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Government Study Commission recommends Bradford pursue home-rule charter
Summary
The Government Study Commission voted unanimously to recommend that Bradford proceed with drafting a home-rule charter and offered to work with consultant Capraland Strategies to prepare the charter for a future voter referendum. Council thanked the commission and heard public support.
Jim Evans, chairperson of Bradford’s Government Study Commission, told the city council the commission unanimously voted May 4 to recommend that the city “proceed with the creation of a home rule charter to be placed before the voters of the city of Bradford in an upcoming election.” The commission, Evans said, began meeting Dec. 1, interviewed department heads and council members and studied other Pennsylvania cities that adopted home rule.
Evans said the commission interviewed officials from Warren, Franklin, St. Marys and Newcastle and that those cities reported greater administrative flexibility after adopting home rule. He also noted interviews with Shamokin, which rejected home rule, and said that community later entered financial distress under Act 47—an account Evans presented as a cautionary contrast.
Evans told council the commission spent several hundred hours on the study and is prepared to work with consultant Capraland Strategies to draft a charter that would be published for public review before any referendum. “Once approved by council, the government study commission is prepared to begin working with Capraland Strategies, the appointed consultant to draft the charter that would be presented to the voters and published broadly so people understand what it means,” Evans said.
During the public-comment portion, Alexander Castro spoke in favor of proceeding with home rule, saying it could help municipalities diversify revenue and increase civic participation. The chair thanked the commission for its work and reminded council members that the body must remain neutral while the commission and consultant prepare materials for the public; council does not itself put a charter on the ballot until a formal council action occurs.
Next steps described in the meeting: the commission will work with the named consultant to draft charter language and make that work available to the public; any formal charter placement on a ballot would follow whatever council procedures and deadlines the council must later adopt.
