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Home Rule Explained
Posted 1-28-2002
This month the effort began to place the home rule study question on the
ballot. The group advocating for a home rule study must secure 5,000
signatures of registered voters in Westmoreland County before February 19th.
If they are successful, the question will be placed on the ballot for the
May 21st primary election.
The signatures must be
secured before February 19th because that is the day candidates can begin
circulating petitions to have their name on the ballot this primary
election. If the signature effort is successful, registered voters can run
for election to the Home Rule Study Commission. There will be nine people
elected from across our county. Individuals do not run as members of a
political party but as "at-large" candidates. They will need 200 signatures
of registered voters to have their names placed on the ballot, and those
signatures must be gathered between February 19th and March 12th.
In addition to the important
decision by the electorate of whether they want to study home rule or not,
they must AT THE SAME TIME, vote to elect the members of the Home Rule Study
Commission. There is a concern that people who vote against studying home
rule may neglect to cast votes for candidates to the study commission. If
the study question passes, it will be those nine individuals elected to the
study commission who will bear the awesome responsibility of drafting a
proposed home rule charter for voters to approve or reject, either in the
2003 general election or the 2004 primary election.
Many people wonder, just what
is home rule? It is changing the principles that govern how county
governments operate. Right now, Westmoreland County, along with 60 of
Pennsylvania's 67 other counties follow the County Code. The County Code was
created and is maintained by the Pennsylvania Legislature. It spells out how
county governments are structured, how we generate revenue, and how we
conduct business. Home rule changes those guidelines somewhat.
The structure of government
can be changed, although some offices like sheriff and controller must still
be in place. Commissioners and a number of other row officers could be
eliminated, BUT there would be some other official, elected or appointed,
handling the responsibilities of those eliminated offices. Home rule DOES
NOT eliminate the current system of real estate property taxes. By law, home
rule counties must still follow the same policies for taxation, EXCEPT the
cap on millage is eliminated. The cap for third-class counties like us is 25
mills (we're at 16.99 mills). The cap doesn't bind home rule counties,
unless their charter spells out that requirement. Erie County, a county that
implemented home rule back in the 1970's is way above the cap at something
like 52 mills. Home rule does allow some of the rules, such as bidding
guidelines, to be changed. Right now, according to the County Code anything
over $10,000 must be bid. In a home rule county, that number could be
increased or decreased depending on what is approved in a charter.
To conduct the election for a
Home Rule Study Commission will take a greater effort by our election bureau
staff and the hundreds of election day workers. We could conceivably have 50
or more candidates for the Home Rule Study Commission. Even if it is 30 or
40 candidates, setting the voting machines will become a greater challenge.
The idea of setting aside a voting machine in each precinct just for the
Home Rule Study Commission election may be considered. But, we do not have a
large enough inventory of extra machines to be spread around the county just
for that part of the primary election. We usually keep a spare machine for
the precincts that have only one machine assigned to it, in the event that
machine would break down. But, there aren't enough spares for each of the
306 precincts to have a machine just for the Home Rule Study Commission
election.
If studying home rule is
approved, there will be an associated cost. We must make money available for
the Study Commission to have all the materials they desire for the study. If
the Study Commission wants to enlist the services of experts, the taxpayers
must pay for those experts' services. Luzerne County, that approved a home
rule study this past November, budgeted $50,000 for this year's portion of
the study. If approved, we can expect to spend at least $75,000 to $100,000
for an 18-month study.
If the signatures are secured
and the home rule question is placed on the ballot, you will have to decide
if county government needs restructuring. Home rule can change the shape of
county government, but it WILL NOT eliminate or reduce our financial
challenges. It hasn't yet improved the financial status of any of the home
rule counties in Pennsylvania. At that same time, you will have to select
the individuals who can best draw up a charter that in some way improves
county government. Or, you can decide that the structure we have works
reasonably well, and if individuals are elected that are committed to
responsibly managing county government, they will effectively serve your
interests. |
