Allegheny Institute Blog

Two communities in southeast Allegheny County, White Oak and Versailles, have begun talks to merge services. The talks have focused on merging services such as police, fire, EMS, public works, and administration. While talks have only just begun, optimism from both councils is high. As the Versailles council president put it “Merging services makes sense. We’re a small town with a stagnant tax base that always must look for ways to save taxpayers money. I’m optimistic something can be worked out that would benefit everyone involved.”

Hopefully these talks will evolve into a fruitful merger of services for these two towns and provide a blueprint for other small municipalities to follow. This is exactly what needs to happen in many communities around Allegheny County—merge services where it makes sense.

This will not only save each community money it will allow them to maintain their identities. This is precisely the tonic that ails most communities in Allegheny County. But instead of swallowing the kool-aid of regionalism, and clamoring for a mass city-county merger, these two communities are embracing sensible changes to save their taxpayers money and hopefully improve the efficiency in which services are delivered.