Eventually, We Need to Take a Look

As promised, a new beginning...

And what better way to begin again than to weigh in, at least a little bit, on the Oneonta Town-City merger conversation. A somewhat loud, and, at times, unpleasant conversation, to be sure.

My position is simple: let's take a look. I think that no one really knows what the merged landscape would look like for sure, in detail. Those who come closest are probably Bill Shue and Al Colone, of GO-EDC, two enterprising citizens who have been beating the bushes for a merger and, for that reason, have done an enormous amount of research and investigation. This is all the more creditable when we consider that no one is paying them anything for all that work.

Bill and Al make a very compelling case, but they're just one side of the coin. They are not disinterested, and never claim to be. They are citizens trying to make something good (as they see it) happen in a democracy.

So we need to find out for sure. It seems that everybody loves a study, and everybody hates one. There have been other studies, and many point to them as evidence that no more need be done. However, they were done a relatively long time ago, considering the very recent developments in the state incentive world.

So it seems to me that we don't know the answer – we don't know what a merger would end up doing for us, or to us, City or Town. We are, incredibly, all speaking from ignorance when we put forward a strong opinion on this topic. So lets find out.

A merger study is probably dead for now. To be fair, it seems that it would be hard for any Oneonta Town Councilperson to get re-elected after supporting a merger study. Unfortunately, many Towns-people are living on the myth of higher taxes for the Town and lower taxes for the City. Bill and Al have debunked that one, but it still lives and breathes and determines the politics of the Town. No one – certainly not myself – would pursue a merger that would raise taxes significantly on anyone.

There are other things to think of, at least for me, and for the other four County Representatives involved in this. As a larger City could capture a much larger proportion of the sales taxes generated within its borders (a very substantial sum), the implications for the County – and for the county's taxpayers – could be significant.

We shall see. I suspect this issue will re-emerge after the new City Council, Town Council and Board of Representatives are seated in January. Then we may have enough breathing room to take a good look