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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
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| INTRODUCED BY DRUCKER, BAKER, BELFANTI, BEYER, BRENNAN, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, DELOZIER, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GROVE, GRUCELA, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HICKERNELL, HORNAMAN, KORTZ, KOTIK, KULA, MAJOR, MANN, MARKOSEK, MARSICO, McCALL, MENSCH, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MILNE, MOUL, MUSTIO, OBERLANDER, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PAYNE, PRESTON, QUINN, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROSS, SANTONI, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER, TRUE, VEREB, VULAKOVICH, WATSON AND PICKETT, MARCH 13, 2009 |
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| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, MARCH 13, 2009 |
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| A RESOLUTION |
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1 | Designating the week of April 12 through 18, 2009, as “Local |
2 | Government Week” and April 15, 2009, as “Local Government |
3 | Day” in Pennsylvania. |
4 | WHEREAS, Local government in Pennsylvania is a mosaic of more |
5 | than 4,500 individual units with 67 counties, more than 50 |
6 | cities, nearly 1,500 townships of the second class, nearly 100 |
7 | townships of the first class, more than 950 boroughs, one |
8 | incorporated town, 500 school districts and more than 1,500 |
9 | authorities; and |
10 | WHEREAS, In addition to county government, every single |
11 | Pennsylvanian lives, works and plays within a local government; |
12 | and |
13 | WHEREAS, While each unit is distinct and independent of the |
14 | others, they all act in concert to improve the quality of life |
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1 | of the more than 12 million residents of this Commonwealth; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Pennsylvania local government is the epitome of a |
3 | “grassroots” operation and most local government elected |
4 | officials are ordinary citizens who choose to serve their |
5 | community; and |
6 | WHEREAS, Government service is not their full-time profession |
7 | or occupation; instead they may be farmers, doctors, steel |
8 | workers, teachers or local business owners; and |
9 | WHEREAS, These dedicated individuals bring new ways of |
10 | tackling old problems and fresh approaches to local government |
11 | issues from other areas of their life and, through time and |
12 | experience, develop expertise in both government administration |
13 | and an intimate knowledge of the unique needs of their |
14 | communities; and |
15 | WHEREAS, This “citizen-official” is the backbone of local |
16 | government in Pennsylvania and local government is the |
17 | foundation of the American system of democracy; and |
18 | WHEREAS, On a daily basis, they serve on the front lines of |
19 | the vast majority of interactions between citizens and their |
20 | government and are responsible for providing a staggering number |
21 | of public services directly to Commonwealth residents; and |
22 | WHEREAS, The scope of these municipal functions and |
23 | responsibilities is broad and includes, among other things, |
24 | police protection, parking and traffic control, maintenance of |
25 | local streets and roads, water supply, sewage collection and |
26 | treatment, local planning and zoning, parks and recreation, |
27 | garbage collection, health services, libraries, schools, |
28 | licensing of businesses and code enforcement; and |
29 | WHEREAS, While local government elected officials are at the |
30 | heart of community activity and in a unique position to get many |
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1 | things done for their community, they also face a seemingly |
2 | never ending list of duties, obligations, tough decisions and |
3 | thankless jobs; and |
4 | WHEREAS, To help get the work done, local government elected |
5 | officials rely heavily on local government professionals who |
6 | have chosen to make local government their life work and without |
7 | whom local governments could not exist in a modern community; |
8 | and |
9 | WHEREAS, These professionals follow careers in fields such as |
10 | city and regional planning, community development and housing, |
11 | public health and hospital administration, parks and recreation, |
12 | public welfare and community social work, library service, |
13 | transportation and traffic control, finance, administration, |
14 | engineering, law enforcement and legal services; and |
15 | WHEREAS, Together, local government elected officials and |
16 | local government professionals make important decisions every |
17 | day affecting the lives of every single one of us; and |
18 | WHEREAS, It is only fitting that each year we set aside one |
19 | week as “Local Government Week” and one day as “Local Government |
20 | Day” in this Commonwealth; and |
21 | WHEREAS, “Local Government Week” and “Local Government Day” |
22 | focus attention on the need for these strong, independent and |
23 | active local governments in Pennsylvania and officially |
24 | recognize the many valuable contributions made by these citizens |
25 | who serve their communities in public office; therefore be it |
26 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the |
27 | week of April 12 through 18, 2009, as “Local Government Week” |
28 | and April 15, 2009, as “Local Government Day” in Pennsylvania. |
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