Editor’s note: The only measure on Pittsburgh-area ballots will be the vote on Wilkinsburg’s proposed home rule charter for residents of the borough
Dear Reader, I offer you three tales — of Politics Past, Politics Present, and Politics Future. As we talk local politics, I hope you’re prepared for some of what wasn’t covered in your high school civics lessons — the most opaque politics of all.
Local politics means the governments of municipalities. Here in Pennsylvania, we have counties, and within them, cities, boroughs, and townships. One would be tempted to think it would simply be a matter of size that differentiates these, and one would be wrong.
Parker, for example, is a city with a population of 695. Meanwhile, Upper Darby Township is the sixth-most populous municipality in the commonwealth, just behind Erie. Generally, though, cities are, well, cities; boroughs are what one thinks of as “towns”, and townships are usually less dense areas.
In Pennsylvania, we have 2,560 municipalities and 67 counties. Which is a lot. But because of our state laws, nearly all of them work just about the same. For any borough — and there are 956 of them — ranging from over 40,000 in population (State College) to just five (Centralia, the place that has been burning underground for 60 years), Pa. Borough Code mandates the same structure and procedure for all of them.
It’s probable that meeting the needs of 40,000 people might differ from meeting the needs of a few hundred. But go to any borough, and the mayor there is actually just a ceremonial figure, paid about $5,000 a year, with the single duty of overseeing the police department. This is not what the title “mayor” usually connotes for people. Similarly, there is a Township Code for First- and Second Class townships, and a Third Class City Code, which applies to all cities that are not Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Each of those comes with their own sets of structures.
Politics past
And with that background, this is where our first tale begins. No surprise here, but these laws are old.
The Borough Code dates to 1966 as a consolidation of older laws. That $5,000 salary figure for the Mayor has not changed since then. The members of council, which has all the legislative and executive power in a borough, on average make $3,000 today.
In 1966, adjusted for inflation, that same $3,000 was equal to $30,000. That amount seems more in line with what you’d think the people making decisions affecting the lives of thousands or tens of thousands of people should make. The intervening nearly 60 years have allowed for a massive disinvestment in our local governments’ leadership.
What are the effects of that? Well, it largely narrows down the people who run for office to the old and retired or the independently wealthy — those who can afford to spend the amount of time the job requires for meager compensation. Meanwhile, folks with political expertise go elsewhere or to paragovernmental forces like CDCs and nonprofits as boroughs devolve into a volunteer soccer coach form of government.
This is the fault of the bigger system, because the Borough Code only gets updated when the State Legislature amends it, and that isn’t often. In politically polarized times like ours, where the spectacle of sabotage takes precedence over progress, agreements to do sensible stuff like that might not happen.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Politics present
There is a way out. Home Rule — maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe you haven’t. It’s on the ballot in Wilkinsburg; Braddock joined the club recently. Pittsburgh has it, as does Allegheny County. So what is it?
Home Rule allows a municipality to essentially create a local constitution. When a borough adopts Home Rule, for example, rather than being tied to the Borough Code, it now looks to its charter for its form of government and guiding principles. And this applies to all types of municipalities — counties, cities, boroughs, and townships. Any can adopt Home Rule. This allows a municipality to structure itself to best suit its residents’ needs and to most efficiently operate within its own context.
A Home Rule municipality still needs to observe uniform statewide laws — things like taxing, zoning, and elections, among others. But Home Rule also gives a municipality the right to do anything that is not explicitly prohibited by the Pa. General Assembly or Constitution.
So, its flexibility is immense. A charter, once passed, remains amendable by residents, and thus a municipality can adapt itself responsively and effectively. Home Rule is therefore an obvious choice for any municipality right now. Not only does Home Rule allow a local government to evolve in a timely manner, it also offers more tools.
Boroughs, for example, have basically only one option to increase their revenue, which is to increase the real estate tax rate. This can lead to property owners disproportionately shouldering the tax burden, and increasing property taxes can force senior citizens and folks with fixed incomes out of their homes. This has been the case in Wilkinsburg. Home Rule allows for more options in taxation, which offers municipalities the chance to strike the best balance.
Politics future
If you are a Wilkinsburg resident, you absolutely should vote Yes on Nov. 5 for Home Rule. While it offers many advantages, perhaps the two biggest changes Wilkinsburg’s charter proposes are 1) an executive role for the Mayor and 2) a direct path for residents to have issues they care about addressed by Wilkinsburg Borough Council.
Borough governments rely on a part-time council that meets once or twice a month and is hands-off on how anything actually gets implemented. Interviews with borough officials showed a large gap between council and the borough’s departments. In the proposed charter, the mayor would take on more of a full-time role, overseeing the borough manager to ensure that what council votes on actually gets implemented.
This is an efficiency upgrade. At the same time, the proposed charter offers a new dynamic to the borough, which is the resident-led initiative and referendum. Upon being petitioned by residents who have gathered a number of signatures, council would be required to address and vote on residents’ proposals. Should council fail to vote the way the community desires, at a higher threshold of signatures, residents can place proposals directly on the ballot for a vote. This participatory environment aspires to bring more ideas to the fore and help ensure the direction for Wilkinsburg is one that residents have ownership over.
But I want to offer an even bigger picture to you all. Many people reflecting on today’s politics will say, “Well, the system is broken; nothing can change.” With Home Rule, the most wide-open part is the structure the government can have and the tinkering with such a system that it provides. Progressives with big ideas and bigger ideals seem to have overlooked this tool, which is eminently accessible.
For many of our municipalities, a small number of signatures and two votes are all that’s between a deteriorating present, dominated by the past, and a brave new future, where the system we live under can be built in an entirely new fashion.
Vote for Home Rule. You are being done a civic disservice without it.
Jacquet Kehm is chair of the Wilkinsburg Government Study Commission.
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2024.
