Editor’s note: This is the first of a five-part series about ideas that will Transform the Region.

“Regionalism” has been a buzz word in many city halls statewide following millions of dollars in state and federal funding cuts that have left many local governments grappling with their budgets.

The concept is not new, but one that has gained ground in the past few years. And it’s one that area leaders said would transform the region in a number of ways, including efficiencies, savings to taxpayers and better services.

The idea centers on a consolidation of governmental services, especially those that are costly and are replicated by surrounding communities such as police and fire, dispatch centers, street repair and transportation.

It has been done in a number of governments across the nation, including Louisville and in Connecticut, with good and bad outcomes.

More recently, the need to regionalize has been ushered by provisions included in Gov. John Kasich’s budget that will slash funding further, cutting $640 million to local governments over the biennium. However, the budget also includes changes that would make it easier for governments to consolidate services or merge townships.

Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon said the real winner in a case where communities combine services is the taxpayer.

“It’s all a huge savings to the taxpayer and I really don’t believe that the taxpayers care if they call for some kind of service and the car that comes says the name of the city they live in,” he said.

Money-savings is the biggest driver to regionalize, but putting an exact figure on it is nearly impossible. Combining services doesn’t mean there is no cost, it means the cost is shared. Just how much that shared cost adds up to depends on infrastructure, labor and other variables, Dixon said.

In the private sector, he said, it’s called a merger.

“There are all kinds of possibilities to make (government) work more efficiently,” Dixon said. “We need to change the way we do business and economics is going to drive that.”

What could be done

On a small scale, governments have already regionalized some services out of necessity. Middletown and Hamilton share building inspectors. Many cities are part of a countywide SWAT, HAZMAT, drug task force or technical rescue unit in conjunction with the sheriff’s office.

Talks are already beginning in Middletown on how to consolidate services further with neighboring communities. City Manager Judy Gilleland said she’s contacted the county park district to see if there would be interest in taking over Weatherwax Golf Course, which the city loaned $151,422 last year for operations.

There has also been talk about regionalizing its police and fire dispatch services with another municipality or with the county.

For police calls alone, Chief David VanArsdale — who opposes regionalizing dispatch — said the department budgets $1.1 million annually. Since the city would still have to pay someone to provide that service, Gilleland said, the actual cost savings are unknown.

“The question is is it worth giving up local control?” Gilleland said. “Would it be for a few hundred dollars of savings? Really, that’s a policy decision determined by elected officials.”

Each community also employs its own economic development team. A more effective approach may be to have a regional development team, which would work to attract businesses to the county by presenting a complete portfolio of what’s available, Dixon said.

“If it’s put together right and you have the right management, you can provide a total inventory we are going to lay out for prospective companies and what they pick is what they pick,” Dixon said. “What will matter is that they will be in Butler County and we will all benefit from that.”

Regionalism could become a broader concept, one that includes Dayton and Cincinnati, within the next 10 years because of continuing population growth in Butler and Warren counties. The area is projected to approach 700,000 people by 2020.

With that will come an increasing demand on the roadways that connect the areas and transportation options to take people there, said Brian Cunningham, spokesman for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI), which deals with transportation issues.

“Transportation is one of those unique areas that has consistently required people to work together across boundaries,” Cunningham said.

While Cunningham said one large metropolitan area between Dayton and Cincinnati is “decades” away, the reality is it’s a global marketplace and communities need to work together to find solutions that benefit the whole region.

“A big issue is public, local support. From OKI’s standpoint, we will work with entities as much as we can before a project comes together but it’s up to the major players to find common ground.”

Battling over control

Often it’s an inability to find that “common ground” that halts regional consolidation and change. Many local governments have been in place for decades and struggle giving up local control, Dixon said.

“The first thing that happens is an elected official will say if we don’t have control of this we may not have the level of service we have now,” Dixon said. “I would say for some it’s a way to protect their turf or their area or their job. Some just really believe it.”

Other times, suggesting regionalization can be perceived as a “grab for power,” said Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones.

“We have looked at from time to time dispatching for other agencies when they ask us,” Jones said. “No one wants to give up their autonomy and their authority but it is a thing that is coming whether people like it or not.

“We can always do more, it’s just tough to get it done. It takes those political entities to be willing to sit down and resolve those differences to save money,” Jones added.

The city of Hamilton does not regionalize many of its services now, but likely that will change in the next 10 years out of necessity, said City Manager Joshua Smith.

But necessity won’t negate the possible issues of combining services or government entities, he said.

“Forget the turf wars and the politics of it because traditional cities and townships have different tax levels and service levels,” he said. “It wouldn’t be easy. But I’d be open to anything that makes sense.”

As hesitant as politicians are to move toward regionalism, their constituents are no more anxious to pull the trigger.

Middletown resident Dan Meyer said party politics have taken away the focus from real tax issues at the local and national level and combining governments won’t solve things.

“Regionalizing these services cannot make them better, it can only make them worse,” he said.

Hamilton resident Randall Cook said he feels it could compound the area’s problems.

“It will hurt. Regionalizing means cutting back and spreading wide and thin. How will that help anyone or anything?”

However, Hamilton resident Andy Glock said he felt regionalism could help by reducing redundant administrative positions.

“Regionalizing is a great answer. We don’t need 12 police chiefs, and a sheriff and 12 assistant chiefs, 12 heads of patrol, 12 third shift supervisors, etc.,” he said.

Regionalism elsewhere

While regionalism is a common buzz word among politicians struggling with budgetary concerns, the concept is far from new. Louisville, Ky., merged with Jefferson County following a 2000 vote to create Metro Louisville.

Merger plans had been in the works as far back as 1956 and voters defeated the plans three times before a deal was finally struck.

In the Dayton area, the city of Miamisburg and Miami Twp. will be combing their fire departments effective March 1, 2012. The combined department will be called the Miami Valley Fire District and will provide service to nearly 50,000 in both communities.

At this point, Miami Twp. Trustee Mike Nolan said firefighters would not lose their jobs, but labor unions eventually will have to negotiate new contracts. The budget for the merger projects $10 million in annual revenues and a $1.1 million balance in 2016.

In Connecticut, there are no county governments, just cities and towns that send representatives to 15 official regional councils of government within the state. However, legislators still argue that municipalities could work more cooperatively to share services and in early 2010, Connecticut House Democrats created a commission on Municipal Opportunities and Regional Efficiencies – or MORE — to study ways municipalities could combine services.

Fewer layers of government haven’t always proved productive in Connecticut and some people are advocating for the creation of counties that would “have more teeth” to create deals and levy taxes, said Steve Lanza, an economics professor for the University of Connecticut and editor of The Connecticut Economy.

“Other jurisdictions have options that don’t exist here in Connecticut. We don’t have a procedure to annex adjacent suburban towns and make them part of a bigger metropolitan area with all the government apparatus that would go with it,” he said.

There are some benefits to Connecticut’s 169 separate towns and cities system, Lanza said. With so many entities packed into such a small area, it fosters competition among municipalities to provide services at a cheaper rate in order to lure taxpayers to settle in their city. Residents are also more able to participate directly in a small, flexible legislative process.

But providing larger services, such as sewage treatment, often requires that the state step in because the scope of the project is too big for small governments. Finding a balance between the two, Lanza said, is the problem.

“There is no clear argument or clear solution on this,” he said. “It depends on a lot of things: the services you are providing and the political culture.”