Although the State College Borough Council favors consolidation with Patton and College townships, council members have concerns about the proposed method of consolidation -- a voter-initiated referendum.

Council members discussed the issue with citizens at its Friday work session and would like to hold future discussions with citizens and township officials.

The Regional Government Study Task Force, composed of citizens from the three municipalities, considered different methods of area unification.

The task force recommended a voter-initiated referendum, which the current governments have no legal impact upon. A second option is to have the three municipalities pass a joint ordinance and have residents vote on it.

Both options would result in a third-class city with a council-manager form of government and a nine-member council. Voters would elect five members at large and four by district.

The task force recommended the voter-initiated option, but the municipalities could merge instead of consolidate. In a merger, the two townships would cease to exist, and the new government would adopt the borough's Home Rule Charter and modify it, said Regional Manager Alan Kugler of the Pennsylvania Economy League, a non-profit organization that advised the task force. In consolidation, all three municipalities cease to exist and a new one is formed.

Under Pennsylvania law regarding voter-initated referendums, 5 percent of the number of residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election -- 588 people --must sign a petition. If the petition is successful, the county board of elections would put the consolidation issue on the May 16 primary election ballot.

The task force and other organizations are circulating a petition and expect to have enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot, Kugler said. Once on the ballot, the majority of voters in each municipality must approve the referendum.

After consolidation, the new municipality could adopt a Home Rule Charter by having citizens vote to create a Government Study Commission. It would recommend a form of government for the new municipality that citizens would vote on.

The new municipality, State College, would go into effect the first Monday in January 1998.

The task force recommended consolidation because the new government could lower costs 5 to 10 percent by reducing duplication and using bulk purchasing. For instance, the new municipality would have one manager instead of three, one administrative department instead of three and better utilization of highway equipment and staff, Kugler said.

The task force based its decision on the current municipalities' budgets and will make the financial information public after voters put the issue on the ballot. Borough council members want to see the analysis now to examine the potential savings.

Another debated issue is taxes under the proposed government. The borough now has no tax limits, but the new municipality could limit taxes.

The borough gets part of its revenue from a business privilege tax and a 1.3 percent earned-income tax. Under the proposed form of government, the borough could only have a .5 percent earned-income tax and no business privilege tax. Those changes could cost the government $2 million in revenue, Borough Manager Peter Marshall said.

Kugler said the new government would not lose revenue because of the money saved by consolidation. He said in the long run, consolidation would lower taxes.

But Marshall disagreed, saying if the area expects to keep the same level of services, the property tax could increase or the services could be reduced.

"It depends on how much money there is and where it comes from," he said.