Ending the township

Our initial reaction to HB 2431 was, “Say what?”

As reported in this week’s update of ChaddsFordLive.com, the
bill is an attempt to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to eliminate all
levels of government below the county level. No more townships, boroughs or
even cities as geopolitical entities, according to the bill’s initial sponsor,
state Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, D-Berks County.

Should the bill pass and the constitution ultimately be
amended, the counties would take over all governance on the local level.
Counties already have a say in what the townships do. County planners review
plans that are under consideration by township planning commissions. The new
idea, however, goes beyond that. Counties would make decisions on local zoning
laws, on land use and police protection. Township supervisors would become
history.

There are many people who would truly love to see supervisors
go away, and others—some business people in particular—would like to see an end
to what they view as another level of bureaucracy. As one local business owner
said, “The fewer levels of government, the better.”

We get that. We also understand how confusing the township
model can be. Ask people in this general area where they live and they’ll
usually say they live in Chadds Ford. But press them further and one learns
they might actually live in one of six possible townships—in both Chester and
Delaware counties— all because they have a Chadds Ford mailing address.
Furthermore, there are places in Chadds Ford and Concord townships that have
Glen Mills addresses and there are homes in Chadds Ford Township that have a
West Chester mailing address.

Putting an end to townships would do away with that
confusion, but it would also do away with local control, local governance.

Should Media, Delaware County’s county seat, be making
zoning decisions for a bedroom township such as Chadds Ford and for a place
like Darby that could almost be considered a Philadelphia neighborhood?

When there’s a problem with a township street, people can
now simply phone or knock on the door of a neighbor who happens to be a
roadmaster or supervisor and get the situation resolved relatively quickly.
That won’t be the case if HB 2431 eventually passes and the constitution
changed.

Eliminating townships and boroughs still won’t streamline
government. The county governments will just grow and become as cumbersome and
as costly as Harrisburg. Township property taxes will go away, but county
property taxes will increase. Even the bill’s sponsor admits that.

Yet, all of this is moot at this time. It would take years
for this to happen. HB 2431 is still in committee and will stay there through
the current legislative session. Even if reintroduced next year (as Rep.
Caltagirone said he would) and, in the unlikely chance that it passes both
houses of the General Assembly, it would have to pass in two separate sessions
of the assembly and then be approved by at least 51 percent of the voters in an
election.

Perhaps our opinion will change in the light of new
information should there be a decent public debate over the issue, but our view
now is that this is, at best, a poorly conceived idea that should wind up in a
legislative trashcan.

Local governance is no guarantee of liberty, but a larger
and more distant source of government is even less so.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. DISNEY

    I would love to see local townships go away. I’m tried of these supervisors!

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