Percy Dougherty is the chair of Lehigh County's highly regarded Board of Commissioners, arguably the best legislative body in the Lehigh Valley. A big reason for that is him. His affable style of bipartisan leadership makes Lehigh County as efficient as Northampton County Council is dysfunctional.I had assumed that, with a Republican majority ensured and the admiration of Democratic colleagues, Dr. Dougherty would soldier on for another year. But I've received inside word late yesterday that Percy is tired of all the duties entailed, and may pass the baton on to someone else. I hope this is untrue or that he changes his mind. Nobody serving can equal him as facilitator. Percy recently emailed fellow commissioners with a job description, adding "I can tell you from experience that this is a time consuming position."
1. Chair the County Commissioners meetings twice a month in a fair and impartial manner.
2. Attend all committee meetings-the Chair is a member of all committees.
3. Serve on the Lehigh County Pension Board.
(a) Ordinance requires the Chair and one other Commissioner serve on the Board.
(b) Quarterly meetings (2/11, 5/13, 8/12 and 10/10), 8-11 AM.
(c) Periodic meetings to interview companies for inclusion in portfolio.
4. Perform staff evaluations.
5. Assign Commissioners to committees.
6. Assign Commissioners to non-profit boards.
7. Attend leadership meetings with the Administration twice monthly, or as required.
8. Chair the Bi-county Health Commission for 2010 (alternates between the two counties)
(a) Organizational meeting on second Monday of January.
(b) Meetings and interviews of candidates for Treasurer.
(c) Organizational meetings with Northampton County in summer.
9. Serve on the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.
(a) Can only be the Chairperson and no alternate.
(b) Monthly Executive Committee Meetings, 7:30-10:00 AM on second Thursday of month.
(c) Serve on the Board and attend quarterly meetings
(d) Attend spring and fall Legislative Meetings.
(e) Other optional meetings, including Nomination Committee.
10. Serve on the Board of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation.
(a) Meets monthly on the third Thursday.
(b) Special meetings with the Mayor and site visits.
11. Serve on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board.
(a) Monthly meeting with the President Judge and officials of the judiciary
(b) Commissioner Raber represents the Chair this year.
12. Member, Lehigh County Affordable Housing Committee, Ordinance stipulates the Chair and one other Commissioner serve.
13. Member, Quality of Life Committee, Ordinance stipulates the Chair and two commissioners serve.
14. Be the point of contact between the Commissioners Office and:
(a) Municipal, State, and Federal governments,
(b) Administration, Judiciary and Row offices,
(c) County vendors
(d) The Public.
15. Be the point of contact between Lehigh County and other agencies through phone calls, emails, and correspondence, e.g.:
(a) County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
(b) National Association of Counties.
(c) Grant agencies.
(d) Federal and State agency review of programs.
16. Be available as the official representative of the County at public events.
17. Be available to answer questions from the press.
18. Prepare the annual Commissioners Office budget in consultation with the Clerk.
19. Review and complete paper work for expenditures, travel, training and special services in the Commissioners Office.
How do you happen to pick your favorites in the Lehigh Valley. Callahan vs. Dent; You happen to like Percy yet hate some of his cronies...
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, I mean you do realize that all of these folks, an I do mean ALL are for sale? Enough into ol Percy's campaign coffers and it's like magic. Of course you have to donate to Donnie Boy too...
Pay to play = the American Way!
Angle and Stoffa pay and Ohare plays and plays, the same old tunes.
ReplyDeleteShame Marc Basist didn't beat him. He was a good guy, off year for Dems all around.
ReplyDeleteJacob, Marc is a very nice guy. I met him and had a nice chat. He ran a good, clean campaign. He is also the most anti-union of ALL candidates running in either county. If elected, he would have done everything in his power to abolish all county unions. He hates them. He is actually far more conservative than Percy.
ReplyDeleteThe chief reason LC Comm'r meetings run so well is bc of Percy. He treats the position like a full-time job and I suspect he spends 40 plus hours per week. I disagree w/ him on some issues, but can do so w/o getting angry about it bc of his bipartisan approach to nearly everything.
hm... shame. his leadership is probably what keeps lc from devolving into the free for all that we see in norco. R's respect him b/c he is an R... D's respect him b/c he listens and tries to find common solutions.
ReplyDeleteI don't always agree with him, but working with him to help the Emmaus Main Street Program was very telling... community first!
Geoff
So Angle and Stoffa pay Ohare?
ReplyDeleteHow will Angle be able to do all this in NC?
ReplyDeleteAngle-clones? Run for the hills!
Bernie,
ReplyDeleteI disagreed with Marc on that issue, but he was honest. Marc from my talks with him isn't anti-labor but had a huge problem with the fact that people who weren't in unions were not getting pay increases while people in unions were from the county during the economic times.
Municipal and state unions get a little lower priority to me than private labor union forces. Municipal and state have a recourse with their employer the ballot box, that other employees never have. I understand where Marc was coming from in that regards, and would have to talk to municipal union leaders more to understand where exactly I personally stood. It is a different situation to me because at the end of the day, they are bargaining with tax payers representatives, not share holders representatives.
Percy is a good man and an excellent Chairman. He spends countless hours working to represent the Board and the people of Lehigh County. Few know how much time the job of commissioner demands. Serving as Chair is far more demanding on one's time, and one's PATIENCE .Percy and a top-notch staff rarely miss a beat. He also has a talent for running a Board meeting. If this post is true, his replacement could learn a thing or two by working with this pro.
ReplyDeletePercy is everyhing Ron Angle isn't. It is like Angle is the Bizzaro World, Percy.
ReplyDelete