Dissolution and Consolidation Equals Increased Costs for Taxpayers
By Jim Willis on Dec 27, 2007 in Government & Politics | Printable Version
More talk of dissolution from our local government leaders. The drumbeat gets louder. I’ve written on this topic before (Efforts to Consolidate Local Government a Dead Issue). The latest leader talking about it is John Bertoni (D), Mayor-Elect of Endicott. Mr. Bertoni has asked two Endicott trustees to attend the Johnson City meetings on dissolving their Village. According to the Press & Sun-Bulletin:
He [Bertoni] has asked trustees [Frank] Flint and David Baker to sit in on a dissolution planning process being developed at the Village of Johnson City to gather information that might apply to Endicott. Before dissolution can be seriously discussed, he said, stakeholders need information about whether it will save money and affect services.
I applaud Mayor-Elect Bertoni for dispatching two trustees to “check it out” before Endicott blindly runs down the same dead-end alley JC is about to navigate.
There are two things you need to keep in mind when it comes to the topic of “dissolution”: (1) Dissolution means consolidation. There is no such thing as simply dissolving a government entity. If Endicott decides to dissolve, government services still go on. They just get done somewhere else (the Town of Union in this case). (2) It does not save the taxpayers money.
According to a study done by Marshall University, the initial impact of consolidation is higher costs for taxpayers (see my previous article on this for details).
This is the equation I see: Dissolution = Consolidation = Higher Costs for Taxpayers = Centralized Political Control = Less Responsive Government. And isn’t that the end result? Less responsive government because there are fewer representatives that are more insulated from those they govern. And taxpayers actually pay more for the consolidation as a bonus.
Let’s hope JC and Endicott figure it out before they waste time and money chasing another liberal pipe dream.
Technorati Tags: Endicott, Mayor John Bertoni, Endicott NY, government consolidation, government dissolution, Marshall University
Roger Thornhill | Dec 27, 2007 | Reply
Exactly.
Larger government always costs more.
Which translates into higher taxes.
Which equals flight to a better tax climate.
Welcome to New York, Land of the Fee, Home of the (tax)Slave.
R. Thornhill
Jim Willis | Dec 28, 2007 | Reply
I like it Roger. “Land of the Fee - Home of the Tax Slave” is a perfect description of life in NYS.