After Tioga borough hired the Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice, and faced intense local and national scrutiny for the decision, the government of the small Pennsylvania town nearly imploded.
A Spotlight PA investigation revealed that beneath the troubling hire were long-simmering vendettas among elected officials, disorganization, and a lack of critical oversight — problems facing many of Pennsylvania’s more than 2,500 cities, towns, townships, and boroughs. Why is the state set up this way? How does this system affect taxpayers and core government services?
To unpack this issue, Spotlight PA is holding a discussion on small governments in Pennsylvania and how they are run and overseen.
Join us Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. EST on Zoom for a free panel on Pennsylvania’s patchwork system of local governments.
Our panelists include:
- Min Xian, local accountability reporter for Spotlight PA’s State College bureau
- Matthew Creme Jr., municipal lawyer
Other panelists to be announced
Have questions for our panelists? Send them to [email protected] and we’ll ask them live!
