Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Consolidation Efforts in Double Time
The region’s political and civic leaders have treaded carefully around the issue of government consolidation—they support it in principle, citing that we have “too many” municipalities, but implement changes at a glacial pace, proving that self-interest is a significant driving force in public life. After all, no one wants to voluntarily lose their position or be viewed as the one who ended the existence of a community or municipal service (as long as they want to be re-elected).
But there is a lot of talk about having two parks, two public works, two police, etc. as redundant as far as the City and County are concerned. A panel chaired by the head of the University of Pittsburgh is producing a study on the issue, and that might serve as a guide for future efforts. That study is likely to be released in the spring, but that’s not a definite.
So why is the City of Pittsburgh now creating a Task Force for Intergovernmental Cooperation to search for efficiencies between the City, the Pittsburgh Schools, the City authorities (URA, Water, etc.) and Allegheny County? Is it because the City is unsatisfied with the pace at which the Pitt study is moving? Is it to provide another menu of options for consolidation? Or is it to make sure that the City is a step ahead and does not get swallowed up in a mega City-County merger down the line?
It is too hard to say. It could just be posturing—another effort in a long line of task forces that say a lot but eventually do little. There was a City-County summit in the spring of 2004 that produced a series of reports but obviously not any earth-shaking recommendations as evidenced by the solicitation of Pitt.
In any case, the City Council passed the measure creating the new Task Force, and soon a City Council member, the Controller, and the Mayor (or their designees) will convene and the body will “exist until all possible efficiencies have been fully realized for the citizens and taxpayers of Pittsburgh and the surrounding region or until such time as City Council deems its work complete”. Based on history, that could be a long time.
But there is a lot of talk about having two parks, two public works, two police, etc. as redundant as far as the City and County are concerned. A panel chaired by the head of the University of Pittsburgh is producing a study on the issue, and that might serve as a guide for future efforts. That study is likely to be released in the spring, but that’s not a definite.
So why is the City of Pittsburgh now creating a Task Force for Intergovernmental Cooperation to search for efficiencies between the City, the Pittsburgh Schools, the City authorities (URA, Water, etc.) and Allegheny County? Is it because the City is unsatisfied with the pace at which the Pitt study is moving? Is it to provide another menu of options for consolidation? Or is it to make sure that the City is a step ahead and does not get swallowed up in a mega City-County merger down the line?
It is too hard to say. It could just be posturing—another effort in a long line of task forces that say a lot but eventually do little. There was a City-County summit in the spring of 2004 that produced a series of reports but obviously not any earth-shaking recommendations as evidenced by the solicitation of Pitt.
In any case, the City Council passed the measure creating the new Task Force, and soon a City Council member, the Controller, and the Mayor (or their designees) will convene and the body will “exist until all possible efficiencies have been fully realized for the citizens and taxpayers of Pittsburgh and the surrounding region or until such time as City Council deems its work complete”. Based on history, that could be a long time.
