By MIKE SCHREIBER
Era Associate Editor
One is the loneliest number – unless you live in Cameron
County.
In what’s believed to be an unprecedented move, officials in the
tiny northcentral Pennsylvania county are looking at consolidating
its seven municipal governments into one under a Home Rule
Charter.
As a result, officials will be holding a series of public
meetings over the next several months to gauge residents’ interest
in doing so. A referendum on the subject could be placed on the
ballot as early as the primary election next year and would be
voted on by residents in each of the county’s municipalities.
“As far as we’ve gathered, this has never been done in the state
of Pennsylvania or in any other state, where a whole county
consolidates,” Cameron County Commissioner Pat Rodgers said
Thursday. “It’s unique. Hopefully we can get through it.”
Rodgers said the idea was first broached a handful of years ago
by commissioners Tony Moscato, Glen Fiebig and George Singer.
“We need to be fiscally responsible and do this for the future
vitality of this county,” Rodgers said. “We’ve got to do something
… we can’t just continue operating under 1940s statutes.”
Moscato said “I think it’s a wonderful idea and something I’ve
been pushing for a number of years now. It’s garnered a lot of
attention and some pretty well-placed individuals in Harrisburg are
watching this closely and are supportive of this idea.”
Officials said since the idea was first discussed, a group of
county residents was formed to study the idea, dubbed “A
Municipal/County Government Feasibility Project, A Single
Municipal/County Government for Cameron County, Pa.”
“From its inception, it tied both public and private resources
together for the purpose of moving this idea forward,” Don Tanner
of the Penn State Cooperative Extension Office wrote in a press
release concerning the idea.
Officials said the principal goal of the project is to consider
how the municipal governments work together and might better
cooperate to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of
public services and the climate for private and public investment
inside the county.
“By focusing this project on governmental functions and
structures by targeting improved efficiencies and services
supporting private investment, economic growth and community
development, it is believed that Cameron County will be much better
positioned for the future,” Tanner wrote.
Among the objectives of the study include: eliminating
duplication in governments; assuring county-wide economic vitality;
retaining and attracting young people and families; maximizing
economies of scale in providing local government services, thus
saving taxpayer money; maintaining and enhancing public services;
promoting land use planning and development benefiting the entire
county; and helping produce state and federal dollars for
infrastructure and other local projects.
According to Rodgers, county government “constricts” what can be
done in regards to tax revenue. “Property taxes is basically the
income of a county government.” He noted the county only has
roughly 5,900 residents.
“You have so much freedom under a Home Rule Charter.” Officials
said the charter for the new government has not been written yet,
but could be led by an “executive director.”
If the Home Rule Charter is passed, essentially all elected
officials – including commissioners, mayors, borough councils and
tax collectors, among others – would be eliminated.
“It’s difficult because the majority of the county’s population
is in 10 miles of Emporium,” Rodgers said. “We have to make sure
the lower portion of the county is represented in a future
government. It could be a county-second class township form of
government. There’s more flexibility for a second class township as
far as progression in supplying services.
“So far, we’ve had great cooperation from all the municipalities
in researching this.”
Rodgers said still to be worked out is how such matters as
police service would be distributed.
“This is definitely a concern for Emporium, which has a police
service,” Rodgers said.
According to Rodgers, officials have been working with a
consultant familiar with municipal consolidation procedures
throughout the process.
Now, officials are trying to educate the public on its
intricacies.
“The people I’ve spoken with either support the idea
wholeheartedly or are hungry for information on it so they can make
an informed decision,” Moscato said. “They are not discounting
it.”
Tanner is requesting the public to send him questions that will
be answered in future newspaper articles and presentations. He will
respond to all individual questions that are asked. To reach
Tanner, contact the local extension office or by e-mail at
det2@psu.edu.
Tanner will also be working on putting together a Web site with
the help of county government to post all questions and information
for the public.
