EASTON, Pa. — Northampton County's executive and controller would be limited to two consecutive terms, and members of the county council to three consecutive terms if voters in November approve three amendments passed by county council Thursday.
Council voted 6-3 to place each amendment on the November ballot.
The office of district attorney is the only elected county position untouched by the proposals.
An ordinance passed in 2015 created similar term limits for members of the county council, but lacks the legal weight of an amendment to the home rule charter.
While debating the proposal during a governance committee meeting Wednesday, several members of the council said term limits help get fresh faces in office.
Others said such restrictions are unnecessary in local government.
“It's good to see new faces here once in a while,” Commissioner John Cusick said. “There have been people that have stayed [in office] too long.”
“I’ve sat on council for four and a half years now. In that time, I had not received one email, I had not had one conversation with constituents, that brought up term limits for local government."
Northampton County Commissioner Kevin LottCommissioner Kevin Lott said, “I’ve sat on council for four and a half years now. In that time, I had not received one email, I had not had one conversation with constituents, that brought up term limits for local government."
Before voting Thursday, council made a number of amendments to the original measures.
The original measures limited the county executive to two terms during their lifetime, which was changed to restrict officeholders to two consecutive terms.
Council also struck language effectively restarting the clock on three-term limits for current council members.
During the same governance committee meeting Wednesday, council members discarded ideas to undertake a study of home rule charter, closing the door for now on major changes to the county’s government.
Not having a study rules out a proposal explored last month to make the office of Northampton County Sheriff elected. Under state law, such a change is considered a different form of government and requires a study of the charter.
“The concern is, you don’t know what you're going to get." Northampton County Commissioner Ron HeckmanIf a majority votes for a charter study in a referendum, an elected panel reviews the existing county government and suggests keeping it, making amendments or adopting a new government altogether.
The council can begin the study process by placing a question on the ballot in an upcoming election, but members have no control over how the study proceeds from here.
The study commission’s recommendations become a ballot question, and if a majority of voters approve, their proposal goes into effect.
Several members of council voiced concern about how unpredictable the study’s outcome could be; Commissioner John Cusick called such a study a “Pandora’s box.”
“There’s no guarantee that they don't come back and say you should elect the prothonotary,” Cusick said. “The question is whether you want to change the form of government.”
Commissioner Ron Heckman said, “The concern is, you don’t know what you're going to get."
County Council most recently proposed a charter study in 2017. Then-County-Executive John Brown, who now serves on council, vetoed the ordinance that would have brought the referendum to voters.
