Community members expressed strong skepticism about the potential for a merger between the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County governments in a town hall meeting Monday night.

About 60 people filled a room in the Southwest Community Center to participate in a community-wide discussion led by the citizen group Consensus. The group, composed of legislators and community members, issued “Options Report and Preliminary Committee Recommendations” in late January. In the report, the group made preliminary recommendations to create a new city-county government that would allow towns and villages to “opt-in” to the new government.

The 83-page report also listed dozens of challenges and recommendations in five different categories: infrastructure, public safety, municipal operations, economic development and governance.

Four representatives from Consensus moderated the meeting.

The town hall meeting was divided into two parts. The first 40 minutes were spent on a presentation on the current state of governance in both Onondaga County and Syracuse. The presentation also included examples of consolidation in other cities.

In response to concerns raised in previous meetings that minority groups would lose their representation if a merger were to occur, Kevin Schwab, a Consensus member, showed that in Indianapolis, the proportion of black legislators increased from 7 percent prior to a consolidation with Madison County to 24 percent eight years after the merger in 1978.

The second part of the meeting was opened up to community members to ask questions and raise concerns.

A man from Syracuse said he does not see how the merger would work, pointing out that the city would lose its representation in a new city-county government, while towns and villages would have the option to “opt-in,” which he said would trigger regional conflicts.

Another man said he is concerned that if the merger happened, residents in Onondaga County would have substantial power to control decisions about Syracuse operations.

In response to this concern, Schwab said a majority needs to vote in favor of the consolidation in two separate referendums — one for residents of the city and another for residents of the county who are not residents of the city. Schwab said if constituents vote down in one of the two referendums, the merger will not take place.

A woman from Syracuse said she is in favor of “exploring” ideas of the consolidation.

“We have to try something different,” she said, adding that some fiscal situations in towns and villages in Onondaga County are “unsustainable.”

The audience repeatedly brought up questions on why there are no specific blueprints as to what a potentially merged government would look like and how it will be created. The Consensus members said that in other cases, showcasing models of government during merger discussion failed in other places.

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned in late February that there would be “a serious problem” if a talk over the merger between the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County fell apart, according to syracuse.com.

Alfonso Davis, a community activist, said that although he likes Cuomo, he would describe the tactic Cuomo used as “bullying.”

Davis added that he would like to see discussions on the merger include education and clarify what the structure of a new city-county government would look like.

Sharon Owens, a member of Consensus and one of the moderators of the discussion, said after the meeting that distrust between city and county residents has been expressed at the series of meetings about the merger.

“This is evoking emotion,” Owens said. “People are very protective of their community, their constituents. They are protective of their way of life.”

The Consensus report, which recommended creating a city-county government, highlighted challenges facing the city and the county, including a decrease in population, fragmentation and duplication in services, administrative tasks, policy implementations and fiscal suitability.

Owens said community members need to have a conversation about the population decrease and the high concentration of poverty that is “embarrassing to this community.”

Ruthnie Angrand, a meeting attendee and marketing professional, said she hopes Consensus simplifies complex ideas and will be patient and have a simple call to action to get people involved in a discussion about the potential merger.

Community input for the report was extended to from March 16 to May 1, said Consensus member Melanie Littlejohn.

Published on March 1, 2016 at 12:24 am

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