Robert Silverman is an Associate Professor of the Center for Urban Studies at the University of Buffalo. One of his current research projects include "Housing Service Agency Structural Definition Report,i a study funded by the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Wendt Foundation. Heis assessing the feasibility of creating a housing partnership and housing fund for the City of Buffalo.
And today he has a very thought-provoking piece in the News. He writes:
It may be in the best interest of the region's poorest neighborhoods to break away and go it on their own, rather than being absorbed in a proposed city-county merger.
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One of the main arguments for a city-county merger focuses on the benefits of consolidating resources to promote more efficiency, effectiveness and equity in government. It is argued that a city-county merger would make government more nimble and able to address the problems of disinvestment and neighborhood decline across the region.
This begs the question, "Would the most distressed neighborhoods in Western New York benefit from a city-county merger, or would resources flow elsewhere?"
It really makes you think, not so much about the practicality of the recommendation but about the merits of each of the points Silverman uses to make his case.
HT to Joan Fedyszyn