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Toss out Luzerne County’s home rule government or at least rewrite some of its rules, say critics of the not-yet-5-year-old system. To which we say, get real.
The gadflies who zealously buzz about a desire to dismantle the home rule charter, which by law cannot be revised until 2017, seemingly never wanted it to succeed in the first place. They’ll point to recent property tax increases and rancor among certain county council members to suggest the system doesn’t work – as if tax hikes and rancor weren’t routine here before. Remember, out of the gate in 2012, the officials elected and appointed under home rule were saddled with a debt of nearly a half-billion dollars – a nasty inheritance from the old, corrupted, commissioner-style government. Did anyone really expect the incoming leaders to wave a magic wand and make that gargantuan financial burden – poof! – disappear in 48 months?
Let’s hope the county’s perpetually disgruntled bunch soon drops its call for a speedy home rule do-over.
Meanwhile, here’s a list of things, most of them written in jest, that we would prefer to see changed in Luzerne County before ever again overhauling its government setup:
• Luzerne County’s name. Too many people make a negative association between the pronunciation of the words “Luzerne” and “loser.” By all appearances, 100 percent of those people have access to the Internet and feel compelled to make the hackneyed association when posting online comments. New county name, new esprit de corps?
• Luzerne County’s borders. It’s been almost 175 years, Wyoming County, since you were carved from our territory and stepped out on your own. We’ve had ample time to think about it. We want you back!
• The Susquehanna River’s route. Rather than spend millions more on Wyoming Valley flood-protection projects, why not send the river on a more circuitous route, say, through Columbia County. Hey, it’s been said former congressmen from Northeastern Pennsylvania succeeded in bending the paths of interstates to benefit the region, why not a waterway?
• Some residents’ outlooks. Nothing will change if the prevailing attitude remains nothing can change.
• County council’s collaborative spirit. If it exists today, little of it shows. Fix that shortcoming first; then we’d be more receptive to talk about tinkering with aspects of the home rule charter.