as one entity.

I am with Warren Stephens: there are NO advantages to the current diversification short of heritage (and in fact, NLR used to be a part of LR). Merging would:

1 - Create a city/county municipality of nearly 370,000

2 - Would drastically reduce overhead of duplicative services (I thought that the merger of the water systems would lead, eventually to many mergers - but momentum seems to have stalled)

3 - Would instantly neutralize the tension between incorporated and unincorporated areas

4 - Would become much more attractive on the national/international scene

Little Rock is greatly over fractured, evidenced by the low center city population to MSA population ratio. It is extremely low, which is indicative of a need to consolidate.

Any thoughts?

[mcheiss]

I think it would be a great idea, sense it would make a very large city and make it more centralized in the Rivermarket and Arkansas River Areas. But there would be a bit of job loss in the city municipality services, do to centralization. I think it would help Arkansas achieve that non hillbilly status as well.

[skirby]

I think a huge problem with Little Rock and the other cities in Pulaski County merging is the school systems. The Pulaski County District has problems. There is even talk of dividing it up into one district south of the river and up to two north of the river. If this is done then there could be up to five districts in the county.

One of the main advantages would be a unified planning outlook. There would also be a uniform tax rate for everyone on the county.

[bigboyz05]

This topic is occasionally discussed, but it never seems to get any steam behind it. Warren Stephens, I believe, has been an advocate of this. I say yes, because it would eliminate the double bureaucracy that we have here. Every department one city has, so has the other. We could have more efficient city government, and more cooperation, rather than working against each other. North Little Rock once was part of Little Rock in the past, but politics managed to separate them. North Little Rock history.

I know that other cities have consolidated for these reasons, and the best one I can think of is Louisville, KY. Consolidation would move Little Rock up on the list of biggest cities, and might make us a more attractive destination. If Little Rock (pop. 184,000), North Little Rock (pop. 60,000), and Sherwood (pop. 22,000) were to merge, then Little Rock would have a population of 266,000. I would leave Jacksonville (pop. 30,000) independent, because its too far out, but these other three cities are really one contiguous city. Then there's Cammack Village, ugh.

What's wrong with Cammack Village?

[Aporkalypse]

I think a huge problem with Little Rock and the other cities in Pulaski County merging is the school systems. The Pulaski County District has problems. There is even talk of dividing it up into one district south of the river and up to two north of the river. If this is done then there could be up to five districts in the county.

One of the main advantages would be a unified planning outlook. There would also be a uniform tax rate for everyone on the county.

The schools are already merged excessively. Down here we have several school districts within the "Dallas County Schools" umbrella. There's no link between municipal gov't and the district that says we would have to consolidate into one district. I'd like to see Jacksonville, Sylvan Hills, and Maumelle get a little more independence.

[skirby]

The schools are already merged excessively. Down here we have several school districts within the "Dallas County Schools" umbrella. There's no link between municipal gov't and the district that says we would have to consolidate into one district. I'd like to see Jacksonville, Sylvan Hills, and Maumelle get a little more independence.

Are you talking about more independence for cities or schools? Schools with the names Sylvan Hills are located in Sherwood. There are only two schools in Maumelle. If you from new districts for Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle the only schools north of the river are located in NRL but are not part of the NLR district. South of the river all PCSSD are located in LR, but are not part of the LR disctrict except one. There are kids in Jacksonville that ride a bus to LR district schools now. If the goal is to have one city then I think one school disrtict would follow.

