On Apr 26, 2011, at 10:35 AM, Liz Campion wrote:
> While Cheri is a wonderful advocate for the homeless, she does not
> demonstrate the skill sets needed to run a huge, badly managed, mostly
> redundant, city department. John Kromer comes into the race with a clear
> vision for cutting costs and increasing benefits and hopefully even
> eliminating the entire department.
> The budget is to big, the waste to endemic and the stakes to high to trust
> the Sheriff's office to a talented amateur.
The real question is....
Will either candidate work to, or otherwise support, the elimination of the
Office of Sheriff and the entire department?
(As with the Clerk's office - see below - certain functions would be
transferred to other existing entities, as has already been done.)
The office is one of the remaining artifacts of the County of Philadelphia...
which was merged with the city back with the City County Consolidation act of
1854! This office is nothing but a patronage hang-out for a vast collection of
"no-shows."
Other left-over "row offices" include:
Clerk of Quarter Sessions - Current (last) Clerk resigned in 2009, the duties
and powers eliminated in 2010. City Council had the authority to do this and
finally did so.)
The Registrar of Wills (prothonotary) - still elected and completely redundant
with the First District Court's Prothonotary.
The City Commissioners (authority finally transferred to the City in 1951 by
amendment to the State Constitution, and subsequent amendments to the First
Class Cities Act.) 3 commissioners still independently elected.
While "most" of the duties of the various County Offices were transferred to
the City under the 1951 Home Rule Charter, we still elect these various "row
offices."
The fact that these "row offices" are elected and "independent" means that the
Mayor (let alone Council) has virtually zero control over either their budgets
or their actions or non-actions. (Not to mention the salaries paid to these
"elected officials."
If you want the "gory details" of the offices read the Pennsylvania
Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority report:
http://www.picapa.org/docs/Row_Offices_Issue_Paper.pdf
And the Committee of Seventy's original report
http://www.seventy.org/OurViews_Roadmap_Needless_Jobs.aspx#clerk
William H. Magill
Block Captain
4400 Chestnut Street
mag...@mcgillsociety.org
whmag...@gmail.com
4428 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2914
(267-402-0529)
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