A view of buildings in downtown State College, Pennsylvania. Photo by Georgianna Sutherland / For Spotlight PA.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — As DuBois and Sandy Township work through the yearslong process of consolidating into a new city, 80 miles southwest a consulting firm commissioned by State College recommended it also explore the idea of fusing with neighboring municipalities.
Article by Min Xian of Spotlight PA State College
The firm was hired to look into problems facing downtown State College businesses, and identified consolidation as a way to grow the region’s economy.
Municipal mergers and consolidations can help to increase government efficiency and reduce costs.
Pennsylvania established a uniform system for how local government boundaries could change in 1994. Since then, 17 mergers have been proposed in Pennsylvania, of which 11 received approval from voters. By comparison,…
