washed up ex-pro

The way to fix 2 Councils that are under-performing in membership is not a merger, you end up with all of the problems and none of the management skills to deal with them on a larger scale. It doesn't immediately stock a District Committee, either. Unless a mega Council is absorbing a tiny red headed neighbor, the real problems just get kicked down the road

Most mergers I've seen (I lived thru one as a Pro) are financially driven. Camps, staffs and especially a SE is expensive to maintain - the finance model of the 1970's Council doesn't work anymore. I feel that the membership argument is merely a beard for the financial discussion that no on really wants to have

I feel the OP's migraine pain. That Q and A page is the same for every merger, National probably wrote it

It's the 3 M's, money, manpower and membership. In the professional ranks it's like a pyramid scheme with the local SE at the top. The board, the staff, the camp ...only exist to set him up for his retirement. Numbers are down in a District, off with a DE's head - many just fell off of the turnip truck so finding a new one is easy. If the problem gets bigger, fire a DD or a FD - make sure its the deadbeat burn out with nothing left to give, though. When all else fails, embark on a giant capital campaign to save the camp we might have to sell. That will distract for a good 2 or 3 years. Last resort...cook up a merger, broker a buy out and greener pastures are coming your way. If you run the Board correctly, you can hang out for a long time as an under performing SE. There's a lot of insulation (and people to fire first) between you and where the rubber meets the road

On another note, if you're getting consistentl poor field service - look no further than the nearest FD. It's one thing to have bad talent, its another to keep hiring it.

For the record, ten years in the biz. Sorry to sound cynical, but its not the volunteers that I'd ever rip. True backbone of the movement