Appendix A number of articles have been written about unified government pertaining to the case studies communities. Following is a selection of articles and a PowerPoint presentation designed to provide additional background and insight on the subject: Athens – Clarke County, Georgia Does City-County Consolidation Save Money? The Unification of Athens-Clarke County Suggests it Might; Policy Notes, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia Unification and Hyphenation of Athens-Clarke County, Athens World Summary of background information on the Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Foundation, AthensClarke County, Georgia Web site http://www.athensclarkecounty.com/index.aspx?nid=140 Garland: Athens-Clarke charter is a broken promise, OnlineAthens
Augusta – Richmond County, Georgia Augusta leaders react to Mayor’s call for review of city charter; WDRW-TV 12 Web site Consolidation bill up for debate; The Augusta Chronicle web site Augusta Commissioners Elect New Mayor Pro Tem and Approve Committee Assignments; Ben Hasan, Augusta, GA Community Concerns Web site Who’s Right and What’s Left?; Metro Spirit Web site
Columbus Consolidated Government Consolidation Briefing – Hardin County, Kentucky (PowerPoint)
Lexington – Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky Merger brought order, lower tax rates over years in Lexington, KY; Evansville Courier & Press Editorial: Lexington’s merge; Evansville Courier & Press Kentucky is much too poor of a state to support 120 county governments; The Lane Report
Louisville Metro, Kentucky Louisville becomes lean, less mean after city/county merger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Louisville Metro has shown other regions how mergers can change balance of power, City Mayors Dayton looks for ways to change, It’s Great ‘n Dayton Web site
Why consolidating city and county governments isn’t a silver bullet for waste, Las Vegas Sun