Valencia and Callery, two tiny boroughs tucked into southwestern Butler County, have officially bowed out of the proposed merger between Mars Borough and Adams Township. Local leaders confirmed Thursday that they will not be part of the consolidation talks that are already reshaping the political map in the Route 228 corridor.
Valencia council member Shanon McKenna said she did not know merger discussions were underway until they were publicly unveiled in January. Callery Borough Council President Rose Wirtz told officials that her borough has not been approached and is not interested in joining. That leaves Mars and Adams to carry the process on their own, with more public meetings and a possible November ballot question on the horizon. Officials say consolidation could alter local tax bills and service levels, while the smaller boroughs argue that school district lines and basic logistics make their inclusion a tough fit.
Timeline, Taxes And The Next Public Meeting
Adams Township and Mars outlined their merger pitch in a public PowerPoint presentation that lays out a timetable for talks and a potential referendum this November. According to the slides, a successful vote would kick off a transition period in 2027, with a target effective date of Jan. 1, 2028. The presentation also compares current tax rates, showing Mars with a municipal millage of 25.33 mills and Adams at 3.75 mills, and suggests that consolidation could wipe out some duplicate levies and expand services such as full-time police coverage, according to Adams Township.
Valencia And Callery Sit Out The Vote
McKenna told officials that, on paper, a merger might help Valencia shore up basics like police, fire protection, code enforcement, and road maintenance. Even so, she said Adams Township reviewed Valencia’s finances and concluded it does not make sense to fold the borough into the deal.
Over in Callery, Wirtz said the borough has not been invited into formal negotiations and is definitely not interested in joining the consolidation. She added that Callery’s placement in a different school district would complicate any three-way merger.
Coverage of the discussions notes that Valencia is tiny, about 0.4 square miles with roughly 500 residents, and that a significant portion of its land is taken up by St. Barnabas, a tax-exempt senior living campus. State law does allow mergers involving more than two municipalities, but local officials point out that recent voter-approved consolidations in Pennsylvania have typically involved only two governments at a time, as reported by the Butler Eagle.
School Lines And Practical Hurdles
School district boundaries sit at the center of many of the concerns. County records show that Mars and Valencia both fall inside the Mars Area School District, while Callery is assigned to the Seneca Valley School District. Any attempt to redraw municipal borders without addressing those lines could tangle up tax rates, budgeting, and student services in ways that would not be easy to unwind.
Officials say that split, along with the very small tax bases in Valencia and Callery, is a big reason why including either borough in a larger consolidation would demand far more study and negotiation. Those jurisdictional details are reflected in county listings and maps maintained by Butler County.
What Happens Next For Residents
The next public informational meeting, which Adams and Mars say will include staff from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to walk residents through the plan, is scheduled for next Tuesday. Officials say they expect that session to tackle the nuts and bolts that residents care most about, including the timeline, service changes, and tax impacts.
Adams Township has also created a merger page on its website, where residents can review the full presentation and submit comments before any ballot decision is finalized. If voters in both Mars and Adams sign off on the proposal, local leaders plan to use 2027 to combine departments and resources so that the new government can launch in 2028, according to Adams Township.
