Home Rule Study Commission

Home Rule Study Commission Borough of Greenville Minutes of the Meeting held February 28 at 6:30 PM Greenville Senior Center 1. Call to Order Paul Miller, Commission Chairman 2. Pledge of Allegiance: Flag Salute led by Steve Thompson 3. Roll Call: Paul Hamill Hal Johnson Martha Johnson Paul Miller Casey Shilling Steve Thompson Steve Williams Also present: Jasson Urey, Tracy Beil, Lawrence Keller, Evan Hereford Media: Caleb Stright, Record-Argus 4. Public Comments: None 5. Minutes: Paul Hamill made a motion to accept the minutes. Casey offered a second. Motion passed 7-0. 6. Old Business: Paul Hamill made a motion to move future meetings to Council Chambers and Steve Williams offered a second. After discussion concerning the matter the motion failed 1-6. 7. New Business: Discussion on timeline:  Paul Miller raised the question of whether the commission should start to meet more regularly and whether committees should be formed to work on specific areas that could be included in a charter. He pointed out that if the commission should choose to propose a charter, it must be submitted by the last day of August to be put on the ballot in November. In order to give the public the opportunity to review a draft we should probably have it available by the end of June or beginning of July in case of the need for modifications.  Steve Williams asked when the document would need to be reviewed by a lawyer and Dr. Keller said that could coincide with the draft release. Paul Miller said that he had an informal conversation with Attorney Steve Mirizio who has expertise in this area of law and is agreeable to reviewing a charter for the commission.  Discussion on committees ensued and the commission agreed that they would rather work as a whole and revisit the possibility of committee formation if the need arises. Steve Williams made a motion to proceed with the development of a Home Rule Charter to be put before the voters of the Borough of Greenville in the general election in November, 2019. Casey offered a second. Some discussion points:  Steve Williams pointed out that although he is disappointed about some of the things a charter cannot change, he still sees the charter as a tool that can make improvements in our local government.  Paul Hamill expressed concern over moving forward with giving council the ability to increase taxes and said he feels it would shoot down the ability to get a charter voted in. he prefers our current former of government. He said he sees some benefits of a charter.  Hal said he believes a charter can be built with proper checks and balances to make controlled adjustments in taxation.  Paul Miller said points such as initiative/referendum/recall as well as a four year wait before a former member of council who is not re-elected can be reappointed are important issues to address.  Martha said she appreciated Casey’s points at the last meeting regarding finding ways to get the voters to agree on a mission.  Casey said that whether a charter passes or fails he would not regret moving forward and doing the job we were elected to do. The motion passed 7-0 The commission discussed ways to better educate the voters as well as ways to gather their thoughts on goals for our town. Suggestions included Facebook, Letters to the Editor and a column in the paper and possible survey options. Martha said that if a commission member writes a letter, speaking for the entire commission, it should be reviewed by the entire commission before being submitted. Steve Thompson made a motion to hold commission meetings on March 14 & 28 and April 11 & 25 at 6:30PM at the Senior Center. Paul Hamill offered a second and the motion passed 7-0. Steve Williams was excused. Tracy Beil suggested giving the public a list of bullet points rather than a more lengthy article to communicate to the general public. Paul Miller suggested that we attempt to generate interest in meetings and let the public know what we are working on by submitting Letters to the Editor explaining the discussion points of upcoming meetings. Martha said she was comfortable with that type of letter being submitted without preapproval of the commission. The group discussed what they want to accomplish at the Business Expo. Surveys and a list of meeting times for distribution were mentioned. A ¼ page ad will be purchased for $95 to highlight our presence. Casey offered to put the survey together and asked that we each bring two potential questions for the survey that we can discuss at the next meeting. Discussions regarding whether or not to operate as a Committee of the Whole and on charter inclusions were tabled. 8. Public Comments Tracy Beil stated that she sees getting information to the public as an enormous endeavor and doesn’t think Facebook is the best tool. 9. Good of the Order: Paul Hamill said that now that we have voted to move forward with the charter, he is looking forward to working with everyone. Steve Thompson suggested the purchase of a banner to be used at the Business Expo and anything else we do in the public. Martha is very glad that the commission voted to move forward and she greatly appreciated the discussion during the meeting. Hal agreed with earlier comments. Casey said he liked the consensus of the group and also thought the discussion was good. Paul Miller said he felt the discussion was healthy… “Here we go!” 10. Adjournment Paul H. made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Casey offered a second. Motion passed 6-0 and the meeting adjourned at 8:05 Respectfully submitted, Martha C. Johnson Commission Secretary /Treasurer