Published Tuesday, May 14, 2002
GREENVILLE
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Miller details four decades of town's mistakes, misfortune
Herald Staff Writer
Fiscal problems facing Greenville -- which last week became a financially distressed community under the state's Act 47 program -- were at least 40 years in the making, according to resident Dick Miller.
Miller delivered a 45-minute presentation on the borough's fiscal decline Monday at a town-hall meeting sponsored by the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Miller said he has been a "first-person observer" of the decline. Since moving to the borough in late 1962, Miller has served on numerous local and county boards, been active in politics and worked as a newspaper reporter and business leader.
Miller said the borough's decline began in the mid-1960s when "piecemeal annexation" was outlawed by the state.
Before piecemeal annexation was outlawed, residents from neighboring townships could petition to become part of the borough (often because there was a demand for water and sewage service) and the borough could approve the annexation without the township's approval. Now both a majority of both communities have to approve such a change. "Growth in the borough came to a halt when piecemeal annexation was outlawed," Miller said.
The landlocked borough's population dropped from 8,765 in the 1960 Census to 6,380 in 2000 -- a 27-percent decrease. During the same span, neighboring Hempfield Township's population grew by 27 percent, from 3,133 in to 4,004.
The borough's 40-year decline had three phases, according to Miller:
Those factors contributed to the massive deficit and runaway taxes facing the borough today, Miller said.
Greenville began the year with a budget deficit of more than $1 million and auditors estimated that the deficit would balloon to more than $2.7 million by the end of the year.
In Greenville, combined local, school and county property taxes are the highest in Mercer County at 93.3 mills, Miller said. Greenville's local taxes (31.5 mills) are the second highest in the county and its school taxes are the third highest (47.3 mills), Miller said.
The local taxes are not as productive as they could be, according to Miller. About 37 percent of the property in Greenville is tax-exempt -- churches, schools, borough property, Thiel College and UPMC Horizon -- compared to 8 percent in Hempfield Township and 17 percent across the county.
Miller made several suggestions regarding the borough's road to recovery.
First, Miller said, borough officials should "tell us (residents) what happened and who did it. Investigate (past fiscal and management practices) until the truth is known. Identify those who were errant or lax and clear the names of those who weren't."
"It's the fifth month of the year and already people have demanded accountability from Olympic judges, Arthur Andersen (the Enron accounting firm) and the Catholic church. There is no reason the Borough of Greenville should get a free pass," Miller said.
Miller also said the borough should reduce debt and taxes by "identifying non- and under-performing assets and either redesignating their role in borough government services or listing them for sale. Debt and/or taxes could be reduced with the proceeds."
And, Miller said, the borough should determine how much government it wants or really needs.
"Over 100 people serve in various capacities in the borough. That's an awful lot of people. Perhaps we should eliminate or consolidate some of those positions," Miller said, adding that those serving should "lead by example" and be "publicly accountable."