A Philadelphia-based financial management team analyzing Williamsport’s financial picture may suggest a Home Rule Charter be pursued as a longer term resolution to years of dependency on real estate taxes.

Home Rule gives city government the chance to pass its own charter.

“Think of it as similar to the Williamsport version of the Constitutional Convention,” said Gordon Mann, managing director of Public Financial Management (PFM).

Williamsport operates under the Optional Third Class City Charter Law, utilizing a “strong mayor” form of government. This means its governmental structure and powers are defined by state law rather than a locally drafted charter.

Under Home Rule, the charter allows citizens to be able to determine their own form of government without the limitations that the third-class city code puts on them.

In Pennsylvania, Home Rule municipalities can govern themselves except where specifically limited by state laws.

Under Home Rule, there are limitations.

“You can’t pass a sales tax,” Mann said as an example.

But Home Rule can give flexibility with other taxes.

Currently, whenever the city wants to increase revenue, it has got one button – real estate tax, Mann said.

Home Rule gives the city some flexibility on taxes and restructuring the government because when PFM looks at the deficit it wonders if the city could rebalance under the charter.

“Could you bring the earned income tax (EIT) up a little and bring the real estate tax down a little and get a better result overall?” he asked.

Keep in mind, though, it is all taxes, he noted.

“‘It is all coming out of my pocket, what do I care?’ That’s a fair perspective,” Mann said.

For the city, however, one grows and the other doesn’t.

There are two horses attached to the carriage, he added. The real estate taxes horse is late because real estate taxes move based on assessed value, he said.

In Pennsylvania, on average, there are 20 to 30 years between assessments — unlike some other states where assessments take place every other year or every three years.

EIT, on the other hand, grows on average by 3 to 5% every year.

Home Rule won’t happen overnight. It is a long process that the council has explored and the city looked at over eight years ago.

In 2017, Williamsport residents voted to form a government study commission for the city. Fifty-eight percent of the city’s voters said “yes” to forming the commission and electing seven commissioners.

The commission held five months of public meetings to help the city decide if they will adopt a Home Rule charter.

The commission looked at the current form of government and combination to include Home Rule.

Home Rule has not been pursued since then except for a special informational public meeting with council earlier this year.

Adopting a Home Rule Charter requires a specific process, including the creation of a government study commission and a successful referendum vote by the citizens.

It won’t happen in January of 2026, Mann said, but the steps are in place to begin the process.