Objecting to the Proposed 116th District
I am the Secretary/Treasurer of the Northern Schuylkill Council of Governments (NSCOG) and am submitting these comments on behalf of our 17 member municipalities. The NSCOG was formed in 2001 and has worked hard to develop a strong partnership among members. We believe that speaking with a united voice has benefited the residents of our communities. Unfortunately, the proposed plan to remove several of our member municipalities from two Schuylkill County based legislative districts and move them to one based in Luzerne County will have a detrimental effect on our efforts, and weaken the voice of the NSCOG in lobbying efforts and garnering support from legislators for grants, programs, etc going forward. The proposed plan would move our member boroughs of Mahanoy City, Shenandoah, and Ringtown, along with the townships of Mahanoy, Union and East Union into a district that would be considered a Luzerne County seat. These communities are the heart of the NSCOG. Residents interact with one another on a daily basis from attending church, to shopping and other daily activities. This plan would have a significant negative impact on our small school districts as well. For example, communities that comprise the Mahanoy Area School District, are currently all in the 123rd District. Under this new plan, they will now be represented by three different legislators. Will this small school have a say with any of them or will a legislator give priority to a bigger school district and larger communities. We fear that our voices will be lost if these communities get moved into a Luzerne County district. Another concern of our members is the fact that the PA Department of State failed to give proper public notice of these proposed changes in a newspaper of general circulation in Schuylkill County. The notice that was published on January 4, 2022 in the Pottsville Republican Herald failed to include the 116th District. It did not include ANY information regarding this change, so residents of our member municipalities noted above have not been given adequate notice of this proposed change as per the requirements of the Pennsylvania Constitution. This issue alone should force reconsideration of this proposal. On behalf of our 17 member municipalities, thank you for your consideration. I hope you will take the concerns of the NSCOG into consideration when determining a final map.