EMPORIUM – Cameron County residents will soon get their first
detailed explanation of a proposed home rule charter that would
dissolve the current county, borough and township governments and
replace them with a single entity.

A public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18, will likely attract a
large audience to hear the specifics of the plan.

Cameron County Commissioners Glen Fiebig, Tony Moscato and
Patrick Rodgers have been investigating the home rule charter for
several months, working with a paid consultant, Alan Kugler of PA
Futures, and Dr. Tim Kelsey from the Penn State’s Department of
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.

Donald Tanner, educator for the Penn State Cooperative Extension
Service branch serving Cameron, Potter and McKean counties, has
been assisting.

In advance of the Jan. 18 meeting, the team has issued a
pamphlet, entitled Cameron County Government Single Project, to
identify some of the issues. The pamphlet is available at
Cooperative Extension offices or on the Cameron County
Commissioners website at www.cameroncountypa.com.

“By learning its potential impact on local governments,
residents will be in a better position to make informed decisions
about how this single government can affect them,” Tanner said.

Under the commissioners’ plan, voters in Emporium and Driftwood
boroughs, as well as the townships of Shippen, Lumber, Gibson,
Portage and Grove, would decide whether the home rule charter plan
should move forward. However, in order for the question to appear
on the ballot this year, township supervisor boards and borough
councils must agree to let voters decide.

If voters approve the plan and other elements fall into place,
the new form of government could take effect as early as January
2010.

A nine-member governing body would be elected, consisting of one
representative from each of seven voting districts and two
at-large. The voting districts would be developed based on
population.

An initial plan calls for Driftwood Borough, Grove Township and
Gibson Township to form one district. Lumber and Portage townships
would become a voting district. Emporium Borough and Shippen
Township would be divided to create the other five districts.

Starting salaries of governing body members would be $2,500.

Five countywide offices would be filled by voters: district
attorney, sheriff, treasurer, coroner and a combination
prothonotary, clerk of courts, register of wills and recorder of
deeds.

The following offices would be abolished: county commissioner,
township supervisor, tax collector, borough council member, mayor,
tax collector, county auditor, borough and township auditor and
jury commissioner.

The governing body would appoint a manager, chief of police,
director of public works, chief assessor, chief clerk and
solicitor.

Commissioner Rodgers is a strong advocate of the home rule
charter, based on his belief that it would save taxpayers a large
sum of money through efficiencies and economies of scale.

Population losses, higher water and sewage rates, rising real
estate taxes and declines in the business sector are stressing the
Cameron County economy.

Rodgers also said the Cameron County plan, if approved, would be
a first in Pennsylvania; no entire county has ever consolidated all
of its local governments.

Some county residents have declared the plan dead on arrival. It
could be a tough sell in Gibson Township, where Supervisor Gaylord
McIsaac questions where the 200-plus residents of his municipality
would take their local complaints and concerns if a centralized
board were making all of the decisions.

Loyal township employees who have served for many years could
lose their jobs, McIsaac points out.

Former Cameron County Commissioner Mary Donovan has also joined
the ranks of the vocal opponents.

“Citizens’ representation will be weakened,” she said. “If
something is detrimental to an area, such as a dump or nuclear
waste site, the people of that area would have no local authorities
who could speak for them.”

Commissioners Rodgers, Moscato and Fiebig are asking county
residents to keep an open mind as they consider the pros and cons
of the plan.