A majority of residents in the mid-Hudson Valley region ”“ 52 percent ”“ are in favor of government consolidation, according to a poll released last week. Fifty-four percent of residents outside New York City favor consolidation of their local governments.
The results come from “Striking a Balance: New Yorkers Speak Out on Rightsizing Local Government,” a survey funded by the Dyson Foundation and undertaken by Marist College”™s Institute for Public Opinion.
Pollsters asked 4,520 residents from western New York to Long Island if the time has come to restructure local government.
In the Finger Lakes Region and Western New York, 65 percent and 67 percent, respectively, believe in smaller government. In contrast, 63 percent of New York City residents believe in bigger government. Residents of the Mid-Hudson Valley and the Lower Hudson Valley are more divided. In the mid-Hudson region, of the 501 residents polled, 42 percent are against consolidation.
Eighty-five percent of those polled gave their local governments an average or above-average grade. In the mid-Hudson region, residents gave a score of 87 percent. Some 65 percent are also confident their local decision-makers are doing what”™s best for their respective municipalities. Fifty-five percent in the region feel the services provided for their taxes as a good value.
Statewide, more than half liked the idea of shared services, government consolidation, merged services and the concept of regionalism. But when it came to dissolving local government, only 31 percent of those polled were in favor. Forty percent of the participants believe all towns and cities should be considered for consolidation while nearly half said consolidation should be considered if certain criteria are met.
“These are difficult economic times. If consolidation reduces cost, improves government efficiency and supports economic growth without sacrificing local identity, then, New Yorkers want consolidation considered,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.  “If not, it”™s back to the drawing board for restructuring local government.”
Outside New York City, residents were asked about the consolidation of specific services. They favor consolidation in public transportation (73 percent), road and highway maintenance (68 percent), parks and recreation (66 percent), prisons (57 percent) and public libraries (56 percent), but are on the fence when it comes to  merging  police and fire/EMS services.
While notable proportions of New Yorkers rely on private services to carry out these functions, they viewed consolidation of recycling services garbage removal, sewage services and drinking water positively, each category receiving more than a 50 percent approval.
Only 45 percent of all New Yorkers polled support consolidation of school districts.
For those in the five boroughs, where close to half were satisfied with services overall, its consolidated school districts and highway departments got an overwhelming thumbs down from its residents.
Residents outside New York City were asked about potential risks and opportunities of consolidation. People were more likely to support the concept if the quality of their local services increases and if the local business community attracts more business. If none of the foregoing were possible, less than 50 percent were not in favor.
“We believe this is an extremely important time to release these results of the Marist Poll”™s survey,” said Robert Dyson, president of the Dyson Foundation. “We anticipate this survey will serve government and public policy makers in their deliberations on this important and somewhat volatile subject.  It is our hope to provide a balanced and comprehensive public  perspective to inform and aid in the coming debates.”
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points for each of the regions.
Complete survey results for “Striking a Balance: New Yorkers Speak Out on Rightsizing Local Government” may be found at www.nylocalgov.org.
