As I read the column in the March 28 Gazette regarding the budget for Sheriff’s Offices, I had to sigh [“Legislators finally question sheriffs’ bloated budgets“]. Not about the issue per se, but how it reminded me of the old saw “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”  I’m talking about the abolition of most counties in 1997.

The column was the fifth time this week that I’ve heard a lament for the loss of accountability, efficiency, scale, cooperation and regional clout on Beacon Hill.

A few points:

  • As noted in the column, remaining vestiges of county government like Sheriff’s Offices and other organizations like the Hampshire Group Insurance Trust are struggling financially as they try to address multiple issues without effective local oversight that was provided by the county.
  • This season, multiple towns across the region are planning for Proposition 2-1/2 override votes, some of them quite large, yet if passed will only provide temporary relief.  And if you speak with their FinComm members, many see a very grim future for small towns.
  • In most of the country, counties oversee regional school systems providing scale to ensure broad curriculum (including arts diverse sports) that actually encourage families to move into their communities. Here, small town elementary schools struggle to simply meet mandates. The larger regional high schools have administrative challenges dealing with finances and  working under often obtuse state funding formulas.
  • Fire trucks now cost more than a million dollars; a huge investment for a town of 1,500 residents. The county used to provide the radio services that linked all police and fire departments. Thankfully, the State Police stepped into that role, but with a complex set of agreements with individual towns.

The list can go on: Group purchasing, IT support, HR services.

When counties were dismantled, there was no uniform template for successor organizations to follow. Some like Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) were done well then, are managed well, and succeed. Berkshire County has an integrated model, that does some things very well, but struggles with others. Hampden County largely depends on PVPC and its relatively large legislative presence. Hampshire County had Hampshire Council of Governments [HCOG], which for many reasons, was not organized to succeed, and was dissolved in 2020.

Earlier this week, I was talking with a legislative candidate about how a group of Hilltown leaders were meeting to look into opportunities for collaboration, and I was asked “are they talking about re-creating county government?” I sighed then, too.

Russell Peotter of Chesterfield is former chair of the Hampshire Council of Governments.