Voters pass referendum on studying government

The commission will have nine months to study the government.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- The city is on its way to possibly adopting a new form of government.
Voters passed a referendum Tuesday that created a seven-person study commission to look at a home rule charter. That commission will recommend in nine months whether it believes a new form of government is better than the current one.
City leaders say they were pleased with the results.
"I'm happy about it. I think it will give people insight into how city government works," said Fred Hoffman, Sharon council president.
Studying government
The committee is expected to study the current strong-mayor form of government as well as look at alternatives.
Mayor Bob Lucas said he's been advocating such a study since he was a member of city council.
"This is a positive step," he said.
With about 87 percent of the votes tallied around 11 p.m. Tuesday, Sharon residents had voted 926 for the study commission and 187 against it.
According to the unofficial results, the top seven vote-getters were Frank Connelly, David G. U'Halie, William G. McConnell Jr., David F. George, Rosann Rookey, Noel D. Moss and Brian Kepple.
Voters will have an opportunity to vote on the committee's recommendation in the May 2007 primary election. If a new form of government is approved, another committee will be formed to implement it over the following nine months.
The neighboring communities of Farrell and Hermitage are home rule charter communities.