Governments galore: 19 towns, 15 villages, one city and one county. All for a population of about 450,000.
Tom Buckel, the Democratic challenger in the 7th district Onondaga County legislature race, argues so many governments do more harm than good.
“We need to stop the small-minded infighting that comes when you have so many different local governments,” said Buckel,. “These small governments are not only stumbling over each other but fighting for time and resources.”
Buckel is challenging four-term incumbent Republican Jim DiBlasi in Nov. 6’s election. Throughout his campaign, Buckel has been outspoken about his consolidation plans. He supports modernizing a county government he calls “woefully outdated” and “stuck in an 1800s structure.”
Buckel joins several local leaders and groups in calling for consolidation. Retiring County Executive Nick Pirro has proposed consolidating city and county purchasing and finance in his past five State of the County addresses. But there have been little results.
Buckel says improving efficiency is at the heart of his consolidation plans. He insists merging governments will allow for local leaders to work together and pool resources.
Buckel calls for:
-
Merging Syracuse city and Onondaga County into one government.
-
Promoting the mergers of towns and villages.
-
Centralizing important local government functions, such as transportation, economic development and planning, among others.
-
Creating an Internet process for government procurement to help local governments pool their purchasing power to find lower prices.
Overlapping governments have led to less progress as opposed to more, Buckel said. He cited an outdated sewer system in the Salina and Lyncourt areas that has not been fixed despite decades of flooding as an example. “Neither the town or county government have gotten together to address the problem,” he said.
Buckel portrays consolidation as a starting point to his main goal: revitalizing the region. He cites declines in both the population and economy in recent decades as issues that consolidation can help address.
Larry Bousquet, a local lawyer and friend of Buckel’s, chaired a 2005 Onondaga Citizens League study on government consolidation. The study analyzed Central New York’s struggling economy and population to see if consolidation could help. The OLC study found consolidation would be a good first step to addressing the region’s problems, Bousquet said.
But consolidation is easier said than done. “The biggest challenge is you have a bunch of people who are elected officials who are resistant to change,” Bousquet. “And the change has to come from the electorate. People aren’t going to change government structures that basically empower them.”
A merger of the city and the county like Buckel supports would require a double referendum vote by the electorate, which can be difficult to achieve, Bousquet said.
Buckel also acknowledged the challenge in bringing about the consolidation he thinks will help the region. “People don’t like change,” he said.
But Buckel insists with the right leadership and education of the community about the benefits of consolidation, change can be achieved. And he urges it is a necessary step.
“We,” Buckel said,” need the power of the collective group to accomplish things.”
(Melanie Hicken is a junior newspaper major.)
-30-
