Brown Vetoes Good Government Study

John Brown

In a shocking disregard for good government, Northampton County Executive John Brown yesterday vetoed a County Council initiative that would ask you, the people, how best to improve county government.

On Thursday night, Northampton County Council voted 6-3 to allow you to decide next year whether to embark on a much-needed government study of the Northampton County's Home Rule Charter. Since it was first adopted in 1976, it's been amended 16 times. In September, Council was poised to unleash another set of these piecemeal amendments when I suggested it's really time to look at the Charter as a whole.

Keep what works. Get rid of what does not. I have been making this argument since 2000. For reasons that escape me, I finally persuaded most of them.

Brown's veto message complains, "A Government Study will be costly, drain resources and be a distraction to the actual work that needs to be performed." He also argues that the current government already "provides for a robust checks and balance between the Executive and Legislative bodies as it was intended to do."

Brown is afraid of good government.

Far from being costly, a government study would likely be quite inexpensive, depending on the persons who serve. It would reduce the expense of litigation concerning the Charter. There will be no drain on resources because this will be an independent body. It will hardly be a distraction. It might actually encourage Council members and the Executive to sit down and read the Charter.

According to his deposition in the Mancini case, that is something Brown failed to do until eight months after being elected.

Q. Why did you read the home rule charter?
A. There were some issues going on, I needed to review them.
Q. For this deposition?
A. Just -- I happened to be doing it in general for other issues in the county.

As for Brown's claim that the Charter already contains enough checks and balances, he completely ignores the judiciary, as though they don't exist. The unfortunate truth is that the Brown has grown far too powerful. He has made a practice of governing by by consultant,  bringing them in at levels that are just below the threshold that invites Council scrutiny. 

The reality is that a government study is long overdue. The most basic question, of course, is whether to continue with some form of home rule or revert back to the three-Commissioner form of government.

I'm willing to keep an open mind on that question.

Most counties are governed by three Commissioners, and there's been no rush to go the home rule route. In a Commissioner form of government, one member must be a member of the minority party. This gives the minority a voice. It prevents some of the excesses of one party rule, which can lead to public corruption.

What I like about home rule is that, at least theoretically, it should be more responsive to the public. The biggest illustration of this self-rule is the Gracedale referendum, which would have been impossible under the Commissioner form of government.

Assuming that the nine-member home rule charter government study commission recommends that we keep the charter, what changes could and should be made? Should we keep an elected Executive? Or should we replace him with an appointed county manager, similar to the practice followed in most township governments.

Most people I speak to believe that home rule is working, but could use an overhaul. Some of this might involve changes in the form of government, and for that reason, a government study is needed.

Some like Ken Kraft have argued that the Administrative Code is in dire need of an overhaul, and he's absolutely right. While Council has adopted numerous meaningless resolutions, it has ignored its most basic responsibility after the budget - writing legislation. It has actually appropriated money so the Executive can redraft the Code, which is an abdication of its responsibility.   

Gerald E  "Jerry" Seyfried, a blue collar steelworker, played a big role in drafting the Administrative Code. Without question, there should be at least one Council member who knows how to write a law without hiring a $100,000 consultant.

But that's a red herring. The County's most basic document, the foundation for everything else, is the charter

For those of you who think a government study is just a political stunt, think again. There are 13 articles, and nearly every one of them needs a review. Article I, for example, which deals with elected officials, needs at least nine changes. They are listed in a separate post below.

Finally, Northampton County should consider an ethics framework to prevent an Allentown from occurring here.