Saturday, August 30, 2003
The earliest any merger proposal could go to the ballot is November 2004.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- It will take at least one more workshop for the Shenango Valley Intergovernmental Study Committee to complete its work.
Consultant Alan Kugler, overseeing the study process looking at a possible merger of Farrell, Sharon, Sharpsville, Wheatland and Hermitage, said the committee got through only about 80 percent of its review at a closed-door work session Saturday and will meet again Sept. 8 in an effort to finish.
At that point, the committee will have to decide whether it will recommend a merger of two, three, four or all five municipalities or if a merger wouldn't work for any of them.
Kugler said those findings would be reduced to writing and presented to the public, perhaps in late September.
Issues
There are a number of issues to overcome, not the least of which is the structure of a central government. The study subcommittee working on that issue has proposed a council-manager form of government with a home rule charter.
One rule set before the study was started in 1999 was that no one would lose their jobs. That means a single government would likely cost more to run than the five individual ones because everyone would have to be brought up to the highest pay level now paid among those municipalities for each specific job.
The police subcommittee alone estimated it would take an additional $1 million a year to maintain the same level of police protection.
Vote
If the committee doesn't recommend any merger, the process ends there, Kugler said. If the committee does recommend a merger of two or more municipalities, the governing bodies in those municipalities would have to vote on the matter.
If they approve it, it goes to the electorate as a referendum in each municipality. If any council rejects it, the citizens of that municipality could still push it to a referendum vote.
Kugler said it will be November 2004 before the issue could get on the ballot, even if everyone agreed.
There was some suggestion from at least one Hermitage official earlier this month that the city might drop out of the study at this point, but Kugler said Tuesday he is confident that all five will remain in the process until the end.