[flyfisher]

Overall I'd like to see one county-wide government. But, to support it, some things would have to change. Obviously it would require a vote by the people of all the different communities involved, and many people moved from one municipality to another to escape particular shortcomings or regulations. It would be a tough sell to a lot of people. Then there's the historic perspective to overcome. Somehow, we'd have to figure out what works best, and utilize the best qualities that each government currently has in place. A very small example, is that North Little Rock offers a service where they vacuum leaves from the curb side, and that is something most Little Rock residents would love to see happen here in Little Rock. NLR has their own electrical utility, whereas Entergy serves Little Rock. There would be a tremendous number of things to work out, but it could be done. I'd want to see a mayoral form of government as opposed to the managerial form we currently have in Little Rock. North Little Rock has been very aggressive and able to make things happen (eg Alltel Arena, USS Razorback, Stephens-Dickey Park, Bass Pro Shops, etc.). In recent years the various Cities and County have been cooperating better than ever and almost acting as a single government in a lot of instances anyway. The schools simply need to be overhauled throughout the county. None of them offer a stellar example of how a school district should be run. But, perhaps if they were consolidated it would at least help eliminate some overhead and facilities. A possible downside is the loss of competetiveness between the cities. Not that its made any significant difference that I can think of, but a competetive environment can make things happen that otherwise tend to stagnate.

[Architect]

Are you talking about more independence for cities or schools? Schools with the names Sylvan Hills are located in Sherwood. There are only two schools in Maumelle. If you from new districts for Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle the only schools north of the river are located in NRL but are not part of the NLR district. South of the river all PCSSD are located in LR, but are not part of the LR disctrict except one. There are kids in Jacksonville that ride a bus to LR district schools now. If the goal is to have one city then I think one school disrtict would follow.

I agree skirby - its preposterous to maintain 3 districts, much less MORE than that....no advantage whatsoever, particularly in light of the topic of this posting, of merged cities/county.

[Aporkalypse]

I agree skirby - its preposterous to maintain 3 districts, much less MORE than that....no advantage whatsoever, particularly in light of the topic of this posting, of merged cities/county.

I think the advantage is to create prosperous pockets within the county outside of far west LR where private school attendees predominate. I think self-governed schools could make Sherwood, Maumelle, and West Pulaski Co desirable areas to move to and create pockets of rapid growth within the county that compete with the suburbs. Perhaps you might even see "gasp" new planned communities again.

Regardless of what anybody says, the current school situation is the MAJOR reason for stagnated growth in Pulaski Co that's been going on for the last couple of decades. Why else on earth do you think the fastest growing communities in the region are JUST outside of county limits (Bryant and Cabot) while there is still substantial vacant land within the county?

Are you talking about more independence for cities or schools? Schools with the names Sylvan Hills are located in Sherwood. There are only two schools in Maumelle. If you from new districts for Jacksonville, Sherwood and Maumelle the only schools north of the river are located in NRL but are not part of the NLR district. South of the river all PCSSD are located in LR, but are not part of the LR disctrict except one. There are kids in Jacksonville that ride a bus to LR district schools now. If the goal is to have one city then I think one school disrtict would follow.

Jacksonville and Maumelle (Oak Grove) want their own districts. Maumelle really wants to create a "Maumelle high school" and use this to forge a sense of identity. The school situation in Pulaski Co is a complete mess and deterrent to immigration to the region and especially the county. If you have better ideas besides throwing money at the problem I'd love to hear them.

[North Pulaski Player]

Any new info on a possible LR/NLR merger or consolidated Pulaski County government, or just the same ole stuff we've been hearing for the past 100 years?

[Aporkalypse]

Any new info on a possible LR/NLR merger or consolidated Pulaski County government, or just the same ole stuff we've been hearing for the past 100 years?

Same old stuff.

I wish everyone held the same views we do here.

[hogwash]

My main concern are utilities. There are a lot of question marks, NLR has their own electrical utility company. Would that go away? There are just a lot of issues.

If there were some way to slowly integrate the cities and then have an official merger date 7-10 years from now would be great. Maybe something like the EU is doing?

[Aporkalypse]

My main concern are utilities. There are a lot of question marks, NLR has their own electrical utility company. Would that go away? There are just a lot of issues.

If there were some way to slowly integrate the cities and then have an official merger date 7-10 years from now would be great. Maybe something like the EU is doing?

