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To Switch to Home Rule or Not
Posted
07-26-2001
As a way of increasing readership on my web site, I asked a poll
question about 'home rule'. The question certainly increased participation
on the poll, but it also brought up the old home rule issue. The issue is
not new in Pennsylvania, as six or seven counties implemented home rule in
the 1970s, and Allegheny County did it in 1999. There continues to be varied
opinions on the value of home rule, but there is no real evidence of it
being a panacea for the problems of county government.
In recent years in
Westmoreland County, the only two real advocates for home rule were former
Republican Commissioner Terry Marolt and current Republican Commissioner
Scott Conner. Mr. Marolt's effort focused on what he believed to be the
outdated nature of county row offices. He didn't necessarily want to see
county commissioners replaced. Mr. Conner seems to advocate for home rule
because of an interest in seeing tax referendums similar to what happened in
the state of Ohio.
The problem is that neither
of those features is guaranteed to be part of a home rule charter. The way
the process is suppose to work is that voters decide whether to study home
rule and at the same time, if it passes, elect members of a Home Rule Study
Commission. That group develops a proposed charter, and, then, voters decide
whether to approve the charter. Neither of the Republican commissioners'
areas of interest is certain to be a part of the charter.
Our neighbors in Allegheny
County circumvented the home rule law and had special legislation passed
that eliminated the vote on whether to study home rule and simply
hand-picked a charter committee that in advance knew it was developing a
form of government with a county executive and a county council. The only
choice voters had was to accept the new form of government or not. With a
well-financed campaign and the Post Gazette as a strong advocate, the
charter passed by only 500 votes.
The problem is that you don't
know what you're going to get. After 18 months, I don't know if Allegheny
County has made any great strides in solving the problems that county
governments face. Those problems, like a reliance on property taxes,
increased financial demands from the court system, and in the area of public
safety, are not solved by changing the form of government. Without tax
reform and greater reimbursements from the state and federal governments,
county government is still mired in a never-ending budget battle.
In Westmoreland County, there
has been virtually no demand from voters on this issue. The issue can be
placed on the ballot if the voting public completes a petition drive. I'm
wondering if the lack of a public outcry is a sign that people are satisfied
with their form of government, they don't understand the issue, or they just
don't care. In Allegheny County, it was the corporate and academic elites
that pushed the issue. Here, there has been no public demand except two
Republican commissioners.
Call me a traditionalist, or
someone who reveres what is passed on to us, but the commission form of
county government has been in place for years, and I take very serious any
effort to replace it. I certainly want to see the county code that regulates
us updated to meet current challenges, but that can be done with a more
responsive legislature.
It concerns me that the
dialogue over home rule creates an impression that it is something that it
is not. The most fundamental problems (financial) of county government do
not go away. Also, no one can be certain in advance, what the charter will
look like. If the citizens of the county speak out and demand a change in
their form of government, I'll work to accommodate them. Otherwise, I'll
work to do the job I was elected to do, manage county government as
effectively as possible under the commission form of government. |
