As I reported earlier this week, the Pierce County Council is pushing a major consolidation of county departments.

The council has asked County Executive Pat McCarthy to study consolidating the planning department into public works and to consolidate five other departments into a “general services division.” It’s also pushing to consolidate the human services and community services departments.

McCarthy campaigned for executive last year on rethinking county government to make it more efficient and customer friendly. She issued a statement late Wednesday saying she appreciates that “the council shares my intent to examine possible areas to consolidate county services.”

She noted that she consolidated the human resources and risk management departments when she took office in January. And she said her staff has been studying combining the permitting functions of PALS and public works and combining human and community services. Another task force is reviewing facilities at the Pierce County Annex building.

“Keep in mind that mergers and consolidations are not as easy as they sound,” McCarthy said. “Many corporations have learned that the hard way. And there are examples of governments creating `super agencies’ to save money, only to find that service declines and it’s difficult to hold people accountable.”

You can read McCarthy’s full statement below.

I appreciate that the Council shares my intent to examine possible areas to consolidate county services. This is primarily an executive decision since I am responsible for managing the people in any new consolidated departments.

When I took office at the beginning of the year, I immediately consolidated the Human Resources and Risk Management departments because there were obvious efficiencies to be gained. That was just the beginning.

Since March, my team has been reviewing possible advantages of combining the permitting activities of Planning and Land Services with the sewer, water and transportation services within Public Works and Utilities. I also have a team studying whether there are cost savings if we merge the Department of Community Services and the Department of Human Services. And a separate task force is doing a review of facilities at the Pierce County Annex in Tacoma.

Keep in mind that mergers and consolidations are not as easy as they sound. Many corporations have learned that the hard way. And there are examples of governments creating “super agencies” to save money, only to find that service declines and it’s difficult to hold people accountable.

The challenge is to make sure any consolidations result in cost-effective solutions that maintain quality services. Otherwise, it can lead to spending money for nothing, as consolidation usually comes with an initial cost.

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