Concord ponders government change

Concord Township supervisors are looking at a variety of different government models and have authorized advertising an ordinance that would put such a question on the November ballot.

In a rare Friday night meeting, supervisors voted to advertise a hearing that would put the following referendum on the ballot: “Shall a Government Study Commission of seven members be elected to study the existing form of government of the township, to consider the advisability of the adoption of an optional form of government or a Home Rule Charter, to recommend the adoption of an optional form of government or to draft and recommend a Home Rule Charter?”

A follow-up meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 28, to discuss and vote on whether to place the question on the ballot.

According to Supervisors’ Chairman Dominic Pileggi, options for a possible change include remaining a township of the second class, becoming a township of the first class, or opting for some type of home rule charter.

Another option is to change the nature of supervisory representation. Currently, all five supervisors serve at-large, meaning they each represent the entire township. The commission being considered could recommend that supervisors be elected by ward or some other geographical designation.

Pileggi said he prefers ward representation.

He explained that the proposed seven-member commission would be made up of people voted upon by the general public in November. It would be a nonpartisan election, Pileggi said. If voters approve the commission, its members would then hold a series of public meetings to consider the options. Then it would make a recommendation. If a change were recommended, that would be placed on a subsequent ballot for a public vote.

When a resident asked supervisors what was prompting the referendum, Pileggi said a group of people — whom he identified at the time as the Save the Valley group — was floating a petition to have Concord become a township of the first class. He said the board wanted to “head that off,” preferring any such change to happen if it were first studied by a commission.

Ken Hemphill, a member of Save the Valley, denied his group was behind the petition.

Another reason for moving speedily is that for the question to be on the November ballot, it has to be submitted to the Board of Elections 90 days before the election.

Pileggi was also asked if it were true that a township of the first class is required to have its own police force. He said no such requirement exists, but he thinks that if Concord residents did choose first-class status, it would only be a matter of time before the state police and other entities would apply pressure on Concord to have its own force.

A Web site — http://concordtwpfirst.org — promotes having the study commission instead of the petition movement. It says a group called Concord First Class is behind the petition movement and alleges the petition is “ a knee-jerk reaction in an attempt to unseat all five elected supervisors and for this important decision to be put in the hands of the court and not the voters.”

The concordtwpfirst Web site uses the official Concord Township logo.

According to Elam Herr, the assistant executive director for the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the primary criteria for becoming a township of the first class is a matter of population density. Townships of the first class have a population of at least 300 people per square mile. However, it’s not mandatory that a township with that population be a township of the first class. There are townships of the second class with such a population, he said.

Concord's population is more than 1,000 per square mile. The township reported a population of 17,231 people within 13.7 square miles based on the last census.

While townships of the second class have three to five supervisors, townships of the first class have anywhere from five to 15 commissioners who may be elected at-large or by district or ward. Supervisors serve six-year terms; commissioners serve for four years, according to Herr.

A major difference is one of taxation. Townships of the first class may have a higher millage rate. In townships of the second class, the maximum property tax millage is 14 mills or up to 19 mills with court permission. In townships of the first class, the rates are 30 and 35 mills, Herr said.

Concord's current millage rate is 0.944 mills.

Special taxation is also effected. In townships of the second class, the total property and special tax millage may be up to 37 or 38 mills, but that rate would be up to 70 mills for townships of the first class, according to Herr.

Those special taxes include such things as taxes on fire hydrants and streetlights.

While there is no requirement for townships of the first class to have a police or fire department, they must have a civil service commission, something not required of a township of the second class.

If voters approve a change in government, the Court of Common Pleas would appoint an initial group of commissioners who would serve until a regular overlapping election cycle for them is established.

 

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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