The Role of Local Government by Elam Herr

Elam Herr is the Assistant Executive Director of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. Herr said that the role of government is to provide the services that constituents want and that the private sector cannot or will not provide. Citizens in municipalities want to have choices on what their local government will do, and Herr stressed that cooperation and collaborations on service delivery projects between municipalities cannot be forced and must not threaten the existence of one area over another. He explained that the approach must be not be top down, but rather ground up where it meets with the state 'in the center' to compromise. Herr feels that new legislation should be introduced so that governments will not adhere to the 'whims of special interests and the dictates of Harrisburg'. He thinks that PA should encourage and provide local governments with training and support to make decisions that are good for them, instead of forcing cooperation and collaboration efforts.