Tribune ? An idea born from a series of community meetings became reality Thursday as the city of Tribune and Greeley County formed a unified government.

It’s only the second such arrangement among Kansas’ 105 counties. Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., formed a unified government in 1997.

But Jack Arnold, who was sworn in Thursday as one of five supervisors of the western Kansas county’s new governing body, thinks the idea will catch on elsewhere. Arnold also said he thinks, at some point, two or more county governments might unify into one government.

Greeley County and Tribune had already combined their fire departments, law enforcement operations and schools before unifying their governments.

The new Unified Board of Supervisors replaces the county commission and the city council. Two of its members are elected by Tribune residents, two by voters living outside the city and one on an at-large basis.

Arnold said the unification plan began taking shape several years ago during what residents call community conversations.

Concrete steps to put the plan in place included approval by the Kansas Legislature of a special statute and a local vote that took place in November 2007. The proposal passed with 73 percent of voters in favor, with final tallies of 274-70 within Tribune and 149-87 in the surrounding county.

The unified government will have three budgets: the Tribune city budget, which controls the city’s mill levy; the county budget, which controls the county mill levy; and a unified budget.

Arnold said to pay the bills, the city and the county will insert money into the unified budget.

One of the goals is to save money and possibly lower the mill levy, Arnold said. He said the city and the county can combine equipment and sell the equipment they do not need. Arnold said when insurance was combined, the unified government saved about $1,200.

Both city and council officials are excited about the unification, said Tribune city clerk Gina Bond.

Part of unifying the government has involved changing job titles and who specific people report to. For example, the Tribune city clerk will be the payroll clerk after unification, and the city superintendent will be the public works director.

Though some titles have changed, Arnold said no jobs have been added.

The Unified Board of Supervisors has been meeting since April to iron out details of the unification.

“I really think the five of us are more knowledgeable on our county and city government then any we’ve had before,” Arnold said. “It’s going to be really interesting.”