City, town still looking for ways to work together

NORWICH – Town and city of Norwich officials will work together to come up with a shared “vision” for the two municipalities, whether or not the state is involved, city Mayor Joseph Maiurano said Friday.

Maiurano says town and city representatives are meeting Dec. 7 to discuss the town’s proposal to examine the possibility of creating an expanded fire district and other joint initiatives.

Earlier this month, the town opted out of joining the city in a state-funded merger and consolidation study that focused on the feasibility of sharing municipal services.

The study is part of Governor Eliot Spitzer’s push to cut back on the size of small governments across the state and make them more efficient. As part of campaign, Spitzer’s asked the town and city to consider merging. However, outside of the city, which is battling a struggling tax base versus mounting infrastructure costs, it appears Spitzer’s request has not found much support.

Maiurano said it would have been beneficial to have Albany pay for and conduct the required studies, but says it’s vital that the city and town continue to examine this issue, whether it’s using local or state resources. It’s important that other government entities in the county look at becoming more efficient, too, he added.

“We’re still going to work together to get things going,” Maiurano said. “Because we need to create a vision of the future, not just for the City of Norwich or the Town of Norwich, but look at what’s best for the whole area. Hopefully what we can do is just one step in creating the overall picture.”