(All documents are in PDF Format, Free Adobe Reader required)

• Cover
• Acknowledgement

Tables of Contents

• Table of Contents (Sequential)
• Table of Topics and Issues (Alphabetical)
• Abbreviations, Acronyms, Signals, Symbols, and Legal Terms

Introduction

• Overview
• Note on "Solving" Constituent Inquiries
• What is the Local Government Commission?

Basics

• Local Government Entities in Pennsylvania
• Dillon's Rule - State Primacy Over Local Governments
• Home Rule - An Incursion on State Supremacy
• Preemption of Municipal Regulation by the Commonwealth
• Municipalities - How They Change . . . Boundaries, Classification, or Forms of Government
• Intergovernmental Cooperation
• Municipal Authorities
• Municipal Statistics

Issues and Questions

Citizens' Rights

• Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law
• The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act
• Procedural Due Process
• Substantive Due Process
• Equal Protection

Governance

• Quorum: Official Action - Abstention
• Can a Municipal Governing Body Enter Into a Contract That Will Bind Future Governing Bodies? The Distinction Between Proprietary and Governmental Functions
• Municipal Procurement
• Selected Municipal Employment Issues
• Authority Over Borough Police: Mayor vs. Council
• Ethics and Conflicts of Interest
• Surcharge: Accountability of Officials for Misuse of Public Funds
• Removal From Office
• Governmental Immunity & Municipal Liability
• Discretionary vs. Ministerial Acts and the Action of Mandamus
• Selected Examples of Actions Against Municipalities

Public Health, Welfare, and Safety

• What is the "Police Power"?
• Public Nuisances
• Some Examples of Municipal Code Sections Authorizing the Regulation or Abatement of Nuisances
• Juvenile Curfews
• Regulation of Animals

Land Use

• Public Use of Municipal Recreational Land
• Pennsylvania Statutory and Regulatory Measures to Protect Agricultural Land and Open Space
• Regulation of Wireless Telecommunications Facilities
• Exclusionary Zoning and the Fair Share Doctrine
• Road Law Basics
• Municipal Eminent Domain
• Municipal Regulation of Adult-Oriented Businesses
• Construction Permit Requirements for Agricultural Operations by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Private Property Issues

• Limbs From My Neighbor's Tree Overhang My Property...What can I do?
• Landlocked Property - Easements by Implication, Necessity, and Prescription; and the Creation of Private Roads
• Title by Adverse Possession & Easement by Prescription

Taxation and Finance

• Real Estate Assessment Process in Pennsylvania...An Overview
• Homestead Exemption
• Clean and Green
• Pennsylvania Charitable Exemptions
• Taxpayer Relief Act
• Emergency and Municipal Services Tax
• Local Services Tax
• Eliminating Occupation Taxes
• Earned Income Taxes
• Local Elected Tax Collectors...An Overview
• Municipal Investments
• Municipal Fiscal Distress and Recovery

Resources

• Frequently Cited Laws Governing or Impacting Municipalities
• Publications of the Local Government Commission
• Publications of the Governor's Center for Local Government Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
• Useful Internet Websites
• Local Government Associations and Related Groups
• Contacts for County Row Office Associations Who Are Officers or Delegates in the Pennsylvania State Association of Elected County Officials (PSAECO)