Section 1001 of the Pennsylvania Borough Code requires boroughs to meet and organize on the first Monday of January of each even-numbered year.
Section 602 of the Pennsylvania Second Class Township Code requires townships of the second class to meet on the first Monday in January of every year to organize.
Unless, in either case, the first Monday of January is a holiday then the officials are required to meet the next day (Tuesday).
Being an even numbered year, 2014 presents the “perfect storm” of meeting nights for those wishing to attend more than one community meeting in our readership area; every municipality meets on the same night – Jan. 6.
Most area officials take advantage of the gathering by using it as their first “regular” meeting of the New Year and conduct business as they normally would on the second Tuesday, first Thursday or fourth Monday of the month. It is a common and practical practice.
Swearing in (or, in some cases, at) local officials usually takes place during or right before the organizational meeting. It is a good time for those elected to reflect on the promises they are making. They are promises to the government, other elected officials and most importantly, to the people who trusted them with their vote of confidence at the ballot box.
Just as important, officials are making the same promises to people who may not have cast their ballot for them. It is now time for you to earn their trust. The opportunity is there for you to do a good job and represent everyone.
Or you can choose to be a bully at the table and ensure that your pet projects and friends have priority over anything else – no matter how illogical or harmful to the community your decision is.
You can choose to bring the partisan bickering from Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg right into the neighborhoods of our communities. You saw how much good it has done there.
You can choose to flex your perceived political muscles over local volunteer service organizations who serve the people of your community by providing services you never did. You can continue to make demands of them and others that even you don’t understand. You can expect that others know what’s on your mind or you can offer to find out what’s on theirs.
You can continue to hold double standards within your community or you can become a contributing member in helping to make it better – as an elected official you owe it to the people.
If you’re a local-level puppet for vocal minorities who care more about their backyard than the whole of the people and the community, now is the time to stop. If you disagree with their loud and threatening rhetoric do so in a civil manner with a learned opinion. Those are the most effective weapons for a local official.
A wise official from our area once said, “Politics don’t and shouldn’t matter at the local level. Everybody knows who you are, what you’ve done and what you can do.”
So don’t be a jerk and embarrass yourself or your municipality. Make your community proud and show your constituents that you care and that you will be an effective representative for everyone.