PENNSYLVANIA Hermitage commissioners oppose city consolidation

Officials don't believe the move would be in the city's best interest.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- All five of the Hermitage city commissioners oppose a plan to consolidate the city with the neighboring municipalities of Sharon, Farrell, Sharpsville and Wheatland.
Commissioners made their positions known at Thursday's work session at the insistence of Commissioner Pat White, who said the public is asking where the board stands on the issue, which is the subject of a referendum on the Nov. 2 election ballot.
White has made it clear in the past that he opposes consolidation.
Sylvia Stull, commission president, said she doesn't believe consolidation is feasible and she won't support it. She said she thinks higher taxes and reduced services for Hermitage residents would be the result.
Commissioner Duane Piccirilli said he doesn't support the issue on the ballot and Commissioner William Moder said he's seen no evidence of a plan showing how the new government would work.
Commissioner Larry Gurrera, who served as a councilman in Farrell for six years before moving to Hermitage, said a consolidation would likely help Farrell but hurt Hermitage in the long run and he's not in favor of it.
Consolidation plan
Commissioners spoke after hearing from Robert Jazwinski of JFS Wealth Advisors of Hermitage, who served as chairman of the financial subcommittee on the four-year intergovernmental study committee examination of the feasibility of the consolidation.
That committee ended its work in November without making any recommendations for any type of joint municipal government.
Jazwinski said he favors consolidation but feels the referendum is premature and he won't support it. There's no workable plan to do a consolidation, he said, adding that his subcommittee's financial analysis showed that a proposed city model would have a $2 million revenue shortfall.
However, James DeCapua, executive director of the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments and a consolidation supporter, said a detailed consolidation plan is being put together by the Citizens For the Valley, the ad hoc group that got the issue on the ballot.
He is helping to draft a plan that would reduce general fund expenditures by $2.9 million, compared with the total the five communities are spending now.
What would change
More than $1.8 million in savings would be realized by removing fire protection from the budget and shifting that cost to a fire service fee in each of five fire service districts reflecting current municipal boundaries, he said.
Sharon residents, who have a fully paid fire force, would pay a higher fire service fee than the other municipalities which have primarily volunteer fire departments, he said.
Another $675,000 would be saved through general government consolidations while $435,000 more would be saved by cutting the current 85 full-time police positions in the five municipalities to 69 full-time and 16 part-time posts, he said.
White challenged the plan to impose fire service fees, noting the state told the committee they are illegal.
DeCapua said he's been told the fees can be assessed.
He said the consolidation plan will be fully developed and presented before the election.