By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

The 2021 Lehigh County Citizens Academy webinar series, which features county department heads and officers speaking about their respective agencies, continued Feb. 11 with Director of Administration Ed Hozza discussing the county’s history, the Home Rule Charter, and the function of the administration’s various components.

Hozza, who became director of administration in 2018, began by giving an overview of the history of Lehigh County, starting with the area’s first inhabitants, the Lenni Lenape.

He said the name “Lehigh” comes from interpretations by early Moravian settlers of the Native pronunciation of “Lehanweking,” translated as “where there are forks” in reference to the Lehigh River flowing into the Delaware River.

Hozza said the county was originally part of a larger Northampton County, which was founded in 1752 and stretched from the New York border to the Bucks County line, and west past the Susquehanna River.

“Northampton County can boast that 11 counties, including Lehigh, were carved out of its original geographic territory,” Hozza said.

In 1812, the state House of Representatives and Senate approved the creation of Lehigh County, and on March 6, 1812, Gov. Simon Snyder signed the act that officially created Lehigh County with Allentown - known then as Northampton borough or Northampton Towne - as the county seat.

As with many counties in the state, Lehigh County operated from 1812-1979 with a three-member county commissioner form of government.

“In that government you do not have a separate executive and legislative, and judicial branch; the executive and legislative branch are held within the legislative branch, the three commissioners who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the county,” he said.

The government change occurred with the passage of a state law which allowed for Home Rule, and Hozza said in May 1974 the county commissioners formed an 11-person government study commission which developed three forms of governance, including the adoption of a Home Rule Charter.

“There were a total of 92 public meetings held throughout the county … over 5,000 hours were put into the study commission,” Hozza explained, adding that other recommendations called for a separate executive and legislative branch, due to the absence of checks and balances in the three-commissioner system.

Hozza said the study also called for a nine-member legislative branch, the board of commissioners, who are elected in two distinct cycles for at-large members and representatives from the county’s geographic areas.

The study also recommended the establishment of the full-time county executive, who is elected to a four-year term to carry out day-to-day operations, a separate, independent judicial branch led by a president judge, and a variety of row officers.

County voters chose to support the Home Rule Charter question Nov. 4, 1975, and Lehigh became the first county in the state to adopt such a charter.

Hozza said Allegheny, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Luzerne and Northampton counties have also adopted Home Rule Charters.

Hozza discussed Home Rule.

“It is not a complete, as some think, free-for-all for local government or county to do as they please,” he said, adding the county must still abide by the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions, all state laws and laws “uniform and applicable in every part of the commonwealth.

“It is your local constitution. It sets up the government structure, and it outlines its authority and its limitation.

“It is a living, breathing document,” Hozza said, adding if commissioners want to update the charter, it can be voted on and put out as a Home Rule Charter ballot question.

Hozza also made note of the Administrative Code for local governments.

“It goes into even more finite detail about the powers and duties of every elected member of the county government or the municipal government, and all the departments and their powers and duties as well,” Hozza explained.

He said the code sets up budgetary and financial policies, authorities, boards and commissions and their term limits, purchasing policies and procedures, code of ethics and bonds, among other rules.

Additionally, Hozza talked about the legislative branch’s board of commissioners and their responsibilities including enacting, amending or repealing ordinances, resolutions and motions, making appropriations and adopting budgets, levying taxes and charges, and solidifying the county executive’s decision to declare a state of emergency.

Hozza said the latter was particularly relevant with the ongoing pandemic.

“Lehigh County has never been in a state of emergency since our founding for this long of a time frame,” Hozza said.

He noted since the county does not have a health department, its state of emergencies “do not dictate the opening of restaurants or seating limitations.

“Ours are solely for the continuation of the government of Lehigh County and our services and procurement,” he explained.

Commissioner meetings are held at the county Government Center at Seventh and Hamilton Streets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month and may start as early as 5 p.m. depending on the length of agenda.

Meetings have moved to Zoom during COVID-19.

Regarding the judicial branch, Hozza said this branch is independent of the Home Rule Charter and is currently under the guidance of President Judge Brian Johnson, assisted by the court administrator.

A variety of departments work under the judiciary, including Court Administration, Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, Juvenile Work Program, Clerk of Orphan’s Court and the county’s Magisterial District Judges.

Furthermore, Hozza outlined the responsibilities of the county executive position, currently held by Phillips Armstrong, noting under the charter, the executive directs the administration and internal organization of the county except for departments placed under the jurisdiction of other officers.

The executive is responsible for enforcing actions passed by the board of commissioners, representing the county in deliberations with other governmental bodies, signing legal documents, and ensuring all laws related to county affairs are executed.

Hozza also said the executive must follow a requirement found in “practically all Home Rule Charters” and deliver an annual State of the County Address to the commissioners, legislative and judicial branches, and the county residents within 60 days of the fiscal year’s closure.

He described how the county executive serves on all boards and commissions, such as the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and Workforce Board, several of which cross county lines and have united the Lehigh Valley for decades.

“[They] really are the driving force between our planning and economic vitality here in the region,” Hozza said.

Another power reserved for the county executive is the power to declare a state of emergency, with the approval of the board of commissioners, as was done last February in response to COVID-19.

Lastly, before turning to the Q&A portion of the webinar, Hozza provided a brief overview of rules, responsibilities, and projects carried out by the various departments which report to the county Department of Administration.

These departments include Fiscal, Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement and Veterans Affairs.

The 2021 Citizens Academy’s free webinars are offered 6-8 p.m. Thursdays.

Registration information is available on the Lehigh County website lehighcounty.org.

Archived webinars are available for viewing on the county’s YouTube channel.