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Merger talks welcomed with some reservations
(by Sali McSherry - June 29, 2011)
Merger talks welcomed with some reservations
By SALI McSHERRY
Orange Mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy said Tuesday she has no preconceived notion of whether merging with Moreland Hills, Pepper Pike and Woodmere will be beneficial.
"I want to see the numbers," she said, and the data will have to be quantified.
The mayors of the four municipalities will meet with the Cuyahoga County planning commission after the July 4 holiday to begin gathering information needed to study a possible merger, she said.
The foursome, along with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed Fitzgerald, made the announcement last week that a merger among the communities would be studied.
"The reality is this whole area is not gaining population yet costs are going up," Pepper Pike Mayor Bruce H. Akers said. The city learned the hard way last year, when City Council placed an income tax increase on the ballot that was defeated, that residents are not in favor of higher taxes, he said.
It's obvious, he said, that the state wants to eliminate estate tax revenue that has gone to municipalities. Communities have to work together to create greater efficiencies and get rid of redundancies, Mr. Akers said.
While a potential merger could be a logical outcome, because the four communities share the same school system, recreation department, library and senior adult programming, there are complications. Hunting Valley also is part of the Orange School District, but it currently is not included in the merger study, there are complications.
In addition, Moreland Hills Mayor Susan C. Renda said, about 40 percent of the school-age children in her village attend Chagrin Falls schools.
Hunting Valley Mayor John D. Wheeler said while his village was not asked to participate in merger discussions with the county and he isn't sure what the village's response would be. He has not received any phone calls from residents complaining that Hunting Valley wasn't included, he said.
When Mr. Fitzgerald became the county executive, Mr. Akers said, he talked to the county mayors and managers' association and said he was looking for ways to collaborate. He distributed a questionnaire to the mayors so they could indicate which services they would like to collaborate with the county on.
Woodmere Mayor Charles E. Smith has been working with Mr. Akers to make a deal in which Woodmere contracts for emergency dispatch services with Pepper Pike. Regarding the merger, he said, "The process isn't defined yet. What will happen is we will get the cooperation from the county and hopefully monies to help with research and studies being done."
Bettie Perry, former Woodmere mayor and councilwoman, said the study is warranted, because there's so much duplication of services and equipment. But the jury is out about whether citizens will vote for it, she said, due to loyalty to their communities. "Some people will think, 'They're going to take our village away,'" and not realize they have control over the situation, he said. Residents will have the right to vote to allow the communities to be merged, she said.
Former Moreland Hills Councilman Daniel Fritz, who is a volunteer firefighter in Orange, said, "I've always been a vocal proponent of regionalism and the potential benefits it can bring when considering the safety services. However, I believe it is a bit premature to comment on a merger of the four communities being discussed." Right now discussion centers on whether to participate in the study, he said.
"Without undeniable and substantial cost savings to Moreland Hills residents, my expectation is that our residents would eventually not opt for a formal merger. We can only learn of these potentialities if we study them," Mr. Fritz said.
Former Pepper Pike Councilman Richard Bain said, "A study of a possible merger is fine and appropriate, but it is not a panacea or necessarily the best answer. What is important is aggressively pursuing regional expense saving measures. It may not be necessary to merge the city and villages if regional savings are realized and so also save the unique characters of these places which many residents may prefer."
Pepper Pike Councilwoman Gail Mayland said, "I think it is wonderful. The engagement of residents on important issues is open democracy at its best."
The communities share more services than most people know, said Ms. Mulcahy, who is the Chagrin Southeast Region representative to the Cuyahoga County planning commission. In a speech to Orange Village Council in June, she said there already are many examples of collaboration and consolidation, such as councils of governments in the Chagrin Valley, mutual aid agreements, Southeast Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team, Valley Enforcement Group, Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council and others.
"Moreland Hills residents have already benefited from regional cooperation," Mr. Fritz said. "For example, the Chagrin Falls and Orange village fire departments worked with our village and helped to draft measures which have improved response time issues. Those types of relationships will, and should, continue even in the absence of a formal merger," he said.
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