Soon, it will be up to Macon and Bibb County residents to decide on consolidation.

Residents came together with state and local leaders Thursday to discuss the hot-button issue, in another town hall meeting.
many people voiced their support for consolidation, saying it's vital to the health of both the city and the county, but state representative Allen Peake says, there's still some opposition.

"Some of the things people feel most passionately about are who should be the top cop, whether it should be the sheriff or an appointed police chief. That's a big issue," Peake said. "Another issue is separate tax districts for people who are in the city vs. people in the county; another one is how many people should be on council.

"If we can't design a plan that's good enough to sell to people--to convince them this is the right thing to do for our community," Peake says, "then they ought to vote it down. I believe we can come up with something that is good for the long term health our community and I think folks will vote for it."

Peake and other leaders will draft a referendum, in which the people will vote for or against consolidating Macon and Bibb county into one government entity.