1
2
Next
Staff Writer
The Lancaster County commissioners on Wednesday voted 2-1 to disband the countys Human Relations Commission.
Before a crowd of about 75 people – four of whom stood in front of the commissioners wearing black gags tied around their necks as the votes were cast – commissioners Scott Martin and Dennis Stuckey voted to pass an ordinance repealing the previous county ordinances that created the commission and gave it its enforcement powers.
Commissioner Craig Lehman, the lone Democrat in the board, dissented.
With the disbanding of the county HRC, local complaints of discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and lending based upon a persons race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, handicap/disability or familial status now must be lodged with the state HRC in Harrisburg.
(Complaints of discrimination within Lancaster city still can be filed with the citys HRC.)
Martin had argued there was no need for county taxpayers to pay for a county HRC, because they already are paying for a state HRC to provide the same service.
“These are very difficult decisions we have to make, but at the end of the day … no matter how convenient or inconvenient a service might be to people, that service is still going to be there,” Martin said.
He also said, “We all do not need to be taxed twice. We do pay our state taxes.”
Stuckey, who kept his position on the HRC a secret until just seconds before casting his vote, said he rejected claims by the county HRC supporters, which included top officials with the state HRC, that the state agency would be worse at addressing complaints than the county HRC due to excessive caseloads.
“I think its irresponsible to sit here and let our state officials tell us, We cant do it as well as you can. Keep it here,” he said. “Im going to be supporting (the motion to disband the HRC) because I think its the best decision for Lancaster County.
“And Im going to do everything I can to make sure Harrisburg does their job as well as we did here in Lancaster County.”
The commissioners vote to disband the HRC drew immediate catcalls of “Shame, shame” from several members of the audience.
Lehman said hes been convinced all along the county HRC should remain.
His conviction grew, he said, when he saw the broad-based support across the county the past few months for retaining the agency.
He worked on a compromise proposal to preserve a slimmed-down version of the county HRC, and the chairman of the agencys board agreed to trim the HRCs proposed budget for 2011 by 21 percent.
“In my experience there is seldom an issue where its all or none,” he said. “I believe the citizens of Lancaster County have made their case. … I would argue if you look at it in total, the majority of people in Lancaster County believe that the HRC not only is necessary but it should be maintained, with compromise.”
Several speakers made similar pleas to the commissioners prior to their vote.
“Were different here in Lancaster County than in the rest of Pennsylvania,” said Ray DAgostino, executive director of Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership. “Local control – local community support – is very important to us, … and I think the human relations commission and the local control that you heard about is a prime example of that.”
Tom Baldrige, president of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce & Industry, told the commissioners the chamber supports the positions that county government should protect the rights of its citizenry and that efficiency in government is crucial to protecting the wallets of county taxpayers.
“What I dont understand is that we are now at the beginning of a decision that makes those positions become either/or,” he said. “How can we respect both of those positions and find some middle ground?”
Bill Bonano of Rapho Township and Ben Vonderheide of Conestoga were the only people who spoke Wednesday in support of disbanding the commission.
“We dont need it,” Bonano said.
Vonderheide went further, claiming the county HRC is a failure because it picks and chooses which claims of discrimination it wants to pursue.
Within two hours after the vote to disband the county HRC, the Lancaster County Democratic Committee and the ACLU of Pennsylvania both issued press releases denouncing the decision.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” the Democrats stated. “Forcing residents and businesses to incur prohibitive expense to achieve justice is denial of equal protection of the law ….
“It is inconceivable to us, that the county in which Thaddeus Stevens lived and worked would arbitrarily deny equal protection guarantees from it governance responsibilities to the citizens that it is sworn to protect.”
Adanjesus Marin, chairman of the city HRC and of the Committee to Defend Civil Rights in Lancaster, vowed repercussions against Martin and Stuckey at the polls if they run for re-election in 2011.
“I think that we want to make sure they get the clear message that … the elimination of the human relations commission will not be forgotten, and we plan to vigorously remind people throughout the next year of what two county commissioners voted to do here today,” he said.
1
2
Next
Advanced Search
in
free and premium articles
free articles only
premium articles only
Arts
Autos
Business
Health
Home & Garden
Newspaper Collection
Reference
Sports
Technology
Search
ArticleSearch.init();
BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic
