Warren panel ponders charter idea for ballot

By ED RUNYAN

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

Dan Crouse, chairman of a citizens’ charter committee, says the committee is “leaning” toward asking Warren City Council to put a measure on the November ballot.

It would ask city voters whether they are interested in having a charter form of government.

A charter gives a community more options for how it operates its municipal government, advisers have said. Without a charter, a city must organize itself according to the laws written 100 years ago by state government.

The Warren committee met four times in council chambers between March 11 and April 15 to receive information from several college professors and people in communities with charter governments.

On April 26, the group of 13 Warren residents met again at the Sunrise Inn restaurant on Elm Road to discuss whether they wanted to recommend a change for Warren.

Crouse is a former councilman who selected the other members of the committee, including part-time city treasurer John Homlitas.

The other 11 committee members include two Severstal Steel employees, two accountants and one assistant school principal.

Crouse said the committee has finished writing a report that it will present to a city council committee at 7:30 p.m. Monday. Crouse declined to provide The Vindicator with a copy of the report.

Councilman Al Novak, who was among about a half-dozen council members who attended some of the committee’s meetings, said Crouse asked that no council members attend the April 26 meeting at the Sunrise to allow committee members to work without city council’s influence.

Debate among Novak and fellow Councilman Bob Dean has begun over whether Warren would benefit from switching to a charter government, with Dean saying there is no good reason to switch and Novak saying most people don’t understand the positive changes possible.

“In places where a charter has been approved, it has usually been because citizens had a groundswell of support for the idea — because of lack of service, potholes, police-response times, or some other type of catastrophe,” Dean said.

Instead, in Warren, three individuals — Crouse, Novak and Council President Bob Marchese — are the catalyst for the idea, Dean said.

“I’d like to see it [charter] done by the Northwest Neighborhood Association, Main Street Warren or others — interested, sincere people who say, ‘We need to go in different way because what we have is broken,’” Dean said.

Dean says he’ll vote against putting a charter proposal on the ballot, adding that there is a lot of expense involved in drafting a charter.

Novak said he thinks Dean opposes a charter government because one thing a charter committee might recommend is to get rid of at-large council members such as Dean.

Novak, who works at Giant Eagle, said citizens tell him that they want to “be able to make the choice” on what type of government the city should have.

“People are saying there has to be change. They’re looking for a change citywide, statewide, nationwide,” Novak said. “A lot of people have said they’re tired of career politicians. They want professional leadership.”

One key component of many charter cities is the establishment of a city manager, who would be hired, not elected.

Charters also can eliminate the hiring of family and friends to city jobs, Novak said.