CRANBERRY IS NEWEST MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

By Jack Etzel

What is a Council of Governments?

Jerry Andree

The idea began in the colonial times of this country. It is similar to the idea of neighbor helping neighbor, but in this case it’s whole communities helping other communities. The North Hills Council of Governments has grown to 20 member municipalities, the latest of which is Cranberry. The other members, in alphabetical order, are Bradford Woods, Etna, Fox Chapel, Franklin Park, Hampton, Indiana Township, Marshall, McCandless, Millvale, O’Hara, Ohio Township, Reserve, Richland, Ross, Shaler, Sharpsburg, West Deer, and West View. Cranberry in Butler County, which joined in May of 2006, is unique among the others because it is the only member outside of Allegheny County.

North Hills Monthly Magazine went to Cranberry Manager Jerry Andree for his perspective on the Council of Governments or COG.

North Hills Monthly Magazine: Can you give us a thumbnail definition of a COG?

Jerry Andree: The purpose is to provide collaboration and cooperation among local governments. We can jointly bid items for purchasing. We all need to buy salt, and we can all get together and buy a larger quantity and save, for example. That would also apply to construction contracts. Sewers are a big issue in the North Hills. Now, we can put out a contract as the North Hills Council of Governments so all communities can participate to get sewer repairs done.

NHMM: It does go beyond just purchasing advantages, doesn’t it?

Andree: Yes, it does go beyond combining services and purchases. It is also an important vehicle for collaboration on ideas and concerns among all the member communities regarding regional issues. We talk. We compare notes.

NHMM: While the average person on the street probably never heard of Council of Governments, today they are ubiquitous throughout the country.

Andree: Yes. They have no statutory authority, but they are simply an outgrowth of local government to facilitate matters. In Pennsylvania we have something called the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act that provides for the sharing of services. An example of that would be that Cranberry contracts police services to Seven Fields. They don’t have their own police department, so we sell those services to the borough of Seven Fields. It’s that same legislative authority that allows the forming of these Councils of Governments. They can’t tax, they can’t regulate. It’s purely to create efficiencies in local governments.

NHMM: How did it come to be that Cranberry joined up with this otherwise all-Allegheny County organization?

Andree: Our own governing body, which consists of a board of supervisors, is very supportive of inter-governmental cooperation. Back in 1996, our board helped create something called “the Beaver/Butler Council of Governments,” made up of 26 communities in these two counties. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, that group went out of business. At that point, we needed to join another Council of Governments. It made the most sense to us to join those neighbors to the south, because they have the same demographics and the same kinds of challenges.

NHMM: Is this North Hills COG going to grow, not just in numbers of members, but in its strength?

Andree: I think it should get stronger. COG is only as strong as the members want it to become. If we want it to do more, we simply do more. If we want it to do less, we do less. It’s a direct indicator of the involvement and the passion of the communities within it. If we decide to issue more contracts, perhaps a regional trash collection contract, it’s whatever the members of that community want it to be.

NHMM: I have read that Cranberry was helping other communities before you joined the North Hills COG.

Andree: That’s true. Tim Rogers is the manager of Shaler, and when we had a microburst a couple of years ago, Tim was the first person to call me and ask if they could help in any way. Then, Shaler got hit with the flooding of 2004 and we were among the first to send crews to help them. Our government officials firmly believe in helping our neighbors. We help anybody, and do whatever we can. That’s the idea of a COG, chipping in and helping one another.

NHMM: Your community is one of the fastest growing areas in the whole country. You’ve been manager of Cranberry since 1991. What’s the future of Cranberry look like? You can brag if you want.

Andree: It actually does look very bright. Our government body really feels strongly about building and growing efficiently. They clearly know where they want to go in the future. The strength of Cranberry is our board, which articulates where we want to be, and then holds our staff accountable. Their goal is to be a striving, stable community, five, ten, twenty, and even thirty years from now, and all of the public policies they adopt are to accomplish that vision. Every morning I wake up, I pinch myself and thank the good Lord that we continue to move forward, because they have that vision.

NOTE: Jerry Andree is an alumnus of Penn State, holding a Bachelor of Science in parks and recreation, and a master’s degree in public administration. He is a member of the Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Management and the International City Management Association, and holds numerous awards and recognitions from regional, state, and national organizations.