By DONA GERSON

Ideas for local officials: Lou Ancel

As the fallout from the new federalism covers the country and small towns bear the brunt of budget cuts and shrinking revenue sources, the thought of consolidating townships, or at least merging some local government functions, becomes less a matter of town pride and more a matter of survival. As municipal attorney Lou Ancel points out in this interview with Dona Gerson, the preference for local control over consolidation may soon become a luxury few local governments can afford

Dona Gerson holds an M.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and is an alderwoman on the Evanston City Council. She has written other articles for Illinois Issues on key local government issues.

LOCAL governments in Illinois are being whipsawed: on one side the cost of services, and the demand for them, are increasing; on the other side, revenues are decreasing and the Reagan administration wants to return many programs to state and local governments. Is there a way out of this dilemma? Does anyone have any ideas for local officials?

Lou Ancel does. The dean of municipal attorneys in the Chicago metropolitan area, Ancel helped lay the groundwork for the 1970 Illinois Constitution, coauthored the Illinois Municipal Handbook, represents numerous municipalities and school districts, and has helped shape many of the laws which affect Illinois cities and villages. In two lengthy interviews, Ancel shared his ideas on consolidation and reorganization of government structures and functions. He has been pondering the problems of local governments for over 40 years. His thoughts on increasing the efficiency and reducing the costs of local government are presented briefly below.

• Consolidation of municipalities.
  "Do we need all these units of government?" asked Ancel, looking at a breakdown of Illinois' 6,600 units of government, a record among the 50 states. Previous attempts have failed to consolidate sister cities, e.g. Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, Bloomington and Normal, and Champaign and Urbana, and political scientists who once touted regional government now explain why consolidation is politically improbable; yet,

  'Cook County has reached a point where all unincorporated territory ought to be created into new municipalities or annexed to adjacent municipalities'

  the realities of the 1980s may cause a reconsideration of consolidation.

  Bridgeview's Mayor John Oremus did just that when the maintenance of his village's fire rating mandated the purchase of a 100,000 gallon pumper. Oremus looked around his southwest Cook County area and noted 10 separate municipalities within a two-and-a-half mile area. Each of these staff a fire station 24 hours a day. A request to the Southwest Suburban Cook County Council of Mayors to consider consolidation of the 17 suburbs into a city of 260,000 people created quite a stir. The newspapers reported the concept and dubbed the super city "Oremusville" in honor of the affable Bridgeview mayor who proposed it. Cautious exploration of' the idea was authorized after the mayors met with Ancel and listened to a list of issues that must be explored (salaries, pensions and rating of officers in police and fire departments; sewer systems; general obligation debt; and about 20 additional areas). Statutory authorization for consolidation of contiguous municipalities exists in Chapter 24:7-2-1 of the Illinois Revised Statutes, although it may be necessary to seek changes if consolidation of 17 municipalities is pursued. Ancel said, "My feeling is that even though you may not be able to achieve merger, the educational process is worth the price of admission. . . .even though you don't get a merger of governments, you may get a merger of functions."

• Merger of functions.
  "Oremusville" may never become a reality, but a merger of 17 or 13 or 10 fire departments might be possible. The individuality and autonomy of municipalities would not be lost if these departments were merged. Another type of merger is the combination of police and fire departments in a single municipality. There isn't a community around that doesn't have a shortage of police officers, usually facing an increasing incidence of crime, observed Ancel. On the other hand, Ancel noted the frequency of calls for fire service in a nonindustrialized area may be extremely low. Merger of police and fire departments into a single public safety department exists in varying forms in some Illinois municipalities and is under consideration in others. Police and fire departments can be fully integrated as they are in Glencoe (population 10,000) or functionally

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integrated as they are in Park Ridge (population 43,000). The Village of Mount Prospect (population 53,000) chose not to integrate their police and fire services after review of a careful 1980 study by Katherine Leser which failed to indicate significant dollar savings.

• Consolidation of school districts.
  Ancel noted that the movement toward unit school districts ran aground when financial incentives from the state disappeared. Many Cook County townships have several grade school districts. Ancel thinks that youngsters receive a much better education under a district that covers kindergarten through 12th grade rather than a system that breaks at the eighth grade and requires youngsters to find their own place within a separate high school district.
• Elimination of townships.
  "There's really no need for township government under our present day society. It's just another unit of government that's soaking up taxpayer's money," said Ancel. "The townships are great lobbyists though. They're pals with the state legislators and tell them to kill any legislation that will change their status."
• Eliminate township school trustees.
  In Cook County, a board of three school trustees is elected in each township. These trustees are responsible for the custody and disbursement of township school funds. To this end, they appoint a treasurer and set his compensation. In downstate Illinois these elected positions have been eliminated. This old established unit of government is about as important as "a wart on one's nose," according to Ancel.
• Unincorporated Cook County. "It's my view," said Ancel, "that Cook County has reached a point where all unincorporated territory ought to be created into new municipalities or annexed to adjacent municipalities. . . .Why do we need islands of unincorporated territory?" By and large these areas get fire, water and police service from adjacent incorporated areas without really paying their way. "We need a study commission to consider a recommendation that these areas be annexed or created into municipalities," said Ancel.
• Collection of property taxes.
  Cook County's delay of more than a year in the collection of property taxes creates staggering costs for school and local government districts which must finance tax warrants at high interest rates. Nicholas Melas, president of the Metropolitan Sanitary District, proposed a system of phasing in current collection of property taxes over a 10-year period. "A good idea," commented Ancel who added that it would be wise to change to monthly or quarterly payment of property taxes based upon a projected tax bill rather than the current system of twice a year payments.
• Automobile vehicle tax.
  Currently the Illinois secretary of state collects the automobile tax, and each municipality collects its own vehicle tax. The problem is that lots of people duck the vehicle tax and the dollars lost by municipalities run into the millions. "There's no reason why every municipality couldn't advise the secretary of state of the amount of the municipal vehicle tax," said Ancel. The secretary of state could act as the central tax collector, and Ancel suggests he could collect the tax and remit it to the municipality less a service charge. It's likely the centralized system would produce more revenue and cut local costs since the local police would not need to spend their time tracking down delinquents.
• Insurance.
  Every city, every school, every public body has to bond its public employees, but default by public employees is minimal, according to Ancel. He suggests a self-insurance system under the state government, which would provide great savings for local government.

  Ancel realizes that breaking traditions is difficult, especially if a significant saving of dollars cannot be guaranteed. Even then, local control is a strong argument against consolidation or elimination of any government power. Consolidation of labor-intensive local governments may not show dramatic and immediate payoffs, Ancel explained, especially during periods of inflation, but in the long run the savings could be considerable. Local control is fine, Ancel said, but it isn't cheap. There is a cost, sometimes a high cost, for local control.

  Ancel's call for a new look at the structures of local government is echoed by William Hudnut, immediate past president of the National League of Cities. In a November 30, 1981, interview in the Chicago Tribune, Hudnut forecast a steadily growing movement toward consolidation because of Reagan budget cuts and shrinking revenue sources. "As the ability of cities and suburbs to sell municipal bonds continues to fail, and as their tax bases continue to decline," Hudnut said, "more and more local governments will realize that consolidation is their only salvation."

  In the 1970s funds from the federal government enabled local governments to take on increasing responsibilities. But now the new federalism is tightening the federal spigot and local responsibilities are increasing. Improved efficiency and increased productivity can only do so much. It's time to ask whether the "way it's always been" is the only way. Lou Ancel, a man who is sympathetic to the tough job of local officials, has raised some provocative questions. The 1980s may be the time for a new look at local government structures.

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