Towamencin Township voters will make a choice on Tuesday to either say yes to NOPE or yes to TRUST — and it all revolves around the former’s push to stop the township sewer sale to NextEra by adopting a Home Rule Charter in Towamencin.
On one side, you have NOPE — Towamencin Neighbors Opposing Privatization Efforts — whose efforts have been spearheaded by outspoken Towamencin resident and Buxmont DSA Co-Chair Kofi Osei. NOPE has fought the township for months on the pending sale of the sewer system. Following the approval of the sale, NOPE hit the ground running with a successful grassroots petition to get the Government Study Commission question on the ballot.
On the opposing side, there is the group Township Residents United Serving Towamencin, or TRUST, who, like NOPE, have put up a slate of seven commissioners to be chosen by voters for the seven-member commission, including Montgomery County Republican Committee Vice Chair Nancy Becker. Much like a school board election, the top seven vote-getters will be on the Government Study Commission.
Read more on the NOPE and TRUST Home Rule debate here.
On Tuesday, Towamencin voters will see this question on the ballot:
“Shall a Government Study Commission of seven members be elected to study the existing form of government of Towamencin Township, to consider the advisability of the adoption of a Home Rule Charter; and if advisable, to draft and to recommend a Home Rule Charter?”
So, what is a Home Rule Charter and what are its pros and cons?
First, a Home Rule Charter affects municipal matters. It tosses out some state laws and transfers authority to a local constitution. If Towamencin goes to Home Rule, then it can basically do anything not specifically denied by the state constitution, the General Assembly, or the charter itself, according to WHYY.
A Home Rule Charter gives a municipality local control and local ordinances that are not hindered by state legislators. Home Rule municipalities can also set the property tax rate and the personal tax rate as well, which can be viewed as a major con by dissidents.
Additional features of a Home Rule Charter — which can be viewed positively or negatively, depending on one’s position — include providing power to local leaders without state oversight and providing the ability to surpass the state-set tax limit. Any changes to the charter require a referendum on a ballot.
There are many Home Rule Charter municipalities in our region: Allentown, Philadelphia, Chalfont Borough, Horsham Township, Plymouth Township, Whitemarsh Township, Upper Providence Township, Norristown Borough, Cheltenham Township, Chester, Easton, Reading, and Scranton, to name a few. There are also some counties in Pennsylvania that have Home Rule Charters, with Delaware County being the closest to us.
When it comes to the Towamencin ballot box on Tuesday, even if a voter votes “no” on the government study, seven commissioners must still be selected.
The TRUST commissioner candidates include Becker, Douglas Kile, Michael Main, Connie Brown, Richard Todd Fisher, Amy Tarlo, and Jeffrey K. Baer.
The NOPE slate of candidates include Osei, Jennifer Foster, Don Lepp, Christina Gallagher, Mark Warren, Martin Cohen, and Gisela Koch.
As stated earlier, the top seven vote-getters will form the Government Study Commission, regardless of political party.
If majority wins on the ballot question, then the purpose of the Government Study Commission will be to investigate the current township government to lead to the potential adoption of a Home Rule Charter.
After the investigation, if the commission decides to pursue a Home Rule Charter, then the charter is drafted with input from the public. Following the draft, it is then presented to residents of the township and then voted upon for passage.
Under state law, the commission has 18 months to complete the work; however. NOPE wants to get the Home Rule decision on the May 2023 ballot.
Yet, there is fear from some TRUST candidates and township supervisors that NOPE has something in its back pocket. They allege NOPE — which is an offshoot of the Norristown Opposes Privatization Efforts, which was successful in preventing a sewer sale in the Home-Rule-Chartered borough last year — wants to do more than stop a sewer sale with a Home Rule Charter, but affect current elected offices, zoning and development codes, and tax limits.
In a letter to the editor, the NOPE candidates denied the accusations, stating they have been “slandered and subjected to a massive diversion.”
“First, we were accused of being in favor of high-density housing (smoke screen). Then we were accused of secretly promoting a Home Rule Charter to raise taxes (more smoke). Now, the township is publishing misleading information on their website and sending to residents email spreading disinformation.”
NOPE said they were hoping the adoption of a Home Rule Charter will override the sewer sale.
“NextEra has chosen to subcontract the operation and maintenance of the Towamencin Township sewer system to US Water. On Aug. 22, the PUC has, for now, rejected NextEra’s application based on their sub-contracting operation and maintenance of the sewer system. This matter is ongoing,” wrote NOPE in its letter.
“In the event that the PUC ultimately rules against NextEra’s purchase of our sewer system, we want to make it impossible for our Board of Supervisors (BOS) to initiate another round of proposals to again sell our sewer system. Our BOS has doubled down on selling this valuable asset. We must guard against this.”
NOPE also disputed the claims they were interested in development, stating they do not support high density housing and higher taxes.
“We just want to stop this abomination of the sewer sale. That is what this has always been about,” they wrote.
In his own letter to the editor, Towamencin Supervisor Rich Marino said he is “not against the formation of a Government Study Commission or the potential adoption of a Home Rule Charter.”
