In the early 1970s, Lexington was growing rapidly.

But its separate county and city governments were not always efficient.

There was duplication of many services. The lines between the county and the city were often blurred.

Thanks largely to the work of and collaboration of innovative leaders, in 1972 the voters of Lexington overwhelmingly approved the merging of the two governments and the charter for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government.

On Jan. 1, 1974, that government became the first merged government in Kentucky history.

“It was a bold step into the unknown,” said Mayor Linda Gorton. “It has helped build a fantastic city.”

On Thursday, Lexington celebrated the 50th anniversary of the merger with a special reception that included former mayors Teresa Isaac, Scotty Baesler and James Amato. Dozens of former council members also attended the Thursday night reception.

“In the early 1970s, leaders of the city commission and Fayette County Fiscal Court chose to take the innovative path forward to merge,” said Gorton. Gorton served 16 years on the council prior to being elected mayor in 2019.

To combine the county and city into one merged government took four years of planning. It was messy, complicated and took a lot of compromise.

Bethanie Smithley and Timothy Curtsinger were kids when their church, Trinity Baptist, which was on the city and county line, burned down.

County and city fire departments showed up. There was a fight over who had jurisdiction. It was that fire and other problems that prompted people to start talking about merging city and county government, Smithley said. Tony Curtsinger, their father, eventually became a member of the first merged government council and later served as public safety commissioner. Smithley and Timothy Curtsinger attended Thursday night’s reception.

Councilman Fred Brown, who has served on the council off and on for decades, said the first council worked nonstop trying to sort out all of the issues that arose when two governments with two very different rules and ordinances combined.

Gorton agreed.

“The work of these leaders has helped prevent duplication of services, and promoted efficient local government. I am excited to celebrate, 50 years later, the continued progress of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government,” Gorton said.