A legislative commission recommended in 1989 that the state set up a commission to work toward cutting the number of counties, but again nothing happened. Now, a new legislative task force is studying the organization of local government, including the issues of city-county merger and county consolidation. It will likely recommend legislation to the 2000 legislature. But it's also likely that many local politicians will oppose the move. Arnold said it's more likely that some services will be shifted to a region instead of a county.
Some people see economic and demographic factors encouraging counties to consolidate, however.
Projections show that the population will decrease in a number of Kentucky counties during the next 20 years. Gifford, the Robertson County judge-executive, agreed. Begin by boosting Kentucky's county size to the national average. You've cut out 86 counties. Now you can begin cutting costs.