OCED report...municipal fragmentation lowers economic growth... (Pittsburgh, Swissvale: lawyers, school district)

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by pman

is there any reason allegheny county couldn't provide police for the whole county?

i think anything other than leave things alone will require most suburbanites to take a step back in services. i live in a well funded well run area, i dont want to pay for other towns problems.

when i called my local police dispatch last year when my wife was sick, i had an officer in my livingroom in under a minute. the county cant do that.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by guy2073

i think anything other than leave things alone will require most suburbanites to take a step back in services. i live in a well funded well run area, i dont want to pay for other towns problems.

when i called my local police dispatch last year when my wife was sick, i had an officer in my livingroom in under a minute. the county cant do that.

Yup...and can't imagine a county cop is going to want to cover the city.

City needs to clean up their own mess rather than expecting others to do it. Clean up the corruption and more funds will be available.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Yup...and can't imagine a county cop is going to want to cover the city.

City needs to clean up their own mess rather than expecting others to do it. Clean up the corruption and more funds will be available.

this

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Returnofthemack

It seems it has become a mess due to the inaction of combining the fragmented governments. If this happened in the 1920's, we could have a much different pittsburgh in 2015. We would be much larger, probably growing, more diverse and stronger economically. Nobody on this board would know any different.

Strong growing cities have annexed and combined

Most everybody wants others to clean up their issues rather than straightening out their own.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Most everybody wants others to clean up their issues rather than straightening out their own.

I don't think that is not the case with the City, if anyone thinks so. Sure, annexation can be talked about, but its not like that is the sentiment in City Council (I guess).

And, annexation would not necessarily be the best route. The benefits or disadvantages can't be realized until after it happens. Would anyone agree that it looks good in theory, but....

I always thought annexation could work in some instances: Homestead, West Homestead, Munhall, and Whitaker. Their proximity, similar background, etc. may make joining an attractive proposition.

Wilkinsburg joining the City might make sense (I think they already use the City's EMS services, and pay for them). I actually would like Baldwin Borough to be annexed. That map is just annoying, like someone let their toddler finish drafting up the border with a crayon. Or, like the extreme southeast is some tumorous growth.

It's all in the details, though - someone who has an inside track on expenditures, budgets and the like could truly say if something like this would work.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

I think everyone here is completely focused on the city annexing the entire county and city dwellers fighting the suburbanites. Why can't it be that more of the suburbs merge with one another, and some of the smaller, closest proximity towns merge with the city. Reduce the number of entities that govern, there are too many fiefdoms and too many school districts relative to the total metro population. That, combined with a simplification of tax codes that didn't make it so confusing to decide where to live or open a business within the county would go a long way.

For example, I am considering taking over a small consulting business which is currently domiciled in Ross Township. I have no idea how to figure out my projected tax burden and whether it would make sense to relocate the business to where I live in the city, keep the business in Ross but continue to live in the city, move to Ross, or move somewhere else entirely. Try to get information on this sort of thing without calling at least 10 different people. It is a complete nightmare.

[Lobick]

A Map might help:

Allegheny County Municipality Map

The example always given is the hypothetical police chase up Ohio River Blvd. How many local police departments are involved?

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Lobick

A Map might help:

Allegheny County Municipality Map

The example always given is the hypothetical police chase up Ohio River Blvd. How many local police departments are involved?

Not as many as you might think. Some of the towns like Haysville and Kilbuck Township don't have police departments.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Not as many as you might think. Some of the towns like Haysville and Kilbuck Township don't have police departments.

Who polices them? Why aren't the other municipalities upset that they have to pay for policing those that don't have police departments?

[Der Schwabe]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Even though many civil subdivisions means less taxpayers for each town, it also means less taxpayers to provide governmental services to.

You're assuming that the bureaucracy providing governmental services is operated on a per taxpayer basis, which is clearly isn't. These bureaucracies become untenable as tax revenues decline which has forced certain districts to merge services out of necessity. Just because other municipalities pour money into redundant services does not make it efficient.