Hermitage probably has had the most vocal group of anti-consolidation crusaders, but city officials have vowed to stick with the Shenango Valley Intergovernmental Study Committee's efforts to the end.

Hermitage Commissioner James "Pat" White said he hopes the end comes soon.

The committee is studying whether Hermitage, Farrell, Sharon, Sharpsville and Wheatland should merge or consolidate.

White said there is no chance consolidation will happen, and dragging the study out for four years has been a matter of "beating a dead horse."

If the committee recommends municipal boundary changes, it will be up to the municipal governments to decide if they want to put the issue on the ballot for voters.

"I could never recommend to my board something that I'm not 100 percent certain about," he said.

White stopped short of calling the study a waste of time, saying he believes it will lead to a greater sharing of services.

Hermitage Commissioner Joe Augustine said he wants it known that White was not speaking for all Hermitage representatives on the committee.

Hermitage citizen representative Robert Jazwinski said White is placing the bar far too high in considering the possible benefits of consolidation.

Jazwinski said the committee will never be able to project with certainty what would happen if it recommends consolidation.

"We're painting a picture of what could be," he said. "We're not telling everyone what will be. There is always uncertainty in the future."

Officials have pointed out that if a consolidation takes place, the new city government would make the ultimate decisions on services and government structure, and would not have to follow the recommendations of the committee.

The committee can only decide if there is "strong potential" to consolidate, Jazwinski said.

"We've been confined by our circumstances in the past," he said. "We should be looking at how things can be made better."

Jazwinski, chairman of the finance subcommittee, said the proposed budget his subcommittee comes up with for a consolidated city will not be a definitive document, and will likely include a range of possible figures.

The subcommittee could end up submitting several budgets, including an "ideal" budget, and what the members believe is the "most likely" set of figures, he said.

He said the subcommittee might alter the proposals in the other subcommittee reports to create a workable budget.