Mayor Henry’s statement on City-County co-location:
The dream of a joint solution to City of Fort Wayne and Allen County space needs through co-location just died today. I believed a joint solution was achievable and did everything in my power to realize that dream. The County Commissioners indicated the same. Allen County Council seemed to say that they thought the idea had merit, but in the end, they did not support it with the resources to make it happen. It was their decision and I respect that. Today the exploration of a City-County co-location approach ends. But when one door closes, another opens, and for the City of Fort Wayne that door leads to 200 East Berry Street.
We will begin immediately to make plans for the new City Hall we announced in June of this year. The heart of that decision was about getting the most out of every taxpayer dollar and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective services to every citizen. This is a decision that will help us do both, now and long into the future. Consolidating operations will save money and increase efficiencies.
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The cityoffortwayne.org web site lists under Special Features, “Building Bridges: Concepts to Improve the Efficency of Local Government in Allen County”. We guess that our mayor, county commissioners and county council have all failed to read or understand the recommendations of this special Local Government Efficiency Study Committee. How else could they have reached this impass? Maybe the mayor’s insistence on an agreement before the Thanksgiving holidays was the breaking point?
Many agree with Lockwood Marine that this is just not acceptable!
Most important fact: The Allen COUNTY council (a fiscal body) made but one decision…. to limit the expenses of any relocations’ to $3mil! What other responsible decision would anyone think it within their authority to make?