A work session with Bradford City Council on Tuesday was for a rather unexpected reason — learning more about the pros and cons of Home Rule as a form of government.
Home Rule in Pennsylvania can be defined as a transfer of the basic authority in municipal affairs from state law (as Bradford is governed currently,) to a local charter — drafted, adopted and amended by the voters of the municipality.
Terri Cunkle, a local government policy specialist with the Governor’s Center for Local Government, met with Bradford City Council on Tuesday evening to discuss the benefits of a Home Rule governing style for the city, in comparison to the way the government is currently structured, with a city manager, mayor and five city council members.
“A common misconception is that Home Rule is all about taxation — it is not,” clarified Cunkle. In fact, Home Rule allows municipalities to have some autonomy while still abiding by the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions and other state laws. “It’s the people’s law — the people elected to the commission.”
Mayor Tom Riel clarified that the city has no current plans to implement Home Rule. However, they wanted to learn more concerning the success of Home Rule in 82 Pennsylvania municipalities and seven counties who have been successfully governing their municipalities since the Home Rule Charter was adopted in 1972.
In the instance that the City of Bradford would decide to move forward with the idea of a Home Rule governing system, it is not something which would take place immediately, explained Cunkle. During any future election, a referendum can be placed on the ballot of the governing body of 5% of electors in the last gubernatorial election. If placed on the ballot, voters are then asked to vote upon two items: the first being if they wish to elect a Government Study Commission (GSC) to study the existing form of government and Home Rule; while the second (whether the answer to the first question be yes or no) would ask voters to select 7, 9 or 11 electors running on the ballot. If the Home Rule fails to pass during the election, the action cannot be placed on the ballot again for another five years.
If the Home Rule passes the general election, within 10 days the certification of elected members must take an oath and they also must organize and hold their first public meeting within the first 15 days. The elected members will then be responsible to attend two one-hour meetings a month for the next 18 months. The GSC has 18 months from the date of winning the general election certification to complete the draft of a charter for referendum for the city.
If Bradford’s City Council does decide to move forward in pursuing a Home Rule, “it would be after much discussion and review,” said Riel.
For more information about Home Rule in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development at https://dced.pa.gov/.
