CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) A group of Clarksville business leaders is proposing the establishment of a charter commission to explore possible consolidation of Clarksville-Montgomery County government.
The group, which includes Don Jenkins of Jenkins & Wynne, Katie Gambill of 5 Star Media, David Smith of DBS & Associates Engineering, Bob Yates of Thurman Campbell Group, Charles Foust of Clarksville Foundry ,and Betty Burchett of Legends Bank asked the Chamber of Commerce to pass a resolution that would begin the process, which ultimately will be decided by voters.
The resolution of support, approved Wednesday morning by the chamber board, requests the Clarksville City Council and Montgomery County Commission to authorize a charter commission on consolidation.
If approved by both bodies the charter commission would develop a new charter that would go before voters. If passed, city and county government operations could be merged into one unified jurisdiction, consolidating some government services.
According to Katie Gambill, those proposing the plan have been meeting for several months and have Clarksville City Councilman Jeff Burkhart and County Commissioner Jason Hodges as sponsors. Both agree that establishing a Charter Commission is an important step so voters can determine the future of local government.
“With our continued growth and the entry of major companies like Hankook and Google we believe this is the right time to take this up,” Gambill said.
If passed at the city and county levels the issue could go before voters as early as August 2018.