By Kathleen McNamara

Got a beef with the county? Looking to make your own little city? Who should you call?

Try Joe Mazurkiewicz.

Mazurkiewicz, a regional representative for BJM Consulting, could very well be called Mr. Incorporation. With a master's degree in public administration and 10 years of localized experience during a stint as Cape Coral mayor, he understands what makes the municipal machine run in Southwest Florida.

He's been a cityhood consultant to areas including Pelican Bay in Naples, Golden Gate, Boca Grande, Fort Myers Beach and most recently Bonita Springs. Some of the areas, like Fort Myers Beach, decided to strive for change once they've heard what Mazurkiewicz had to say. Others, like Golden Gate, stuck to the status quo.

When a group first considers hiring Mazurkiewicz to perform an incorporation analysis, he'll give an initial presentation -- a reality check of sorts. He asks three golden questions:

1. Are you unhappy with the level of service from your government?

2. Are you worried about preserving your community's quality of life or unique character?

3. Are you convinced you can do nothing to change the two above situations?

If the group can't answer the last question in the affirmative, Mazurkiewicz says, then there's no reason to incorporate. "Those are really the only two things a local government can do for you," he says. "They can provide a level of service and preserve a quality of life."

If the group decides to proceed, Mazurkiewicz will perform a SWOT analysis, an in-depth look at the area's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. To form the analysis, he rakes through data including population figures, future land use maps and tax numbers. He also learns about the historical aspects of the area and asks locals for their opinions. Then he gathers everything he's learned into a presentation.

Mazurkiewicz says he doesn't give an opinion as to whether or not to incorporate, nor does he suggest where city funding should go. He only points out what's available to an area should it decide to incorporate, while pointing out possible challenges and benefits. "I do not draw conclusions or make recommendations," he maintains.

He forms the analysis on the notion that the municipality will operate under the concept of "government lite," which was made popular after the formation of the town of Fort Myers Beach in 1995. Under government lite, the incorporated area operates with a skeletal type of local government, relying on a small staff of municipal employees and services contracted out to private providers or other governments. "I think it's silly to reinvent the wheel," he says of other forms of administration.

Mazurkiewicz was notably not hired on as a consultant for Marco Island during its 1997 incorporation movement -- the island city chose a more traditional form of government with a full city staff and multiple departments.

A Business Issue

Mazurkiewicz doesn't deny the money aspect of it all -- he agrees that wealthy communities are more likely to incorporate than poor ones. The larger the tax base is, the more money the community will have to provide services. A municipality therefore becomes like a business. "The appraised value of the homes is like its net worth," he says.

And because property values are what produce tax revenues, the urge to incorporate in Southwest Florida is likely to continue, Mazurkiewicz predicts. Because most ad valorem taxes are proportionate to property value, the wealthy inevitably subsidize the not-so-wealthy in unincorporated taxes. More of the wealthy will therefore want to reclaim a portion of what they're paying and use the funds within their own local communities.

The Florida Constitution gives a great deal of regional authority to county governments. But Florida has become more urbanized from the days when the Constitution was written, Mazurkiewicz says, leaving counties with bigger burdens to provide urban services.

Unlike the 1980s, when citizens could usually convince a county to take on additional services, the 1990s have meant fewer specialized requests. Counties now have more defined core levels of service -- special requests are funded through extra tax districts in areas requesting them.

Mazurciewicz also points out that most successful incorporation movements have been the result of one "sentinel" event -- something to draw an emotional response from the community and get angry voters to chose localized government.

The interesting question for Bonita Springs, he says, will be whether or not the community will adopt incorporation without that sentinel event. "Is this society ready to make business decisions without the emotions?" he asks.

He is waiting to find out.