Smith interested in heading unified' city-county government

By By William F. West /community editor
Sept. 17, 2002
Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith would like to merge the city's and Lauderdale County's governments and he said he wouldn't mind being in charge of the new system.
Smith, in a speech Monday to the Rotary Club, advocated a strong countywide chief executive with districts represented by a true legislative body which he said can be found in places in Tennessee and Florida.
In an interview afterward, Smith said he believes duplicate government and taxation are counter-productive to the development of the Meridian area.
Smith also said he believes Meridian has made headway since shifting from a weak mayor system of government to one in which major authority rests with the mayor.
Smith, asked whether he is interested being a county-wide mayor, said, "I love this community and things are not finished here that we've worked on.