“My concerns are the promises being made and the timeline proposed for this commission. The way the ballot question is phrased leads you to believe that the elected members of this Government Study Commission will undertake an organized examination of the existing township government and compare that to a Home Rule Charter,” Marino wrote. “Upon hearing that the NOPE candidates want to have the new charter on the ballot in May 2023, it appears that if they are elected to this Government Study Commission they won’t be studying much of anything. The evaluation of our current form of government under the PA Second Class Township Code will be skipped as they have already decided to move to a Home Rule Charter; and since the timeline is so short, the document they intend to 'draft’ must already exist. So much for due diligence and input from the public. Their timeline does not allow for that.”
Marino wrote that the election will not be certified by the county until at least the end of November. Then, the new commission would have to be sworn in and hire consultants on the taxpayers’ dime to guide the commissioners through the drafting process. Next, the commission would have to schedule public meetings, draft a charter, hold more public meetings to introduce the charter and get feedback, and revise the draft.
“However, to be on the ballot for the May 16, 2023, Primary Election, this work has to be completed 60 days prior to that, which means March 16, 2023. Early January to mid-March is about 10 to 11 weeks,” Marino said.
In a letter to residents, TRUST said a newly adopted Home Rule Charter cannot be used to void the existing contract of sale.
“If a newly adopted Home Rule charter is used as a method to block the asset purchase agreement, NextEra has the right to sue Towamencin Township for breach of contract,” said the letter. “The Township has a signed asset purchase agreement between Towamencin and NextEra to sell the sewer system. When NOPE was unsuccessful in blocking the agreement, they petitioned to have a ballot question added to the upcoming November election.”
Resident Vanessa Gaynor wrote in a letter to The Reporter that the claims that using home rule to stop the sewer sale would be illegal is false.
“The language of the Asset Purchase Agreement between Next Era and Towamencin clearly states that there is a no-fault termination if a governmental authority (such as a Home Rule Charter) prohibits the transfer of the asset,” wrote Gaynor. “Additionally, PA state court precedent states that Home Rule Charters should be favored in legal disputes, should one arise.”
At a recent Towamencin Township meeting, TRUST candidate Main reiterated that he is against using home rule to breach the sewer sale contract. In talking with residents about the Home Rule question, Main said there were five sides to the issue: Residents against the sale and for home rule to stop the sale; residents against the sale and against home rule; residents for the sale and not for the government study; residents for the sale and for the government study; and residents neither against nor for the sale or the study.
“We spoke with many residents that supported the NOPE groups efforts to stop the sale, but do not support them trying to use home rule in this way. Therefore, the NOPE group could not represent the majority of the residents. They only represent the first group that wants to try to use home rule to stop the sewer sale,” Main said. “I have done a lot of research on government study, home rule, and sewer sales across the state as it pertains to a government study and home rule. I found in my research Home Rule or a government study was not used to stop the sewer sale in Norristown. In fact, a government study or home rule has never been used to cancel any contract, because it can’t. A government study or home rule cannot stop this. Anyone who has told residents it has or it can, has misled them.”
Main said if NOPE tries to write a law making the sale illegal, “then that law would not be uniform throughout the state and would also directly conflict with multiple state laws including Pennsylvania’s ACT 12 of 2016.”
“To write a municipal ordinance making it illegal to sell the sewer system will surely be struck down in judicial review,” he said. “A successful government study needs overwhelming support from the community after the residents have been informed about the purpose of the government study and all of the implications that home rule could have both negative and positive.”
Main said TRUST is running for a Government Study Commission.
“There is no agenda, just representing all of the residents of our community. Home rule cannot stop the sale. So why would we waste an opportunity to look at Towamencin’s structure of government to see if real, productive recommendations could be made to better our community? We are not asking residents to vote yes or no. We are trying to communicate as much information and awareness of the issue as we can for voters to make their own decisions.”
See also:
Op-Ed: Stop the Sewer Sale, Vote Yes on Towamencin Government Study
Potential Bucks County Sewer Sale Plan Appears Dead, Residents Celebrate
Two Bucks County Commissioners Come Out Against Potential $1.1 Billion Sale of Sewer System
Bucks County Commissioners Ask Questions on Potential Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority Sale
Bucks County Water & Sewer Authority Exploring Plan to Sell Part of System For $1.1 Billion
Editorial: Why We Decided to Sell Our Sewer System
Despite Vocal Opposition, Towamencin Supervisors Sell Sewer System for $115M in Historic 4-1 Vote
Towamencin Supervisors Vote 4-1 to Advertise Sale of Sewer System for $115M, Final Vote May 25
Letter to the Editor: Vote No on Selling Sewer System
Residents Speak Out After Towamencin Supervisors Signal Intent to Sell Sewer System
Towamencin Supervisor Majority Says They’re in Favor of Selling Sewer System Despite Opposition
North Penn Says Proposed Towamencin Sewer Sale Would Have Minimal Impact on District
To Sell or Not to Sell: Towamencin Board to Decide Sanitary Sewer Fate in May
Towamencin Inches Closer To Possible Sewer Privatization With Feb. 11 Bid Deadline
Editorial: Selling the Sewer System Would Be Bad for Towamencin (and Elsewhere)
