I read in the Elk Valley Times that Fayetteville and Lincoln County will have a referendum on consolidated city-county "metro" government Feb. 5.

Metro is an issue that pops up from time to time here in Bedford County, and if our neighboring county passes it, no doubt it will be discussed again. Another of our neighbors, Moore County, is already metro.

Proponents of metro say that it could save money by consolidating offices, and that it would end long-running disputes about the tax burden.

City property owners have long complained about having to pay for both their own city services and some county services that don't directly benefit them. County property owners, on the other hand, say that the city's sales tax revenue, and its retail property values -- which are supported by all of the county residents who come to town to shop -- more than offset any such disparity.

On paper, metro government looks like a great idea, and it may well be. But there are some catches.

Don Darden of the University of Tennessee's Municipal Technical Advisory Services (MTAS) ran through some of them when he made a presentation to Shelbyville City Council in 2006. He noted that while people favor consolidated city-county government in principle, many metro charter proposals end up being voted down by the time the public learns about the specifics. Darden said that metro doesn't generate as many savings or as much efficiency as its proponents tend to expect.

One catch is that the consolidated city-county government would still be required to have some of the independent county offices provided for by the state constitution. City governments pride themselves on their streamlined administrative structure, and many city leaders don't like the county system of independent, and in some cases publicly elected, department heads, which they consider less efficient and a step backwards. Bedford County, in implementing its new financial management system over the past year, has had to deal with those independent departments in order to bring them under its fiscal controls. Some have been reluctant to give up control of payroll or purchasing.

One of the biggest tax fairness arguments between Shelbyville and Bedford County relates to fire protection. But if the city and county were to combine their fire departments, it could dramatically increase homeowners' insurance rates for city residents by lowering the city's Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, claimed Darden. That's because there wouldn't be as many trucks or firefighters dedicated exclusively to protecting the city.

The fact that some people are critical of metro government doesn't mean it shouldn't be studied; it should. But people also need to realize that it's not a cure-all.

What may actually be needed are changes at the state level. The state could, presumably, revise the constitution to give local governments more flexibility in how they structure metro government and set up their metro charters.

Perhaps the metro debate in Lincoln County will turn out to be good for promoting discussion of metro government across the Volunteer state.

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com.