The following was written by Scott Bates and was first published on CTPost.com on April 2, 2010

Our state's survival, and revival, depends on the next governor's willingness to lead. That means challenging the status quo to make Connecticut grow again, and having the courage to address problems that have been avoided for years.

One of the deepest traditions in Connecticut is "home rule" -- the ability of cities and towns to chart their own course and govern themselves. In many cases, it has become more of a burden than a blessing, leading to unhealthy competition among towns that share boundaries, increasing sprawl as towns compete against one another for big-box stores to increase their grand lists, and making it less likely that towns will cooperate, even when such a step would serve the residents of an entire region.

In states across the country, it's far more common to rely upon county government for services. That's foreign ground for Connecticut, which got rid of what little county government existed here decades ago. Our lack of regional government has affected our ability to get federal money. The national government requires completion of a regional economic strategy and the governor's approval before an area can obtain federal funds as an economic development district. Neither Gov. M. Jodi Rell nor former Gov. John Rowland would sign off; as a result, Connecticut is one of only three states in the country with no federally supported economic development district (Rhode Island and Delaware are the other two).

Such actions -- and refusal to act -- have reinforced the "go it alone" mentality of each municipality that has added to the financial burdens of our citizens. Property taxes have soared in many towns. A simple way to cut back is to share as many services among towns as possible.

That's where the next governor comes in. The state of Connecticut has been content to allow local citizens to spend more and more of their hard-earned dollars on needless duplication, all in the name of tip-toeing around home rule. It's been a passive bystander instead of a leader.

The next governor has to lead.

We must regionalize services and merge ways of doing business. Some of this is already being done, with councils of government working to help towns in their areas pool resources. But many areas are merely tinkering, preferring the status quo to major change.

The state should insist on change, providing significant incentives for towns to share services and streamlining state laws that unnecessarily impede those efforts. Those who regionalize should be rewarded with more state aid, reducing property taxes even more for towns that want to save money for their residents.

For example, why is it that Connecticut, the third-smallest state in the country, has 107 emergency call centers? Technology exists to reduce it by 100. This is just one example of police services among towns that should be shared. Opponents resist, fearing job losses.

Why shouldn't each region share a permanent staff to handle real estate revaluations that state law mandates every four years? The Northeast Connecticut Council of Governments is taking steps to do just that; the towns in the Quiet Corner expects each town to save 50 percent of their revaluation costs as a result.

Sometimes, state laws are at fault. For example, why should every one of the state's 166 school districts -- even tiny Union, with fewer than 80 students in its elementary school -- be required to have a school superintendent? School superintendents commonly make six-figure salaries that add to the rising cost of local education.

A recent legislative task force on regionalization has suggested the establishment of a permanent fund for regional efforts, perhaps in the form of increasing the hotel tax 3 percent and giving a portion of that tax to towns. It's a good idea; currently, the state treasury gets all the money. Cities and towns have virtually no way of raising money aside from property taxes and conveyance taxes.

But this new tax should go to the towns on the basis of their regional cooperation. If they don't cooperate, they shouldn't get the money.

We can't pretend that cities and towns will always be eager to take significant steps toward regional efforts. If they were, such cooperation would be the norm instead of the exception. That's why the state needs to lead the way.

In the end, it's a grand bargain. As the state shifts funds to cities and towns to achieve economies of scale on the local level, the property taxes will decrease for everyone.

Scott Bates lives in Stonington, where he serves on the Board of Burgesses and as police commissioner. He is also a visiting professor of government at Connecticut College.

More Content | Send Scott your comments on this content