Consolidation will result in bigger government.
                                  - Public statements and testimony before the State Boundary Commission

Fact:   That anyone can repeat this rumor with a straight face is remarkable.  The two Plante Moran analyses projected that a single government unit would operate at a cost to the taxpayers $500,000 less than the current two-government setup.  Roughly $75,000 of that savings comes from paying only one city manager, not two.  Having “two of everything,” as the current system does, is bigger government.  And worse, it’s less efficient government.