Metro 24/7

I have been posting about the D&C's metro-government agenda (here and here), but I had no idea how thoroughly they inteded to go with it.

Today's editorial takes on Fire Districts. The usual statistical analysis is included. Our region has a tax rate that is 14% higher than average in the State. The reader is, of course, intended to "understand" that the reason for our extra burden are these unneeded district expenses. I wonder how much of that extra tax burden is attributable to "vital" City of Rochester services, like reopening Durand Beach (which the D&C loves)?

This was my response:

The D&C Editorial Board is so determined to push its metro-government agenda, that it has forgotten that the governed are the ones who are supposed to decide what type of government they have and what level of service it will provide.
You have written 5 or 6 article/editorial efforts to convince us that we are foolish if we want to keep our local governments. In your blogs, some of your members have used terms like "obvious", "everybody knows", etc., regarding the value of consolidation vs. local control. Mr. Tobin has opined that the Brighton Police are "somewhat redundant". Tell that to a crime victim waiting for an emergency response.
You and your allies at the Center For Governmental Research have analyzed how much service is enough for us. Who appointed you to that task? I could have sworn that was our (i.e., taxpayer/residents) decision. Can you explain why taxpayers who want more service and who are willing to pay for it, should not have it?
And please don't say its because we are overtaxed. We are certainly overtaxed, but the main reason we are overtaxed is because of our bloated and distant State Government. The State Government is so big and distant that we have virtually no power to change it. Yet you would have us give up our local governments, governments of people we know, who we can talk to, and who we can throw out of office if we like, for a bigger, more distant, and less controllable regional government.
Our local leaders already work together to share resources and consolidate activities that make government more efficient without sacrificing service. I trust them to balk at consolidation that is intended to shift resources away from us to fund metro or regional endeavors that we don't support. I certainly don't trust a commission whose agenda is one which Monroe County residents have clearly rejected.

Much of my response verges on ideas I have stated before. Since the D&C appears bent on repeated attacks on local government, I will keep recycling my defense thereof.