As could be expected, the proposed merger of Sun Valley and Ketchum has sparked wide interest over the past two weeks.
At a "town hall" meeting on Thursday, residents, and current and former elected officials filled the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum to discuss the possibility of consolidating the two cities into a single entity. In the crowd were former Ketchum and Sun Valley Mayors Ed Simon and Jon Thorson, respectively, as well as sitting council members and commissioners from both cities and Blaine County.
Ketchum Councilman Charles Conn and Sun Valley Councilman Dave Chase, both representing the group One Community, One Town and not their respective cities, presented arguments in favor of bringing the merger to the ballots in August.
To this end, One Community, One Town, which is made up of about a dozen residents from both cities, has begun soliciting signatures for a petition that will allow voters to decide if the merger becomes a reality.
As regulated by Idaho code, the petitions would need 20 percent of registered voters in both cities' last elections to get on the ballot—that means the signatures of 418 Ketchum voters and just under 100 in Sun Valley.
If the necessary signatures are collected, a majority of votes cast in each city would be required to effect the merger.
At the meeting, Conn reiterated his estimation that a merger could save the cities about $2 million per year, largely from reducing the personnel required to handle the services in both cities, as well as by having a single administration, a single city hall and fewer city vehicles.
Conn said those savings could be used to invest in infrastructure development, increase spending on community programs or reduce property taxes.
Conn also gave a presentation comparing the budgets of the two cities to support his argument that taxpayers of both cities would benefit.
In his analysis, Conn showed that both cities have similar sources of revenue, namely property taxes and local-option tax receipts, as well as similar expenditures.
Looking at the populations and budgets of both cities, Conn said Sun Valley residents spend more per person on city services, such as police and fire, as well as more for administrative duties.
But in an interview on Monday, Sun Valley Council President Nils Ribi and Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich disputed these calculations. They argued that because of the high proportion of second-home owners in the city, estimated to be about 70 percent of the total, the cost for services is actually significantly lower for full-time residents.
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"Financially this looks like a bad deal for Sun Valley taxpayers," Willich said. "The proposal seems like a bunch of crap."
Willich said the city will send a mailing to all registered Sun Valley voters informing them that only qualified voters are legally allowed to sign the petition, and that to do otherwise would be considered voter fraud. He said the purpose of the mailing was to ensure that second-home owners don't make the mistake of signing the petition.
After a meeting with Ribi and Willich on Monday, Conn said he would redo his calculations based on tax lots rather than population, as well as remove $1.2 million from the Sun Valley budget that is a transfer between funds, rather than actual revenue. However, Conn said he thought that would only decrease the amount paid per Sun Valley resident by a small amount.
"Well, it is a little too late, the damage has been done," Ribi said of Conn's recalculation. "Are they going to retract what they said at their 'town hall' meeting and explain to everyone that the information they put out was misleading? If this consolidation goes through and our citizens find out too late that there is more of this deception that was sold to them, it will be too late to correct it."
Conn said there will indeed be more public meetings.
"This is not a short process and I expect both sides to show different data to support their arguments," Conn said. "There is absolutely no intention for deception. I understand they want to go on the offensive, but I just see this as an opportunity to encourage an open and civil debate."
During the meeting on Thursday, a number of residents said patience would be imperative in such a process, especially when it came to planning on how the two cities would come together.
"The idea is good in theory, but there is an enormous difference from theory to implementation," Ketchum resident Lee Chubb said. "We can't vote until we know exactly how this would happen."
Conn said that if the measure is approved by voters, the elected officials would be immediately fired from their positions and a new election would be held within 60 to 90 days from the consolidation vote. Former Sun Valley Mayor Thorson said a panel could be formed in the interregnum to formulate a detailed consolidation plan.
One of the most discussed issues to be resolved if the merger were approved is the name of the new city.
At the meeting, former Sun Valley Mayor Ruth Lieder noted that Idaho Code requires the smaller city to come under the larger city in a consolidation. That would mean the name of the new city would be Ketchum. While Conn said the new mayor and council could vote to change the name, Lieder said such a change would not be so simple and that it would require approval from state legislators.
The financial analysis presented by Conn at the meeting can be viewed at www.onecommunityonetown.com.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
Residents and elected officials from Ketchum and Sun Valley filled the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood in Ketchum on Thursday to listen to Dave Chase, holding the microphone, and Charles Conn explain the proposed merger between Ketchum and Sun Valley.
Photo by David N. Seelig
