City-County Merger Study shows No Economic Development Benefits

While local leaders like Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl support a city-county merger because of increased economic development, a recent study by a Ball State researcher says there aren’t such benefits.

Dagney Faulk, research director at Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research, says statistics from three consolidated areas that merged in the mid 1990s show no signs of increased economic development, although supporters often use that aspect as a primary argument. She says the study focused on the change of total employment and the change in the number of businesses established before and after a merger, and there were not any visible differences.

However, Faulk says this doesn’t mean there aren’t any benefits, citing increased accountability, lower cost of government and increased citizens’ satisfaction.

Officials Discuss Why Merger Is Stalled

Local and state government officials disagree over why a proposed merger of the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County has stalled. Fourteen months ago Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onorato called for the consolidation with the other 129 municipalities in the county remaining independent. About 200 people attended a forum in Pittsburgh yesterday to hear why the idea has not moved forward. Onorato said the city and county need the General Assembly to pass legislation allowing for local voters to cast ballots on a merger. Onorato said he would write the bill but state lawmakers don't want him and Ravenstahl doing their jobs. Some state lawmakers told the forum that local officials aren't ready.

Monaca-Center Merger Approved

The first ever voluntary merger of Pennsylvania school districts was completed today when the state Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of allowing two Beaver County schools to join. The consolidation of Monaca and Center School districts will officially begin July 1, 2009. Board of Education spokesman Michael Race says the merger will benefit both students--by providing better academic programming--and the taxpayer by cutting costs within the district. Race also says the Board would like to see other small districts take the same action. Some other schools have already begun the merger process, he says, but did not specify which ones.

City/County Merger gets Quiet Hearing

Despite gathering at least 25 signatures to call for a public hearing on the possibility of a city county merger only 6 people took to the lectern Tuesday to voice their opinion. Among them was great Pittsburgh League of Women Voters President Suzanne Broughton whose group supports a merging of the city and county while leaving school districts and the other municipalities intact. She says one major concern is making sure voting districts are drawn to ensure good representation for everyone including minorities. Pittsburgh Democratic Committee Chair Barbara Ernsberg presented a long list of reasons why she feels the merger would be ill advised. She says she does not want the city’s elected offices to be eliminated. She also says she sees no real pension and debt solution, fears a weakening of minority representation and is worried about a loss of city identity. She also is worried that boards created to protect citizens such as the citizens police review board and the zoning board would be eliminated because there is no equivalent at the county level.