PENNSYLVANIA ECONOMY LEAGUE INC

2024 marked a year of transition and continued impact for the pennsylvania economy league, central pa, llc.see schedule o for continuationfocus on local government financial distressthroughout 2024, the persistent issue of local government financial distress remained at the heart of pel's research, civic education, and project agenda. Ongoing economic challenges and global uncertainties reinforced the need for robust strategies to address this crisis. Pel continued providing municipalities across the commonwealth with technical assistance, building on its established expertise.home rule charter projectssignificant strides were made in supporting government study commissions, with the purpose of adopting home rule charters: borough of wilkinsburg: after residents voted to establish a government study commission in november 2022, pel was retained as a consultant in may 2023. By august, the commission unanimously voted to draft a home rule charter. City of lancaster: following a may 2023 vote to form a government study commission, pel was hired in june. Work continued into 2024 as the commission explored potential reforms. City of shamokin: after two previous attempts to form a government study commission, the city of shamokin elected commissioners in april 2024. Pel was retained as a consultant to assist with this work. Luzerne county: luzerne county residents voted to reexamine its home rule charter. Pel was retained as the consultant to support these efforts. These projects signify a shift in pel's technical assistance work, moving from merely assessing economic landscapes to recommending structural changes in public administration for long-term municipal sustainability.additional technical assistancebeyond the home rule projects, pel's technical support extended to a range of other initiatives: a collaboration with eckert seamans for an assessment of hannover area fire and rescue, finalized in august 2023, evaluating financial sustainability and administrative operations for the regional fire department of hanover borough and penn township. As one of the few paid borough and township fire departments in pennsylvania, pel's assessment provided support of previous recommendations from the pennsylvania department of community and economic development (dced), and recommended best practices for future sustainability and success. Post-act 47 assistance for the city of scranton, act-47 support for the city of shamokin, and support in exiting act 47 for the city of hazleton and the borough of mahanoy city. Strategic management planning program support for the municipalities of jefferson county, and the boroughs of dunmore, coudersport, luzerne, and catasauqua. A financial health assessment, a new dced initiative, for the borough of starrucca.civic education and policy engagementin 2024, pel expanded its civic education efforts. Regional committees were continued in york, reading (berk county), and scranton/wilkes-barre (nepa). Pel also hosted an in-person issues forum on home rule in york, featuring dr. Brian adams (chair of lancaster's government study commission) and york mayor michael helfrich, on the policy front, pel remained actively engaged in state-level discussions: provided testimony on multiple occasions to the pennsylvania house local government committee. Presented on the home rule process and intricacies to community organizations, including better york and the hourglass foundation. Providing testimony on school district mergers before the basic education funding commission. Continued presenting on its not 1965 anymore at the pennsylvania business privilege and mercantile tax collectors association annual conference. Presented on pel's work related to the hermitage-wheatland merger to the government finance officers association of pennsylvania.outreach and communicationpel's weekly newsletters kept subscribers informed about key projects and public policy topics. The growing subscriber base and above-average click-through rates reflect the high value of the content shared.