SHENANGO VALLEY Merger stirs up debate

About 150 people turned out to hear both sides of the issue.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Merger, consolidation and unification are high on the priority list for Gov. Ed Rendell, and grant applications from consolidated entities get moved to the top of the state's list, said Kathleen McGinty.
She should know. She's the secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and she said her mandate from the governor's office is to give priority consideration to requests for assistance from consolidated or unified groups.
"There is strength when you pull together," McGinty told a group of Shenango Valley residents after a two-hour debate Thursday on the proposed municipal consolidation for Sharon, Hermitage, Farrell, Sharpsville and Wheatland.
Financial support
A question raised during the debate dealt with how much financial support the state will offer to help finance a consolidation.
Proponents of the plan say the state will provide assistance. Opponents say that isn't likely.
McGinty didn't participate in the debate but said later that such a consolidation would "put this part of the state on the map."
She made no monetary promises but made it clear that the governor and state agencies look favorably on consolidations.
The debate at the Penn State Shenango Theatre drew about 150 spectators and pitted Gregg Buchanan and George Gerhart of Citizens for the Valley, the group that got the consolidation issue on the Nov. 2 ballot, against Pat White, a Hermitage city commissioner opposed to consolidation.
White said the proposal is "a smoke-and-mirrors plan," pointing out there's no promise from the state to kick in tens of millions of dollars to fix the old infrastructure in some of the municipalities, and there's no real plan for any form of government operation.
A transition team, made up of the elected officials from the five municipalities, will make all of the government decisions should the issue pass, he said.
Stipulations
The only stipulations, based on the referendum question, are that the new city will be called Shenango Valley, be based on the Hermitage Home Rule Charter, and be run by a nine-member council.
Municipal mergers and consolidations typically involve small communities that have the same severe economic problems, White said.
That isn't the case here, where the new city would have a population of about 44,000, he said.
Hermitage doesn't have the economic problems that its neighbors have, he said, noting that Farrell is recovering from a state ranking as a financially distressed municipality.
A consolidation would drag Hermitage down but would drag the other four down as well, he said, predicting a dismal future if the referendum passes.
"Bigger isn't better," White said.
"Bigger isn't necessarily worse, either," replied Gerhart, arguing that becoming a single, large municipality would put the new city on the radar of companies looking for locations.
Buchanan urged voters to look beyond their own municipal borders at the bigger picture.
The status quo isn't working. Hermitage may be doing better than its four neighbors, but it isn't doing that great on a state or national scale, Buchanan said.
Opportunities
He said a consolidation would stem rising taxes by creating a streamlined, more efficient government. There would be fewer administrators and fewer employees without the need for five municipal buildings and five separate government structures, Buchanan added.
A single, larger city would be more attractive to companies looking for locations and would help give the Shenango Valley's young people opportunities for a better life here.
Now, young people are moving elsewhere to find jobs, Buchanan said.
He discussed possible tax scenarios, suggesting that property taxes would drop in most of the municipalities, but earned income taxes would rise in all but one. Those are only suggestions, he said, noting that final decisions on taxes and other issues would be made by a transition team.
Sharon businessman James E. Winner Jr. also addressed the group after the debate, saying that the five municipalities are really already one community.
"They belong together," he said, adding that the state stands solidly behind the concept of consolidation, from the governor's office on down.