A Ray of Light?

HERKIMER CO. TOWNS TALK CONSOLIDATION:

Herkimer County and its municipalities are taking the first steps to what could become a 20- to 30-year process of consolidation.

Initial plans discussed this week involve looking into creating an economic development committee, purchasing supplies in bulk through the county and collectively buying chlorine for the multiple water-treatment plants in the county.

"We want it to start small then continue growing," Frankfort Mayor Frank Moracco said. "We don't want to overwhelm ourselves."

Consolidation would help officials deal with the difficulties of providing services to residents without increasing taxes, Moracco said.

"We're all in the same predicament," he said.

The economic development committee would be similar to the Herkimer County Chamber of Commerce and could include members from the chamber, county and municipalities. The committee would market the county as a unified entity because any business that moves into the county will help everyone, Moracco said.

"I think it's important that we're all on the same page," he said.

Cutting personnel and combining in areas such as highway departments, departments of public works, light and power, garbage services and fire and police departments could free up huge amounts of money for the municipalities, Herkimer County Legislator Vincent Bono said.

Another meeting might take place within a month, Bono said.

"The county's willing to help out anyway it can," he said.

During a meeting Tuesday at the Ilion Municipal Hall to discuss consolidation, Bono brought up the idea that maybe the villages should eventually merge into their towns. The villages could still unofficially go by their old names, Bono said.

"Everybody talks about it," he said, "but when it comes down to it, people are scared to lose their identities."