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An ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, directing that a referendum question regarding the amendment of Article III, §5(b) of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County, which establishes term limits for a single elected County official, be placed on the November 4, 2025 General Election ballot; and further amending Article III, §5(b) and Articles 201, 301, and 401 of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, contingent upon the passage of the referendum question.
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Whereas, Article III, §5(b) of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County currently establishes that the Chief Executive of Allegheny County shall be limited to three consecutive terms of office; and
Whereas, inclusion of the word “consecutive” in Article III, §5(b), if strictly construed, implies that an individual could serve an unlimited number of terms so long as there is an interruption of any length in that service at least once every 12 years; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that the current wording of Article III, §5(b) could be interpreted in a fashion that renders the Chief Executive’s term limitation a near nullity to the extent that it could be easily circumvented, and that the removal of the word “consecutive” would remedy this undesirable potential outcome; and
Whereas, the term limit contained within Article III, §5(b) is also unique to the Chief Executive, and does not apply to any other elected official governed by the terms of the Home Rule Charter; and
Whereas, two of the foundational values justifying the change to home rule, as described in the preamble to the County's Home Rule Charter are diversity and inclusiveness: "[a] home rule government with a legislative County Council with Members elected by district and at large will represent the diversity of our County's citizens and provide better access to County government;" and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that diversity and inclusiveness will both be fos...
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