CCAP, or the County Comm'rs Ass'n of Pa., is the lobby for Pennsylvania counties. It establishes priorities every year, and they are always adopted by Northampton County Council. These are as follows:
1) Securing 911 funding. - The need for this is obvious.
2 and 3) Addressing the mental health needs of county inmates - With the closure of Allentown State Hospital, the county jails and Gracedale have become the home of many severely mentally ill people. The counties want more funding for mental health services.
4) Addressing the needs of children and youth who have complex behavioral health issues.
5) Broadband access and development - This increases economic vitality and personal quality of life.
6) Election integrity - Counties want expanded pre-canvassing time. They are unable to process mail-in ballots until 7 am on election day, and this slows the count. They also want to move back the mail-in ballot application deadline to 15 days before an election so that voters who apply for a ballot can get one in time.
Council member John Cusick stated he is "optimistic, now that we have a Governor who was a former county commissioner, particularly with regard to some of the human services funding ... ."
He was particularly concerned that the state legislature adopt CCAP recommendations regarding election integrity. He noted that expanded pre-canvass time and requiring that applications for mail-in ballots be no later than 15 days before an election, have been CCAP's position all along. He noted that State Senator Lisa Boscola recently introduced a "bevy" of election changes. "We just want two," he said. "Rather than throwing everything against the wall and see what sticks, I would urge her to craft a bill just with these two items ... ."
All nine members of County Council voted to support the CCAP priorities.
7 comments:
Allentown could use a bit of your attention. This seem to be really falling apart...
I appreciate your ongoing slight by continuing to call them council members. I just call them idiots.
The ongoing slight was their decision to change their names from Council members to comm'rs purely to aggrandize themselves, and to draft the HRC change in a way that conned the public into thinking they were voting to change how many of them there are. It is County Council, not a Comm'n, and I refuse to call them Comm'rs. It is not a board of commissioners. The HRC still keeps county council intact, and a council is not comprised of commissioners, but council members. This is basic English.
@Bernie- I totally agree! Lori Vargo-Heffner couldn't help herself as it was her initiative!
Kerry Myers announced on Iannelli's TV show a couple weeks ago that they were Commissioners. Please change your position Bernie, His Highness has spoken.
Only you care what they are called, no one else cares. the bottom-line line is they don't matter. Just like Lehigh County. the only real power is in the Executives, like the big money people wanted. Time to dump this silly government style and do what most civilized counties do and just have commissioners, so it is not just one person making all the decisions. At least in Lehigh County they have term limits on the executive. In Northampton County the executive can serve forever if they raise enough money.
I don't know about all home rule counties, but over in Lehigh, they've been "Commissioners" for as long as I've been aware.
Post a Comment