NATION Several states trying new ways to further consolidate services

Many of Ohio's 88 counties are trying to come up with ways to ease proposed cuts in state money.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Suburban Anderson Township takes pride in the services it offers its 43,000 residents, but draws the line at funding its own police department.
Another suburb takes the opposite view, refusing to give up its 28-person taxpayer-financed force.
"People can drive up here and talk to the chief," said Delhi Township administrator Joseph Morency. "That wouldn't be possible in some regionalized police department."
The sharing of government services by different communities is as old as the republic itself, from joint fire departments to school districts spread across several towns.
With budgets tight and state revenue limited, at least a dozen states are exploring ways to consolidate further, with mixed results.
An incentive to try
In Ohio, counties and townships are considering lawmakers' carrot-and-stick approach to ease the pain of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed cuts in state aid.
The cut would be reduced by half -- to 10 percent -- for counties willing to work toward consolidation of services. Townships -- whose funding would be cut by 10 percent -- could qualify for state aid to study consolidation.
"Bigger is not always better, but if there is a chance to consolidate services and improve efficiency, then we need to look at the ways that could be done," said Rep. Larry Flowers, a suburban Columbus Republican pushing the measure.
Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and state lawmakers disagreed on whether township approval would be needed to combine township fire departments in Marion County. Peterson said that would put the decision in the hands of those who could lose their jobs under consolidation. Lawmakers did agree that the sheriff and police departments could be merged with the OK only of the City-County Council.
"The battle doesn't end here," said Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell. "The battle ends when it happens."
Complications for one city
In Minnesota, the city of St. Cloud is in three counties, which means there are duplicate social services and varying standards for things such as property zoning, said Democratic state Rep. Joe Opatz. He has proposed a bill that would allow the counties to modify their boundaries, leaving St. Cloud in just one of the three.
"The county lines are based on a 19th century model that was created when the city was a different place," Opatz said.
St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker doesn't completely agree with that solution but also thinks that the current situation is inefficient.
"We have seven cities, five police departments and three sheriff's offices providing law enforcement for 120,000 people," Ellenbecker said. "Finding a way to eliminate duplication of facilities and bureaucracy would be a real advantage to taxpayers."
More local governments are interested in consolidation in the face of federal and state funding cutbacks and taxpayer revolts, said Kurt Thurmaier, a political science professor at Iowa State University in Ames, who co-edited a collection of case studies on city-county consolidations. But legislatures' attempts to redraw local government boundaries from the top down rarely succeed.
"Another method is for legislatures to give cities and counties more home rule and allow them to reconfigure their structures the way they want," he said. "This provides more flexibility, and chances are that if they start debating changes they will come up with some that work."
Senators in Kansas overwhelmingly approved a bill allowing cities and counties to consolidate two years ago, only to see it die in the House. During this session, there were a few proposals regarding city-county consolidation, but only one specific to Topeka and Shawnee County had made it through the Legislature.
"We need to work to eliminate the overlap and duplication of services and reduce the number of entities with taxation authority," said Senate President Stephen Morris. "Our effort will be ongoing."
In Pennsylvania, where 1,100 municipalities have their own police departments, the state has been urging consolidation of police services. Thirty-two of those mergers have succeeded since 1970, while three failed, said Leslie Suhr, spokeswoman for the Department of Community Economic Development.
The National Taxpayers Union supports shared services as an alternative to raising taxes, said spokesman Pete Sepp.
"The problem is always to make sure government doesn't squander the money saved by consolidating," he said.
In Wisconsin
But few local governments in Wisconsin that consolidated services with neighboring communities saved money in the short term, according to a 2003 study of nine such mergers.
The report by the University of Wisconsin Extension Local Government Center said there's no guarantee that consolidations help communities deal with cuts in state aid and the prospect of limits on property taxes.
Counties in Ohio are willing to consider the idea but say they need more time. Townships are generally more interested in preserving their current state funding. Some fear that sharing services could lead to consolidation of governments and the end of some townships.
Anderson Township, a middle-class community of homes on the southeast side of Cincinnati, balked several years ago at the $3 million annual cost to take over policing duties from the county.