Lansford Borough Council lacked a quorum for a meeting that included police hiring, considering a new police chief and a presentation from Kafferlin Strategies.

Councilwoman Michele Bartek, who serves as president pro temp, announced that there would be no meeting, but those attending could stay to hear the presentation.

Kafferlin is undertaking the borough’s grant-funded Strategic Managing Planning Program, which state Department of Community and Economic Development has used as a precursor program to help communities on the verge of financially distressed status, of Act. 47.

The consulting firm has spent the last few months examining demographics, trends and finances as they work toward recommendations to help the borough move forward, Ben Kafferlin, managing partner, said.

Kafferlin and Lisa Hagberg, also a managing partner, at first hesitated to present, explaining that they really wanted all of council to hear what they had to say, but agreed to present again in September.

Councilman Bruce Markovich left, but a handful of residents remained along with Bartek and Councilwoman Gwyneth Collevechio.

Kafferlin called the message they had planned Step 0, which is usually done with financial review, but didn’t want to dilute the message about structural and cultural problems, encouraging a shift toward improving trust and relationships.

He explained that as consultants they can give the borough the tools and system fixes that they need, ignoring politics, interpersonal conflict and the way things have always been done.

“But that doesn’t change your hearts, and that’s what really needs to happen here,” Kafferlin said.

Hagberg explained that the borough can’t tackle problems like blight, staffing, policies, finances or economic development with improving basic relationships and trust.

“When you have lost trust, every decision becomes questionable, even if it’s right, every decision becomes a problem,” she said. “We are not talking about not being accountable.

“We are talking about being comfortable, trusting one another to make good decisions on behalf of your community and on behalf of each other,” Hagberg said.

“Even when we disagree, we are able to sit at the table and have a disagreement that leads to … hate,” she said. “I don’t like using that word but that is what happens if we become so divisive that we cannot come together. You have a lot of work to do that you cannot do if you don’t’ come together.”

Hagberg emphasized coming to the table with good intentions when reacting to decisions and conflicts.

“I believe that every person that sits at this table has a reason that they’re sitting here, and it’s good,” she said. “It may not be good in your mind, but it’s good in their mind. They came for a reason.”

Borough manager

Kafferlin wanted community leaders to start thinking about hiring a borough manager to serve as “the tip of the spear,” or a clear leader. He also recommended a council-approved strategic action plan to give the manager and staff clear direction.

He also discouraged one member of council acting as a department head, which is currently being done.

“That is not a good idea,” Kafferlin said. “Council acts as one body. As a council, you have 100% authority. As individual council members, you have 0% authority. You only act as a body, and there shouldn’t be side conversations and directing staff. It gets confusing.

“All the business the council needs to be doing should be here at this meeting, as a body, with up or down votes, with some executive sessions here and there,” he said.

Options

Kafferlin also suggested a home rule model or optional plan for government, possibly the council-manager form of government, or a strong mayor model.

“Home rule opens you up to a whole lot of other possibilities in how you govern yourself, you can’t cut down the number of elected officials. You can restructure things so that everything reports to a manager,” he said.

Kafferlin and Hagberg also told council members that staff cannot volunteer hours, if it’s in the normal scope of what they do. The borough has to pay them, they said.

Hagberg would also help fix problems with retirements and pensions, which have been raised recently. This would be a priority now, she said.

Kafferlin also suggested cutting down on the borough’s office hours to accommodate the public and allow staff to function, but those public hours need to be consistent and communicated to the public. They also suggested bringing in help.

The borough also needs a policy on agendas, because without one they must include everything that anyone wants to put on an agenda, Kafferlin said. A manager could set an agenda, he said, and council can also vote to make changes.

Public records

Kafferlin also offered to give the borough a software program his firm created, called Cividocs, which allows elected leaders to see the agenda three weeks or six months out. All the documentation associated with agenda would be accessible, he said.

The agenda and those documents which are public records would then be published for the public, and accessible on the borough website, Kafferlin said.

Confidential documents would be locked, and the public would know they exist, he said.

Kafferlin also suggested basic meeting technology, such as tablets for council and better audio/visual setup, and livestreaming meetings. He also pointed to improving the website and having a system to file complaints there.

The borough also has too many unofficial social media outlets, and the borough should only have one pushing out accurate and timely information, they said.

Bartek noted that there is only one official social media page for the Borough of Lansford.

The borough should also consider a formal recreation plan through a state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources peer consultant to improve the parks it has, Kafferlin said.

They should also consider regional approaches, such as a council of governments, a shared manager or grant writer, and regional police, as possibilities.