[skirby]

I think getting NLR out of the separate utility business is something that NLR residents would want badly enough to facilitate the merger. Electric rate increases of 38% were approved for next year but this should go up even more the two years after that.

I agree, it would have to be a gradual transition, say over 5 years.

[hogwash]

Cities don't like to give up electric franchises, they bring in crap loads of money for the city... But potential rate increases like that can change the situation. I see that as a major obstacle...

Benton is in the same boat. Entergy or whoever is the supplier for those cities opted not to renew contracts and sold the municipalities' energy allotments. They really pulled the rug out from under them.

There was talk of several of the cities forming a coop or something of the sort and building their own plant. I don't think it was really feasible.

[Architect]

A "repost" from the "New Stadium for Arkansas Travelers" that I edited slightly to fit this thread (yes, it is my own post):

Nobody out in the world cares about two separate cities...to them, they see one city. Do you know why? Because they are. In fact, NLR once WAS a part of Little Rock, and a little political fussing, and a hidden bill, and bada-bing...a secession. Nobody won. We were all losers. No telling how much politics, time and money has been wasted on two city governments, two city services, and two cities competing over what should be a common effort.

Of course, none of this changes reality or history of course, but my point is that maintaining the status quo is a viewpoint that should end if the common good of central arkansas is pursued competitively in today's 21st century world-wide marketplace.

Personally, I think a county-wide consolidated goverment would go much further in creating an urban core that can be marketed in a much more competitive way in today's marketplace. It would create a 'city' approaching 400,000 people and would 'defuse' so much of the political wrangling that goes on.

[Aporkalypse]

A "repost" from the "New Stadium for Arkansas Travelers" that I edited slightly to fit this thread (yes, it is my own post):

Nobody out in the world cares about two separate cities...to them, they see one city. Do you know why? Because they are. In fact, NLR once WAS a part of Little Rock, and a little political fussing, and a hidden bill, and bada-bing...a secession. Nobody won. We were all losers. No telling how much politics, time and money has been wasted on two city governments, two city services, and two cities competing over what should be a common effort.

Of course, none of this changes reality or history of course, but my point is that maintaining the status quo is a viewpoint that should end if the common good of central arkansas is pursued competitively in today's 21st century world-wide marketplace.

Personally, I think a county-wide consolidated goverment would go much further in creating an urban core that can be marketed in a much more competitive way in today's marketplace. It would create a 'city' approaching 400,000 people and would 'defuse' so much of the political wrangling that goes on.

[cozmosis]

Personally, I think a county-wide consolidated goverment would go much further in creating an urban core that can be marketed in a much more competitive way in today's marketplace. It would create a 'city' approaching 400,000 people and would 'defuse' so much of the political wrangling that goes on.

[hogwash]

It would be a wonderful idea on the planning side of things.

[Architect]

I think this issue has a lot to do with population sign envy. Why do I say that? Because supporters of a consolidated county government always mention the boost in population. Little Rock would jump from the 116th most populous city (184,564) to knocking on the door of the top 50 (361,474). That's exciting stuff... It even excites me a little. But I give the matter a little more thought.

I'm not against teamwork, which I think all of the cities in Pulaski County should do a better job at. I think there are ways to pool resources and use collective buying power to be better stewards of the taxpayers' money. Some services -- like the fire department -- shouldn't neccessarily be limited by city limit signs. However, I will stop short of supporting a consolidated county government.

Although I have my own issues with the idea of a LR-NLR merger, I am more concerned about the smaller cities and the impact a consolidated county government would have on them. Places like Jacksonville are so far removed from the core that I think they'd get lost in the mix. Places like Maumelle might initially benefit from the influx of revenue, but you can't tell me that a mayor/judge of 360k can manage a city like Maumelle better than their mayor of 15k can. The personal service that citizens in smaller cities enjoy would be lost is what would be a massive beuraucracy.

[arkansas_buff]

How realistic is this within say the next 10 years? Other than Stephens and UP, I don't know if I've even heard it discussed anywhere else. (Although I think it's a no-brainer.)