Levy failures strengthen case for 911 consolidation

Voters’ overwhelming rejection of new tax issues on this month’s general election ballot — most notably a 4.1-mill operating levy in Boardman Township — should finally inspire Mahoning County communities to consolidate select public services.

It’s simply a matter of dollars and sense.

In Boardman, voters shot down the levy, designed to raise $4 million annually to maintain a stable level of township safety and other services, by a convincing 1,800-vote margin. Boardman, among Ohio’s most populous townships, must now map out plans to restructure government to ensure critical services are provided without breaking the township bank.

Once again, voters in Boardman and other communities throughout the Valley registered their collective discontent with public bodies that continually thumb their noses at taxpayers by resisting cost cutting and streamlining to balance budgets.

Fewer options now

Now, however, Boardman and other financially strapped communities in Mahoning County have few options other than cost cutting and streamlining. Consolidation and regionalization serve as prime engines toward that end.

While the Regional Chamber of commerce in the Mahoning Valley is proposing grand initiatives, including adoption of charter forms of government in Trumbull and Mahoning counties and consolidating central administrative services for school districts into one office per county, communities can act independently and more quickly on smaller-scale mergers that could result in large-scale economies.

As we have argued in the past, a fine place to take that first baby step toward consolidation would be merging the eight 911 emergency dispatch centers in the county into one centralized office. Officials estimate the cost savings at approximately $1 million by eliminating duplication of services.

Unfortunately, the proposal has languished for about four years now. Some local and county leaders have been reticent to abandon the Valley’s signature parochialism to embrace cooperation, collaboration and change.

But as communities like Boardman sink deeper and deeper into financial black holes, any and all viable opportunities to cut costs without harming delivery of services must be studied, planned and implemented. 911 stands out as a starting point.

Discussion has begun

Coincidentally, Mahoning County leaders at a recent summit sponsored by the Regional Chamber began informal discussions on a centralized Mahoning 911 Center. County Commissioner Chairman Anthony Traficanti has pledged to renew the drive, according to chamber leader Tom Humphries. We look for Traficanti to translate his words into deeds, perhaps starting with a meeting of officials of all eight 911 centers to chart a timetable for change.

For too long, the county and Valley have missed or wasted opportunities for consolidation of government services, much to the chagrin of the taxpayers. The longer elected officials cling to the rickety, inefficient and costly status quo, the harder it will be for them to persuade voters to approve tax renewals, let alone tax increases. Vital public services that do make sense to keep local will continue to suffer.

Let realization of a centralized 911 emergency response network for Mahoning County become a target project in all communities in 2008 and serve as a springboard for larger initiatives to unite our fragmented fiefdoms for the collective good.

We look for local and county officials to seize the moment and demonstrate a serious will to chart a course toward collaboration and consolidation of 911. Delivery of stable, cost-efficient public services hangs in the balance.