SHARON, FARRELL City of Sharrell? Reaction mixed to merger plan

DeCapua's plan calls for a higher wage tax but much lower property taxes.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- A proposal for Sharon and Farrell to consolidate into a new municipality didn't garner enthusiastic support, but officials agreed to meet again on the issue.
James DeCapua, executive director of the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments, developed the plan on his own authority and asked the Sharon and Farrell city councils to a meeting at his office Tuesday to review it.
He said that much of his information came from a larger, five-municipality look at consolidating Sharon, Farrell, Hermitage, Wheatland and Sharpsville.
That study ended with no recommendations. It gave DeCapua some background, however, for developing a model for a new community he called "Sharrell."
The reaction of officials was mixed.
"I'm interested in it because I don't think we can stay the way we are anymore," said Fred Hoffman, Sharon council president, adding that he'd be happy if the effort just leads to increased shared services.
Mayor William Morocco of Farrell, who also is council president there, said he's still holding out hope that the five-municipal study will come before residents of the five municipalities for a vote.
Talks between Farrell and Sharon could continue as well, he said.
None of the elected bodies in the five municipalities have moved to put the earlier consolidation issue on the ballot. Getting it there would require that residents in each municipality sign petitions demanding a referendum on the issue.
Mayor David O. Ryan of Sharon doesn't have a vote on the Sharon-Farrell proposal, but he does have questions about the figures DeCapua used to put the plan together.
"I'm for pursuing this further," said Councilman Mark Petrillo of Farrell, but Councilmen Rudy Hammond and Olive Brown of Farrell as well as Chris Outrakis and Darin Flower of Sharon were noncommittal.
Sharon council has only four members right now, but the fifth seat is to be filled next week. DeCapua said he will call another meeting sometime after that to resume discussions.
Taxation
A key component of his plan is a major revision of the municipal tax base, calling for the new municipality to be a Home Rule Charter community that would have a wage tax of 1.75 percent.
Sharon's wage tax now is 0.5 percent while Farrell, already a home rule community, has a residential wage tax of 1.3 percent.
DeCapua said focusing on wage tax as a key revenue component would allow the new municipality to substantially reduce the property tax burden on its residents and businesses.
Sharon has a 42.5-mill property tax now while Farrell has a 22.67-mill property tax.
Under DeCapua's plan, the property tax could be reduced to just 12-15 mills, depending on how much revenue the new city would require.
Farrell already has a council-manager form of government while Sharon has a strong mayor-council government.
DeCapua's plan calls for a council-manager form of government with a seven-member council and a part-time mayor.
Fire department
Sharon has an 18-member paid fire department while Farrell has only two paid firefighters supplemented by volunteers.
The departments could merge, keeping a 20-member paid force but supplementing it with volunteers, DeCapua said.
The $1,360,000 required to fund the department should be taken out of the general fund budget and paid for with a fire service fee assessed against industrial and commercial businesses, homeowners and renters, he said.
The commercial and industrial operations would pay a higher percentage of the fee because they will get substantial property tax breaks, DeCapua added.
Police
Sharon had 27 full-time police officers in 2003, and Farrell had 13, who also serve West Middlesex and Wheatland.
A combined police force could maintain that 40 full-time complement plus add 10 part-time officers, DeCapua said.
It costs the two cities nearly $2.7 million a year for police services, but a joint department could be run for nearly $130,000 less, he said.
Finally, the general cost of government administration could be cut by nearly $250,000 a year through the elimination of duplicated municipal buildings, services and employees, DeCapua said.
He asked that elected officials give residents a chance to vote on a referendum on the issue, saying a vote could be scheduled as early as November.
gwin@vindy.com