All fundamental issues about the proposed consolidation of the Centre Region municipalities must be solved before the matter goes before voters on a referendum, local officials said yesterday.

"I would hope that if this ever reaches the ballot, we'll know it's going to win," said State College Borough Councilman R. Thomas Berner, who was one of the keynote speakers at a State College Hotel luncheon on the issue.

Philip Park, chairman of Patton Township's Board of Supervisors, and James Steff, executive director of the Centre Region Council of Governments, joined Berner yesterday to address the possibilities of a regional government merger.

All three said they favor some type of regional government, adding that the idea is controversial and should be examined carefully to dispel people's fears.

Steff warned the group of about 30 that a failed attempt at consolidation could create bad feelings between local officials.

"If we go down this route and it fails, it could have an adverse effect on relations with our municipalities," Steff said.

COG, which includes the State College Borough and College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris and Patton townships, has developed a proposal to study consolidation that will examine the pros and cons for each municipality and the region as a whole.

The proposed study would be done by local government officials and staff with assistance from the University's department of political science.

The study was set up with care to ensure all municipalities' concerns are examined, Steff said.

"You can't hire an outside gun to come and (study consolidation) for you because the public won't accept the results," Steff said.

Park said a study is needed because consolidation may not be the best thing for the region.

"Without the study, all we have is a flurry of opinions based on perceptions -- mine included -- generating more smoke and heat than light," he said.

Parks suggested the region consider consolidating its services and facilities before it merges the governments, but Berner disagreed.

"I don't think you can have functional consolidation without political consolidation," he said.

Opponents of consolidation often cite as a negative ramification the possibility that taxes might rise for the smaller rural townships but taper off in the borough.

"There's going to be gains and loses for everybody. We ought to look at this as not 'What's good for me,' but 'What's good for us,' " Berner said.

But while the meeting was informative for the local business community, it may have raised more questions than it answered.

"At this point, it's a very general idea that they have. We're just going to have to wait until the study comes out," said Scott Richards of West Penn Power.

Berner said the meeting's purpose was informational.

"I didn't come here to convert anybody; I just came here to pique their interest," he said.

The State College Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored the luncheon.