(The Center Square) – Nearly 4,000 people representing local governments across the state’s 1,546 townships gathered in Hershey this week for the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, or PSATS annual conference.
Most of them stood in vocal opposition to previously proposed state zoning laws that would force local municipalities at or above certain population densities to allow for more multifamily housing options.
Similar laws have been passed across the U.S. to address the states’ housing crisis by increasing the availability and affordability of homes. When it came to a vote in Pennsylvania, PSATS members helped shoot it down.
“There are a lot of options available for housing types today, and all of them work somewhere, but not everywhere,” said PSATS Executive Director David Sanko. “Local communities should decide what works for them. Your voice counts, and when one voice becomes thousands, legislators listen.”
The crowd also heard from a panel of state lawmakers serving in the House and Senate Local Government Commission, who answered pre-submitted questions directly from PSATS members.
The group consisted of Sen. Dawn Keefer, R-Dillsburg; Sen. Patty Kim, D-Harrisburg; Rep. Brett Miller, R-Columbia; and Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Easton.
The legislators acknowledged that local governments have the most intimate knowledge of the communities they serve and endorsed local control, much to the crowd’s surprise. In many ways, the group found consensus, if not on the issues, then on the importance of the people in the room.
“For my part, I think like you, I would guess, in this room that the government that is closest to the people is best. That’s what I believe,” said Miller.
On the other hand, some social and environmental advocates say questions of zoning left to local control can lead to consequences that last for generations and reach far beyond the borders of any township. Many also argue that small municipalities lack the resources and the expertise required to fulfill all government duties without state and federal oversight.
Critically, in matters like housing, civil rights and safety, state and federal laws have historically been what protects vulnerable people from legalized discrimination or neglect at the local level.
An example of this is the current debate over extending OSHA protections to local government workers. For many on the left, these protections are common sense. On the right, it’s viewed as an overextension of government.
Pennsylvania’s congressional representatives have proposed a bipartisan bill at the federal level. Freeman is among a group of sponsors for a similar state-level bill that passed the House last month.
Yet, when Freeman spoke on the matter, he received a raucous response of jeers and booing from the crowd.
“I think it’s a standard that has worked well in the private sector, and I realize that local governments do their best to create safe work environments, but I think having an OSHA standard is one way of guaranteeing it in all our communities,” said Freeman.
Keefer argued that workers are already over-regulated and learn safety standards during licensing and certification processes.
“I just think this would be a huge cost on the municipality. I think part of it goes back to it will drive insurance as well,” she said.
Another contentious issue was the Department of Labor and Industry’s prevailing wage rates. The Prevailing Wage Act enforces construction industry rate standards and applies to road and building projects that use over $25,000 in public funds.
Critics say that it adds unnecessary expense to projects undertaken by municipalities operating with already limited resources. The threshold was set when the bill was passed in the 1960s, at which time $25,000 represented a much bigger project than today.
“It adds anywhere from 40% to 60%. That’s why we can’t get things done in our municipalities and our money doesn’t stretch as far as it should,” said Keefer.
Others worried that removing or changing the act could lead to circumstances in which public projects take advantage of workers willing to work for lower prices and weaken unions that have organized to demand wage standards that account for the cost of living.
Kim was interrupted by shouts from the crowd when she said that the prevailing wages create high-quality work. She said she’d be willing to adjust the current prevailing wage law if revising it would still offer fair wages to construction workers.
“It’s a divided government,” she acknowledged, a circumstance made obvious in a room with representatives of most of the state’s governments, excluding the cities and boroughs, that make up its largest population and economic centers.
