Government lacks objectivity

Sioux City (Iowa) Journal: Predictably, an analysis of merging city and county assessor offices, conducted by the city and county assessors, concluded consolidation won’t work and shouldn’t happen.

As a result, discussion of the idea within local government appears dead.

We don’t know if a merger of these two government offices is warranted or wise, but we do know this: Government itself is too close to the issue to form an objective opinion.

As we have said before in this space, the most valuable strategy for study of government consolidation is to form an independent committee of citizens to undertake a comprehensive review of how the city, county and school district could save taxpayer dollars by sharing some services.

Charged with identifying efficiencies and eliminating duplication, the task force should propose both short-term and long-term ideas.