New bills would let Pennsylvania local governments hire firms as managers

[FakeNoose]

Spotlight PA link: https://www.spotlightpa.org/statecollege/2023/08/pennsylvania-legislature-local-government-management/

Local governments in Pennsylvania might soon have the option to hire professional firms to be municipal managers, a change that proponents say could improve local government services while saving taxpayers money.

Three sets of bills in the legislature would amend the governing laws for Pennsylvania boroughs, second class townships, and third class cities — classified by population sizes — and provide an alternative municipal management option. First class townships have had the choice since 2020.

Under current law, Pennsylvania municipalities can only appoint individuals as managers, a rule that state Rep. Bob Freeman (D., Northampton) said can be particularly burdensome for smaller communities that are unable to pay the salary and benefits of a full-time administrator or manager on their own.

The change would allow municipalities to hire a range of professional groups to serve as managers, said Freeman, a prime sponsor for one of the bills. The option also would address increased costs and a shortage of municipal managers that have made hiring difficult, he added.

- more at link -

Related: link to list of 2023 bills before the General Assembly: https://www.lgc.state.pa.us/billSummaries.cfm

I'm not aware of any "first class townships" in Pennsylvania that have already taken this step. Can anyone enlighten us? If you know of any PA township that's currently being run by a professional management group, please post it here.

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

1. This just doesn't sound good at all...

privatizing government responsibilities sounds like an (R) goal.

I haven't seen anything "privatized" that actually worked the way it was pitched (cheaper with the same or better result) from electricity, to water, to the turnpike, etc...