Wait and see.

There is not much more Bedford-area residents can do while officials weigh the pros and cons of independent city Bedford reverting to town status -- a move that would make it part of Bedford County.

Bedford is considering dropping its city status -- in place since 1968 -- because it continues to face challenges over raising new revenue.

"The city is hard pressed financially," City Manager Charles Kolakowski said.

Officials on both sides of the reversion issue have remained tight-lipped since making an announcement eight months ago that reversion would be explored. If both sides agree to move forward with the reversion process, there will be a formal request for citizen input in the form of a public hearing. Until then, most of the negotiations will happen behind closed doors.

"It is not any dark, sinister secret," Kolakowski said. "It is just the way we do the process in the best interest of everyone."

For months Kolakowski, Bedford Mayor Skip Tharp and City Councilman James Vest have been meeting regularly with Gary Lowry and Dale Wheeler of the county's board of supervisors and County Administrator Kathleen Guzi.

Virginia's Freedom of Information Act allows private meetings to be held when no more than two members of a public body are involved -- so long as those two members do not constitute a quorum of such a body.

The private discussions so far, Kolakowski said, have focused on the feasibility of reversion.

"The county is in the process of waiting to hear from the city what services they want to continue to provide as a town and what services they want us to provide," Guzi said.

She said she hopes to receive that information from the city within the next month so costs of those services can be calculated and further weighed. Guzi did not say how long she expects that process to take.

"There is no formal time line, but we are very heavily into it," Kolakowski said. "I could not say we are halfway through or three quarters through. We are in the midst."

The county already provides contractual services to the city in many areas -- social services, courts, emergency dispatch and more. The county has educated the city's students for more than two decades.

If the city reverts, "this would not affect our students whatsoever," said county schools spokesman Ryan Edwards. "They would continue to attend their schools with no changes."

What would have to be decided is which jurisdiction will own Bedford Elementary and Bedford Middle schools, now city owned and maintained but used by the county for daily instruction. Edwards said the facilities owe $900,000 each in state-issued literary loans, which leaves a question lingering of which entity will repay the debt.

"It would also have to be decided what composite index would be used," he said. "The choices would be to use the county's current index, the city's current index or a blended rate index."

In Virginia the composite index is a ratio used to determine what portion of education is funded by the state based on each locality's available contribution.

Kolakowski said if Bedford reverts to town status, it will likely continue to provide water, electricity, sewer, solid waste and police services just as the city currently does.

"If anything we are looking to see how we can get better services for our businesses and citizens," Kolakowski told a group of senior citizens at a meeting last month. "The impact on a day-to-day basis, you are probably not going to notice.".

Some areas and services that officials are exploring related to reversion include economic development and recreation.

"The city rec department is in the county, and the county rec department is in the city. That drove me crazy when I moved here," said Caroline Duus, who has lived in the Bedford area for almost 20 years and attended the meeting with Kolakowski.

One of the main reasons Virginia cities look at reversion is their inability to annex new land, a power the General Assembly took away from cities years ago.

And there is too much emphasis on artificial boundaries anyway, Kolakowski said.

When it comes to retaining industry "we should not be worried whether it is located in the 6-square-mile city or 20 miles from the city," he said.

Virginia is the only state in which independent cities function separately from the counties surrounding them. South Boston and Clifton Forge are the only localities to have exercised the right to revert -- though many others have explored it.

This is not the first time, in fact, that a Bedford-area consolidation has been considered. A citizen-initiated proposal for the city and county to become a shire and supercity, respectively, died in 1995 when voters rejected a merger referendum.

If the current reversion request proceeds this time, it would not appear on a ballot because it was not initiated by the public. Instead, a three-judge panel would be appointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia to consider it.

If the city reverts, at least one more thing will not have to change: Travelers who exit U.S. 460 east heading toward Centertown have for years been greeted by a sign that bills Bedford as the "World's Best Little Town."