County Commissioner Chairwoman, Diana Irey Vaughan, is to be
commended for working with Vice Chair, Larry Maggi, in placing the important
issue to adopt a government study commission before county voters on November
2, 2021. Her decision demonstrates leadership beyond partisan politics. In
addition, the willingness to join forces with Common Pleas President Judge,
John DiSalle, to solve an ongoing intransigent crisis in county governance (as
detailed in Irey Vaughan’s recent op-ed) is exemplary. Moreover, if voters
ultimately adopt a Home Rule form of government, the rewards will broaden far
beyond solving the present intragovernmental dilemma.
Change to existing institutions, no matter how outdated or
ineffective, is never easy. The Pennsylvania counties that have done the hard
work and adopted Home Rule have been rewarded with the independence to
formulate their own local form of government. They are free from the
constraining cookie cutter requirements set forth in antiquated Pennsylvania
statutes that often impede progress in Washington County.
For a variety of reasons now is the time to establish a
commission to study and recommend a form of Home Rule government in Washington
County. While Republicans and Democrats may disagree on the final provisions of
a Home Rule charter, the bi-partisan consensus to form a government study
commission is encouraging.
Even under the best of times, the patronage-driven offices
for civil filings (Prothonotary), criminal filings (Clerk of Courts), real
estate filings (Recorder of Deeds) and wills and estates (Register of Wills)
have long outlived their usefulness. Unfortunately, these are not the best of
times. As pointed out by Commissioner Irey Vaughan, since assuming office in
January of 2020, several Row Office officials have turned their benign clerical
domains into political flashpoints with an agenda to disrupt the court system
and impede the collection of county fees. In addition, the prior Clerk of
Courts was accused and convicted of diverting a large sum of office receipts
for his personal use.
Because these officials were elected, there is little that
the Commissioners could do to rectify each situation. A thief stayed in office until the end of his
term. Clerical operations were run like
political fiefdoms. Row Office officials terminated competent employees to hire
patronage hacks. These same officials ignored directives from the President
Judge they were elected to serve.
It is important for voters to know there are three
categories of Row Offices in Pennsylvania. First, are the clerical offices
described above that exist solely to support the court system and serve no
“check and balance” function in county government. The public expectation of these offices is
simply to perform their clerical responsibilities by processing the flow of
legal documents necessary to keep the court system functioning. Since January of 2020, these clerical offices
have performed miserably and taken no action to improve.
Under a Home rule form of government these, court based,
clerical, Row Offices would be replaced with a new Department of Court Records.
This county function would be organized in accordance with best record keeping practices. It would save money by eliminating
overlapping functions and expenditures. The administrator of this new
department and all clerical employees would be retained or hired based on merit.
The second category of Row Office includes the elected
Coroner and Sheriff. Some will argue they should remain as elected positions in
Washington County. In my view, both should be eliminated. The Coroner position
should become the office of a modern appointed medical examiner, qualified to
perform forensic pathology. The Sheriff should be a law enforcement official
with extensive administrative experience, appointed by the Commissioners and
the courts.
Lastly are the Row offices of District Attorney, Controller
and Treasurer that should remain as elected positions. Each of these offices
serves as a check and balance on county government. This independence ensures
that criminal justice, county audits and the receiving and disbursement of
county funds remain self-sufficient functions.
In addition to the above, a government study commission will
have the opportunity to consider whether to recommend replacing the
three-commissioner system authorized by state law with a single elected chief
executive. Under this model, adopted by
Allegheny County and others, a countywide council would also be elected to work
with the executive in conducting county business. The executive would be a single voice and the
council would reflect the very different needs and priorities of Washington
County’s diverse communities. Of course, when the review is completed, the
study commission could recommend retaining the three-commissioner system.
Lastly, a government study commission can assemble Home Rule
recommendations that would make Washington County less dependent on state
government in other important respects. The county could be given greater
control in addressing: a) economic
development needs; b) the demands on county government for local services; and
c) the ability to invoke a rapid response to address unique problems without
waiting for Harrisburg to take action, including public health issues like the
pandemic.
Sometimes it takes a political crisis to precipitate long
overdue change. The citizens of Washington County should be dismayed at the
former illegal activity and present unconscionable high jinx, taking place in
the clerical Row Offices. Conversely, citizens should be heartened that there
is a bi-partisan effort to resolve the problem. Now is the time to take action and begin the
process to adopt a modern, more efficient, form of government.
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