Allegheny County's new charter continues to evolve

Allegheny County's new home rule charter - the first major overhaul of county government since Colonial times - celebrated its first birthday in January.

Growing pains have been part of the process, and the outlook for the future, officials predicted, involves more change.

Most county officials gave the new system passing marks for its first year, although with some reservation.

'You should give the government two or three years to see if it works. The jury is still out on that,' said County Council President John DeFazio, a Democrat from Shaler Township.

In May 1998, county voters narrowly passed a home-rule charter that provided for a single executive and a 15-member county council, all elective positions. The measure was approved by fewer than 1,000 votes out of more than 200,000 cast. Home-rule charter initiatives had failed in 1974 and 1978.

The charter took effect in January 2000, following the election of businessman Jim Roddey as the first county executive. The system replaced the three-commissioner system that had been in place for two centuries. Among the charter's provisions is one that gives citizens referendum rights allowing them to petition the county council to propose ordinances.

Roddey said the charter seems to be working as envisioned.

'Things on balance have gone well if you look at the major challenges,' he said. 'Number one was the challenge of a new government and how we created a new home-rule structure.'

DeFazio said the first year was spent establishing a set of ground rules, adding that the council made considerable progress.

'The best thing about it is there are a lot of different minds there. There is not just one person who is running it. I think that's a good representative form of government,' he said. 'A lot of people thought it would be a circus, but that's not true. We have shown we can get things accomplished.

Compromise between the executive and legislative branches became a critical factor.

Officials hammered out an agreement on a barely balanced 2001 budget of $639 million, although in the process, the spending plan was gutted of contingency funds.

Earlier last year, a merit-hiring issue caused Roddey to use his veto power for the first time after council Democrats approved a county administrative code that made merit-hiring optional for the row officers.

Roddey and the five council Republicans had wanted merit hiring to extend to the row officers, whose employees are for the most part Democrats.

The row officers balked at restrictions on their ability to hire staff. Democrats, who hold 10 of the 15 council seats, had the two-thirds vote needed to override Roddey's veto. However, Roddey and the Democrats negotiated a compromise code that did not address the merit-hiring issue.

Republican councilman Vince Gastgeb of Bethel Park still hopes a merit-hiring system can be established in county government.

'The future of the row offices is that they can no longer exist in the current fashion,' Gastgeb said. 'I believe if we combine some of the row offices, basically the civil and administrative functions, we could save money.'

Consolidation of row offices is a developing issue. The row offices are elected positions that include district attorney, sheriff, coroner, treasurer, controller, clerk of courts, prothonotary, recorder of deeds, register of wills and two jury commissioners.

The home rule charter allows voters to decide whether to consolidate the row offices. Roddey said he would propose such a referendum by 2003 to improve efficiency and save money. That would be the first year a referendum is allowed under the new system.

Roddey and other officials support combining the offices of prothonotary, clerk of courts, and register of wills. The three offices are each responsible for keeping different segments of records of the Common Pleas Court.

Roddey has established economic development in the county and region as the No. 1 priority now that the new government survived its first year without massive upheaval.

DeFazio agreed. 'Economic development is the next major issue,' he said.

Tom Shumaker, a Republican councilman from Pine Township, believes the charter improved citizen access to government officials.

'I'm not trying to criticize what happened in the past, but in the past, the average guy on the street had no personal interaction with the county commissioners,' Shumaker said. 'There were just three of them. Now I run into my constituents at the grocery store and at school and sporting events. ... We are more accessible.'

Councilwoman Eileen Wagner, a Democrat from Scott Township, declared the charter an initial success.

'The check-and-balance council is doing a very good job. The changes that were made in county government were long overdue. I think that the executive and the council have been working very well together,' she said.

But Wayne Fontana, a Democratic councilman from Brookline, expressed caution.

'We have a ways to go in organizing ourselves and working together as a large group and with the executive branch,' he said.

David M. Brown can be reached at (412) 380-5614.

As Allegheny County moves deeper into its experiment with home rule charter government, an issue that looms as a potential controversy centers on consolidation of row offices.

When county voters approved the charter by a narrow margin in 1998, the process for possible consolidation was set in motion. The charter allows voters to decide the issue by referendum, beginning in 2003.

County Executive Jim Roddey has said he will propose a referendum to combine at least three row offices - prothonotary, clerk of courts and the register of wills, offices all involved with keeping Common Pleas Court records.

The late Prothonotary Michael F. Coyne had advocated such a consolidation for years before his death in October. Acting Prothonotary Michael Lamb, who was Coyne's top deputy, also supports combining the offices.

'It's an idea that we've supported in this office for going on 10 years and an idea I certainly support as well,' Lamb has said. The Democrat from Mt. Washington has announced intentions to run for prothonotary this year.

The Republican whom Gov. Tom Ridge nominated to replace Coyne until a new prothonotary is elected, Eugene Berry of Penn Hills, also backs unification of the recording-keeping row offices. Berry said he will serve temporarily in the post if he is confirmed by the state Senate, but does not plan to be candidate for the position in this year's elections.

Vincent Caliguiri of Greenfield, a nephew of the late Pittsburgh Mayor Richard Caliguiri, has announced intentions to run for prothonotary this year. The Democrat said recently that he, too, is leaning toward supporting consolidation.

The prothonotary is the clerk of civil and family divisions of the Common Pleas Court. The clerk of courts is the clerk for the court's criminal division, and the register of wills is the clerk of the orphans division.