SHENANGO VALLEY Group asks to see plan for new city
Opponents predict higher taxes and lower services for Hermitage residents.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Where's the plan that shows how a new municipality would function should Hermitage, Sharon, Sharpsville, Farrell and Wheatland consolidate into a single entity?
That's the question being raised by Hermitage Citizens Against Consolidation, an ad hoc group formed recently to oppose the consolidation effort.
So far, no similar groups have surfaced in the other municipalities.
"There's no plan," said Bob Miller, HCAC chairman.
Consolidation proponents, however, say a plan is in the works and will be presented to the public over the next several weeks.
The initial version shows a $2.9 million annual overall reduction in government costs, although the biggest portion of that, $1.8 million, would involve shifting the cost of fire service from the general fund to a special fire service fee that residents and businesses would have to pay.
Another ad hoc group, Citizens For the Valley, is pushing the consolidation issue and has secured sufficient signatures on voter petitions in all five municipalities to get the question on the Nov. 2 election ballot.
Study concluded
A four-year study looking at the feasibility of consolidating the five municipalities came to an end in November 2003, with an intergovernmental study committee making no recommendations on any form of joint government.
The committee came up with a model that it said wouldn't work. The study determined consolidation would increase costs rather than reduce them.
The study was predicated on the grounds that no one currently employed in any of the municipalities would lose a job and that no one would suffer a pay cut. Those at the lower ends of the pay scales would get wage increases equal to what those in the better-paying municipalities were offering.
Gregg Buchanan of Hermitage and a small group of citizens didn't want to see the issue end there and decided to give the people the right to determine if consolidation would be in their best interests.
Issue on ballot
They circulated petitions and succeeded in getting the issue on the ballot in the form of a referendum asking if the five municipalities should consolidate into a new city to be known as Shenango Valley that would be governed by a nine-member council and a home-rule charter.
The specifics don't go much further than that, although Buchanan's group is drafting a plan to show how the new city should function.
If voters approve the plan, the current municipal governments would have two years to arrange the consolidation, but it's not clear if they would be bound by the proposal developed by Citizens For the Valley. The ballot question isn't that specific.
Miller says that means people are being asked to approve something without any clear picture of what the final product will be.
"It's going to be a circus," he predicted. "Everybody's going to sue everybody."
If the number of police officers is cut to reduce costs in the new government, who has the right to those fewer jobs, he asked, predicting the dispute would likely end in court.
If some police are asked to take a pay cut, that could end up in a lawsuit as well, Miller added.
Most of the five municipalities have largely volunteer fire departments. Will Sharon's paid firefighters union go to court if the consolidation threatens to eliminate some of their jobs, he asked.
Plan for taxes
There's also no definitive plan of how taxes would be handled, Miller said.
Hermitage has the lowest real estate tax but the highest earned income tax.
What happens to the tax base and what will new rates be? he asked.
His group predicts there will be higher taxes and lower services for people living in Hermitage.
Consolidation proponents say the move would make the new city the third-largest municipality in western Pennsylvania, with about 44,000 people.
But, bigger isn't necessarily better, Miller said, pointing out that Pittsburgh, the largest city in western Pennsylvania, is rated by the state as a financially distressed municipality.
"Is that what we want to aspire to? It's an issue of quality of life in a small town in western Pennsylvania as we know it," he said. "I can't comprehend how anybody would vote for this."
When Hickory Township (now Hermitage) considered becoming a home-rule community in the 1970s, voters were asked if a government study commission should be formed to come up with a plan, Miller said.
Voters approved the idea and nine people, including Miller, were elected to the commission.
They had open meetings, developed a home-rule charter proposal and took it back to the township commissioners who then took it to the voters who approved it.
There was full disclosure of all plans for the new form of government throughout the process. There was a plan presented that people could weigh and consider before casting a vote, Miller said.
A brochure produced by HCAC touts Hermitage as "the best community in the world" and a place "everyone wants to live in."
"We've come far, grown much, enjoyed prosperity. Do we continue or step back 20 years?" the brochure asks.
The Hermitage Rotary wants the public to be informed about the consolidation issue and has offered to sponsor a debate open to both sides at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at Hickory High School.
gwin@vindy.com