Citing a need to maintain their townships' individuality, several Centre Region officials said this week they oppose some State College officials' recent suggestion to consolidate local municipalities into one "powerful" government.

Some State College Borough Council members said Monday they believe now is the best time for uniting the borough and the region's five townships, and suggested that a new government could cut down on inefficiency in the present system.

The issue arose at council's regular meeting Monday after members decided not to contribute to the proposed construction of headquarters for the Centre Region Council of Governments.

COG -- which has not yet formally discussed the issue -- comprises Patton, Ferguson, Harris, College and Halfmoon townships, and the Borough of State College.

"Why have six governments serving 70,000 people when you can have one?" asked Councilman R. Thomas Berner, a longtime proponent of consolidation. Instead of spending money to run the separate facilities of six independent governments, officials could channel their funds into one body, he said.

Council members Jean McManis and Peter Lang said officials should closely investigate the feasibility of a regional government.

"I can't believe that anything reasonable should or could get in the way of studying this proposal," McManis said. "The reality is that we may have looked at this proposal negatively in the past but I think the time for consolidation is now."

But region township managers Tom Miller and Tom Lechner say their governments and electorate are not ready for a new system.

"The idea of intergovernmental cooperation is excellent," said Miller, Harris Township's manager. "But consolidation means that you have to give up some of your identity and I don't think Harris is ready for that."

Other local township residents fear a consolidated government would strip the smaller municipalities of their individuality, said Lechner, College Township's manager.

"Some day (consolidation) will happen. It probably will be beyond my time," he said. "I think the majority by far would be vastly opposed to this happening."

Lechner said State College officials have reason to back a regional government system because the borough is now "hemmed in." Consolidation could enable the borough to develop beyond its borders, he said.

But State College Borough Manager Peter Marshall said both the townships and the borough can benefit from the change. Tax revenue collected by the consolidated government could be spent anywhere within the region, he said.

Marshall added that profits from development in outlying areas would help the borough in the long run, while the borough's existing economy could boost townships in the short term. Additionally, consolidation would create a unified zoning system that would make planning less complicated, he said.

COG Executive Director James Steff said a fully-consolidated government would not be feasible in the short term.

"There is a strong history of decentralization in Pennsylvania. It's been that way for 300 years and there's no reason to expect that that will change overnight," Steff said.

Pennsylvania municipalities have attempted consolidating, but none has succeeded in recent history, said Keith Hite, executive director of the state's Association for Township Supervisors.

A year ago, officials in Elk County attempted to merge Benzinger Township and the city of Saint Mary's, but the consolidation was voted down by residents, Hite said. Designation changes, the change of a single municipality from a township to a borough, are more common, he said.

Because a few attempts at regionalizing separate governmental services have failed, it would be difficult to conceive coordinating all services, Steff said.

In 1984 and last year, municipal managers proposed combining Patton, Harris and State College's police services into one force. The proposal failed twice because arguments arose over how it would be administered and who would be the chief, Steff said.

Three years ago, managers discussed the possibility of creating a regional solicitor's and engineer's offices, to take the place of borough and township positions. Both proposals were thrown out because township representatives wanted to keep their own staffs, Steff said.

"It's a gradual incremental process and it not clear whether the advantages will out-weigh the disadvantages depending on how it is formed," Steff said.

Marshall said he believes a consolidated government cannot be formed in stages.

"It seems to me that the crux of the matter is not to individually put the services together but to get political commitment to consolidation," he said. "Residents have to be convinced that it's to their advantage."

Said Steff, "I think that COG is a vehicle for consolidation. If there is going to be consolidation, it's going to be through the COG and not over the COG, as some people have argued."

Tom Brewer, Patton Township Planning Commission chairman, said he believes some elected State College officials are seeking "self-aggrandization" through the new, more powerfull form of government.

He added that concentrating government facilities likely would lead to a need for staff and office-space expansion.

Although representatives of a consolidated government would have more political clout, Marshall said, council members promoting the change are not doing it only for themselves.

"I think their interest is in a better region and a better community," he said. "What personal benefit could they possibly get out of it?"

Unlike a true regional government - which acts as decision-making body for an area encompassing two or more municipalities - COG coordinates a limited number of services and acts as a forum for discussion between independent municipalities, Steff said.

COG, which has an operating budget this year of about $3 million, employs 42 clerical and administrative personnel at full-time status and about 100 at part-time status, he said.

The money is divided among several functions including the region's planning commission, code administration, Parks and Recreation Board, Senior Citizens Center and the volunteer Alpha Fire Company.