2 towns in region consider merging

By Jeanne Starmack

If approved by voters in Shenango Township and West Middlesex this fall, the new government would take effect in 2012.

WEST MIDDLESEX, Pa. — West Middlesex and Shenango Township voters will decide this fall whether they want to merge their communities into West Middlesex Township.

The merger question will be on the ballot in both communities after township supervisors voted 3-2 last month to put it there, and the borough council voted unanimously to do the same.

Now, three public meetings will be set to inform voters what will happen under such a change.

The first one is at 7 p.m. Monday at West Middlesex High school. Consultant Alan Kugler of the Erie company PA Futures will outline what would come to pass, said Shenango supervisors Chairman Robert Palko.

“I hope everyone will come with an open mind,” said Bob Lucich, borough council president.

Palko and Lucich say a big advantage in a merger would be that by combining populations, it will be easier to get state grants.

Kugler said that’s true, not so much because of population increase but because of the status and “tremendous exposure” the new township would have from the merger.

A community does have to have more than 4,000 people to be eligible for community development block grant funds, Kugler said.

There are other technicalities to consider in getting those grants, he said, but the merger would put the new township solidly above 4,000. According to the latest population figures available in the 2000 Census, Shenango Township has 4,037 people and the borough has 924, he said. He said, though, that population has been declining.

That decline concerns Lucich.

“Unfortunately, the populations are older and decreasing,” Lucich said. “We can’t get grants because we don’t have enough people.”

If the merger passes, the new government would begin in 2012, Kugler said. Meanwhile, the two old governments would work on the transition.

A new, five-member board of supervisors would be voted in, and the new entity would be a second-class township. Kugler said the population isn’t high enough for a city, and becoming a borough wouldn’t be practical for the amount of land the entity would cover.

Not everyone likes the idea of a merger.

Bill Williams, a township supervisor and chief of the township’s volunteer fire department, said he believes the merger will be bad for Shenango Township residents.

He said he believes taxes will go up, and there’s nothing to gain for the township.

“West Middlesex is one mile square, and they have nowhere to go,” he said. “We don’t need them to grow.”

Williams said West Middlesex residents would see a drop in their taxes from 23 mills to 9.1 mills under the new government, and Shenango Township residents will see theirs rise from 8.5 mills to 9.1.

Kugler disputed Williams’ assertion. He said the 9.1 figure, previously calculated as the new township’s millage, was preliminary. He said the new projection is 8 mills. That’s unchanged from Shenango Township’s current millage, which is 8, not 8.5, he said.

Taxes might rise in the future depending on increasing costs, especially for fuel, he said. But they won’t increase because of a new government, he said.

Williams also said he doesn’t believe a merger could be achieved between the township and borough volunteer fire departments.

Palko said that because the departments are volunteer, they could not be forced to merge.

“No way,” said Williams. “We don’t work with them [the borough’s department] now.”

Raymond Lucich, West Middlesex fire chief, could not be reached to comment.

Police service would not be a merger issue. The township and borough are served now by the Southwest Regional Police Department.

Palko said the idea to put the merger question on the ballot came from the governments themselves.

“We met four or five years ago about some shared services. The two governments kept meeting and decided to put it on the ballot,” he said.

The ballot question was shot down by the former board of supervisors, he said. “But supervisors now want to let the people decide,” he said.

Palko said there would be a cost savings initially in the merger of $2,000 to $3,000 a year, but bigger savings would come as consolidation of office staff, road crews and sewer authorities occurred. He said the merger could eventually save $30,000 a year. He believes that savings will keep taxes down as costs, especially for fuel, go up.

“We can save money by getting rid of duplication,” said borough council president Lucich.

A problem, at least at first, will be getting everyone to work together, he said.

“Change does not go over well.”

Lucich said the public meetings will allow voters to make an educated decision about a merger. After Monday’s, one will be scheduled in September and one in October.

“Please come with an open mind and bring questions,” he said.