THE ROLE OF THE MUNICIPAL ATTORNEY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT DECISIONMAKING (PENNSYLVANIA)

The municipal attorney is the one professional employee common to most local governments throughout the United States. Parallel samples of municipal attorneys and chief legislative officers from Pennsylvania local governments with and without a council-manager form of government were surveyed to develop a definition of the municipal attorney's role in the local government decision process.;The differences in perception are generally attributable to the council-manager or non council-manager designation with the respondents from council-manager municipalities indicating a higher level of activity than those from non council-manager governments. And, within both the council-manager and non council-manager groups, the attorneys overall reflected a greater level of activity and interaction than did the chief legislative officers.;The essential comparability of response among the groups suggests that the role of the municipal attorney evolves over time and is based on shared perceptions. The difference in perspectives are likely representative of the attorney's successful redefinition of his/her role, once he/she has gained the confidence and trust of the local governing body.;The survey data indicates that all respondent groups would support a role definition for the municipal attorney comprised of legal, non-legal and administrative duties and responsibilities. However, the results also suggest that the perceptions held by the groups concerning the level of the attorney's activity and involvement are not consistent. Consequently, any definition of the role must acknowledge the existence of multiple perspectives.