Lancaster home rule, safety updates from LNP reporter

• Scott LaMar
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  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 Scott LaMar photo

Airdate: Friday, June 16, 2023

It’s Friday when The Spark welcomes journalists onto the program. Today, we’re joined by Jade Campos, Metro Political Watchdog Reporter” for LNP in Lancaster.

Lancaster’s primary election voters approved the formation of a study commission last month to determine whether a home rule form of government would serve the city better. That commission met for the first time last week.

LNP reporter Jade Campos

Campos began the conversation by explaining what home rule is,”Pennsylvania is governed by its many municipalities, townships, boroughs. But those townships and boroughs don’t necessarily get to follow their own set of rules. They go by state guidelines unless they adopted something called home rule, which is a form of governance where they can have more control over themselves. They can set their own laws and set their own rules for how they do things. And that’s what Lancaster City is trying to pursue right now. And the big bonus from what officials tell me for pursuing home rule is that they can play with their taxes and adjust the way that they taxed a resident.”

Opposition to home rule usually comes down to taxpayers thinking they may have to pay more money in taxes if it’s approved. So, what how will the home rule discussion play out? Campos told us,”After the study period, they have to take another about six or seven months to write the charter, and that gives residents a couple of months to look over the charter, decide if they like it, and then vote to approve or get rid of it.”

Campos has reported on visitors to Lancaster expressing concern to business owners that sometimes they don’t feel safe in the city, “They’re (businesses) getting reached out to by people who I believe don’t live in the city and want to come into the city to visit their businesses and say that they are concerned. And the library, the Lancaster Library, recently moved into this block (110 block of North Queen Street), into the plaza. And they’ve told me the same thing, that the people who are expressing concern don’t live here and don’t know what the block is like and don’t know what the city is like. And so they just hear things and they might not all be correct and they just express their concerns based off of that. But within the past two weeks or so that the library has been open, they said everybody coming in feels really comfortable and they’re actually excited that the library is on the block.”