NORWICH – The Town of Norwich Board wants locals to examine sharing inter-municipal services and shunned the idea of a Greater Norwich merger by opting out of a state-run government consolidation study initiated by Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Rather than participate in Spitzer’s merger study, the town board passed a resolution at its monthly meeting Monday proposing that community members and leaders from the Town of North Norwich, Norwich, and City of Norwich heat-up what have become cold discussions about creating a three-municipality fire district. If that goes well, Supervisor David C. Law says the three governments could look at combining other services, like health benefit plans, a water sewer authority and youth programs.

In September, a commission appointed by Spitzer handed down a wide-range of consolidation initiatives for several hundred local governments across the state to consider. Spitzer says the goal is to relieve the state’s over-taxed and over-governed residents.

The Town and City of Norwich were asked to look at merging.

As for that request: “We’ve all (town officials) made our positions quite clear that we’re not in favor of a merger,” Law said Monday.