Andy Close
WARREN, Pa. – Saying “if the City of Warren doesn’t participate in this, it will die,” Alan Kugler, director of the government consulting firm PA Futures and others pitched the city to join the Warren County Council of Governments (COG) during Monday’s work session.
Kugler, along with Warren County COG chairman Paul Pascuzzi (who also serves on Clarendon borough council) and Warren County Director of Planning and Zoning addressed the council about the importance of joining COG.
Operating as an informal group since 1995, the COG has been attempting to operate under a more formal structure.
In October, city council rejected an initial proposal to join.
“It was essential to Warren then (in 1995) and it certainly is now that the municipalities of this community plan and act together to build for the future,” Kugler said. “If that doesn’t happen, there won’t be a future. Everyone needs to be working together for the future of this community. This area has seen a tremendous decline and a significant population drop. That’s what all this is about. We need to focus programs on improving the vitality of the city.”
Council members had a mixed reaction to the pitch.
“If the financial contribution to COG is going to be based on population, then why are we not basing representation on population?” said council Vice President John Wortman. “I agree municipalities need to work together. The EMS agreement is a wonderful example of that. In my opinion, it’s a tale as old as time. The City of Warren is expected to foot the bill and not be given a proportional share of representation, and as long as that is the case, I will not support this.”
The city’s dues as a member, based on population, is $1,475.
Pascuzzi said that if the city is interested, that fee could potentially be waived.
“If the city is unwilling to sign on because it’s $1,400, I could go back to COG and say we could call timeout on spending for the first year,” Pascuzzi said.
Wortman maintained that the money wasn’t the key issue, but rather that the city should have more pull in terms of representation because their dues are more.
Councilwoman Danielle Flasher recognized the potential benefit of the city joining.
“We’ve been paying for something we haven’t utilized,” Flasher said. “COG has the opportunity to be an effective tool. It has been severely underutilized. I think it shows cooperation that we can build on.”
Mayor Dave Wortman emphasized that the city will be taking action on a potential decision in the near future.
“We will definitely be taking action on this,” Mayor Wortman said. “We appreciate the cooperation since 1995 and will continue to see where it goes.”
