Thursday, December 07, 2006
Why Treasure this Row Office?
In a previous blog entry it was noted that the elected office of the Treasurer ought to be made an appointed position along with the Sheriff. While there is now a proposal in County Council to put the Sheriff’s office question on the May ballot as a referendum question, the issue of the Treasurer has gotten no play. In fact, the County Executive noted in an editorial column that if the Sheriff is made appointed, the remaining elected offices in the County (Executive, Council, District Attorney, Controller, and Treasurer) would mimic the state’s organizational chart (Governor, Assembly, Attorney General, Auditor General, and Treasurer).
While the progress Allegheny County has made in reducing the number of row offices is to be lauded, the Executive and Council ought to think about doing the same for the Treasurer’s office. The City of Pittsburgh’s Treasurer is appointed. In the five other home rule counties in the Commonwealth (Northampton, Lehigh, Delaware, Lackawanna, and Erie), the record is clearly on the side of having the Treasurer folded into the administration. Only the Home Rule Charter of Lackawanna County requires that the Treasurer position be elected. The remaining home rule counties appear to have placed this position into a Fiscal Affairs Department or Revenue Department. It should be noted that all of the counties save Northampton mandate the election of a Sheriff, so Allegheny County is going farther than the majority of its home rule peers in this case.
In short, the Treasurer’s office does not perform functions that argue strongly that it be an elected position. Let’s put it on the ballot along with the elimination of the Sheriff as an elected position.
While the progress Allegheny County has made in reducing the number of row offices is to be lauded, the Executive and Council ought to think about doing the same for the Treasurer’s office. The City of Pittsburgh’s Treasurer is appointed. In the five other home rule counties in the Commonwealth (Northampton, Lehigh, Delaware, Lackawanna, and Erie), the record is clearly on the side of having the Treasurer folded into the administration. Only the Home Rule Charter of Lackawanna County requires that the Treasurer position be elected. The remaining home rule counties appear to have placed this position into a Fiscal Affairs Department or Revenue Department. It should be noted that all of the counties save Northampton mandate the election of a Sheriff, so Allegheny County is going farther than the majority of its home rule peers in this case.
In short, the Treasurer’s office does not perform functions that argue strongly that it be an elected position. Let’s put it on the ballot along with the elimination of the Sheriff as an elected position.
