Consolidation, Buckeye Style

As the township/local government consolidation debate continues in Indiana, the Dayton Business Journal recently featured a similar issue in Ohio. It seems officials in the Dayton area are considering implementing a regional government to help streamline functions and avoid a litany of competing tax structures:

Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley and Dayton City Commissioner Joey Williams both endorsed the idea of having a regional form of government Tuesday morning at the Montgomery County Regional Development Forum.

The officials, panelists at the Dayton Business Journal event, were joined by J.P. Nauseef, a business owner and former economic development leader; Michael Greitzer, a commercial development executive; and Jeff Hoagland, Vandalia city manager.

All five panel members agreed the region needs to move towards a regional economic development approach, with strong central governance. Proponents of regional government say the model would make the Dayton region more attractive to outside investment as well as retaining businesses…

A member of the audience likened the discussions to going on a diet to try and lose weight, in that people always say they will start a diet next week, but never follow through.

“I think the first step is we have issues and to accept that,” Williams said. “We need to accept that we need to lose some weight.”