By Chris Taylor
Paducah, KY – Greater Paducah Economic Development Council President Chad Chancellor says a city-county government merger will not help to attract industry there. However, he says it would likely help attract major retail stores who sometimes exclude lower populated cities. From an industrial recruiting standpoint, Chancellor points out political borders have little meaning.
"Our labor shed comes from six counties but those six counties may be in three states," Chancellor says. "Certainly the regional aspect will be looked at: we have got to play together as a region and certainly our city and county have to play together whether they're merged or they're not."
Chancellor says merging the governments may eliminate a certain level of bureaucracy, which could speed up a projects' development. The proposed city-county merger is expected to create a populace of almost 70,000.