(The following is a Letter to the Editor from Towamencin resident Kofi Osei. The views expressed within are his own.)
The Towamencin Home Rule Charter became effective on July 1, but what exactly does that mean for Towamencin?
First, Towamencin is still a township of the second class, both in a legal sense and in the way the Towamencin Charter was constructed. Pennsylvania is a Dillon’s Rule state. In Dillon’s Rule states, every power a municipality has must be granted to it by the legislature. Therefore, home rule municipalities are not able to do much more than other municipalities. Further, the Towamencin Charter ties Towamencin’s powers and procedures to the second-class township code by default. Most residents will not notice the switch in the form of government because of these two points.
Second, the Towamencin Charter adds provisions around citizen participation. It includes a requirement to put more information on the website, as well as initiative and referendum procedures. Initiative and referendum procedures are common in home rule charters, but rarely get used. Towamencin shares the same petitioning requirements as Horsham Township, requiring the number of signatures to equal 15% of registered voters in the last municipal election, which equals nearly 2,000 signatures for Towamencin initiatives and referenda. Norristown’s only use of a similar procedure was to stop a sewer sale, which brings up the last and most substantive impact of the Towamencin Charter.
The charter prohibits the privatization of potable water, stormwater, and wastewater systems in Towamencin. Evidence points to this provision being able to stop the pending sewer sale.
Whether living in a second-class township or a home rule municipality, citizens in a participatory democracy are expected to keep tabs on their government and if necessary, organize their neighbors around ideas that will benefit the community. I encourage my fellow citizens to stay engaged in Towamencin affairs and work together to shape our shared future.
Signed,
Kofi Osei
Towamencin resident and former chair of the Government Study Commission
See also:
Opponents of Towamencin Sewer Sale Seek Injunction While Pursuing Litigation Against Township
Towamencin Supervisors to Continue with Sewer Sale Despite Passage of Home Rule Charter
PA American Water to Proceed with Towamencin Sewer Purchase Despite Passage of Home Rule Charter
Towamencin Voters Pass Home Rule Charter as Fight to Overturn Sewer Sale Continues
