PCC Local Time

When the Housing Crisis Comes to Town Hall In this APMM series episode, Nancy Hess speaks with John Ernst, Borough Manager of Lansdale, and Sandra Zadell, Township Manager of Upper Gwynedd, about what the housing crisis looks like from the municipal manager’s desk. The conversation begins with an encampment near the border of their two municipalities and moves into workforce housing, shelter, zoni...

As producer and publisher here at MuniSquare on Substack, today’s post is hard to write… we have decided to bring the Generation on the Rise podcast to a close, at least for now. Dave, Brandon and Nancy start off with a little light bantor today before making their way to the core message which concerns the absence of Eden. This will not affect PCC Local Time podcast recordings or our MuniSquare p...

What does a mature emergency management program look like before a community is tested? In this 2026 APMM series episode of PCC Local Time , Nancy Hess talks with Shawn Kauffman , Fire Director for the Centre Region Council of Governments and former Emergency Management Coordinator, about the human infrastructure behind effective emergency response. Shawn shares what he has learned over 40 years i...

"I need help." There are conversations in local government that change how you think about leadership. This is one of them. In this episode of PCC Local Time, I sit down with Chief David Lash of Northern York County Regional Police and Chief Dave Steffen , retired chief of Northern Lancaster County Regional Police, to talk about how the idea of wellness actually converts to meaningful outcomes ins...

Two municipal managers introduced host Nancy to the same book: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. Chris Garges and Joe Hogarth (also Chief of Police) join her to unpack what a four-star Manhattan restaurant can teach local government. Through a municipal lens, they talk about the front of the house and the back of the house, how "toiling in obscurity" is part of our success, why imitating o...

Why would anyone choose to evade governance, and what do contemporary versions of that choice look like in the communities we serve? What familial stories do we carry forward that are, at root, an attempt to evade government? The late James C. Scott, Yale political scientist, agrarian studies scholar, and, as he put it himself, an anarchist willing to raise only two cheers (as he titled one of his...

Who gets to decide the value of a place? In other words, who gets to decide the metric? I brought that question to Christa Breum Amhøj , a Danish practitioner, researcher, and what I can only describe as a social architect because she reads a place the way a building architect reads a site. And to John Diamond , who sits in Manchester and has been watching the same tensions play out in the UK acro...

Brandon Ford rejoins Dave Pribulka and Eden Ratliff and wastes no time stepping back into the role of host. He deftly guides the conversation from how have expectations changed for managers to something much deeper that touches on what it means to be apolitical in this new reality and how compartmentalization may or may not serve the profession going forward. Check our MuniSquare for more content...

Economic development isn’t just about buildings and business, sidewalks and parking, blighted malls and dying downtowns, housing shortages and shrinking workforces, casino controversies and data center ordinances. It’s actually about facilitating conversations with the people invested in the outcomes. Keri (Miller) Kenepp , Director of Community and Economic Development for College Township, Penns...

Structural change in local government is rare. Therefore, we don’t often get the opportunity to learn how it works. My three guests today, Jerry Andree, Toby Cordek, and Michael Foreman were invited to work with a group of engaged citizens in Millcreek Township, Erie County to shepard a community making its third attempt in fifteen years to restructure their local government. Millcreek is one of t...

Maggie Dobbs is a trained city planner (Rutgers) who spent a decade writing comprehensive plans across Montgomery County before stepping into her current role as Borough Manager of Narberth, Pennsylvania, a half-square-mile community tucked inside Lower Merion Township just outside of Philadelphia. She arrived after a period of leadership turnover. What she found was not a small job. It was a dens...

There is a polite fiction in local government that serving “at the pleasure of the governing body” rests securely on mutual trust. Often it does. Increasingly, it can feel more fragile. In today’s political climate, the employment relationship between elected officials and their chief administrative officer deserves a closer examination. What protections actually exist? Who advocates for the manag...

Eden and Dave are joined by guest Jeffrey Stonehill , Borough Manager of Chambersburg Pennsylvania. They begin with an examination of how crises today differ from those Jeffrey encountered when he began in the field. Although they traverse the doom and gloom of dealing with crisis in the profession, they return to the core reasons they remain in the field. Contrasting generational perspectives and...

Hey listeners, if you like video with your podcast, check out this episode on Spotify with the video feed included . Don't forget to hit the follow button. And subscribe to MuniSQuare where you will find more on the Pioneering Change Community channel. "We are all one elected official away from a hostile work environment.” - Dave “Yeah, but if it gets that bad, why would you stay?" - Eden Today on...

In this kickoff-to-2026 episode of Generation on the Rise, hosts Dave Pribulka, Brandon Ford, and Eden Ratliff tackle the question: what is the real role of a municipal manager in forming local government policy? Generation on the Rise is produced by Nancy Hess (Publisher of MuniSquare) and features Eden Ratliff (Middletown Township Manager, Bucks County PA), Brandon Ford (Lower Merion Assistant T...

Summary: In this thought-provoking episode, Brandon, Dave, and Eden tackle the complex topic of workplace loyalty in local government. The hosts debate what loyalty means in practice, whether it’s connected to tenure, and how it differs from professionalism. The conversation takes an unexpected turn into residency requirements, sparking passionate disagreement about whether living in the community...

As the calendar year closes out, Eden Ratliff sits down with Brandon Ford and Dave Pribulka to talk about strategic planning in the real world: not as a glossy document, but as a working “rudder” for budget decisions, priorities, and day-to-day execution. They dig into the tension between aspirational goals (the “why”) and cross-offable action steps (the “how”)—including how to avoid plans that so...

In this episode of ‘Generation on the Rise’, the hosts Dave Pribulka, Eden Ratliff, and Brandon Ford “go there” to unpack the inherent biases present in local government, and how it can impact decision-making processes. They explore how biases affect hiring practices and public policy formation, emphasizing the need for a culture of challenge and building perspective in leadership. The conversatio...

In this episode, Brandon Ford leads the conversation with co- hosts Eden Ratlif and Dave Pribulka . They discuss the challenges of work-life balance in local government, touching on public comment dynamics, the pioneering leaf blower ban initiative, and the importance of personal life beyond work. They explore generational differences in work expectations, the impact of remote work policies, and t...

🎧 This episode of PCC Local Time is part of the APMM Series, featuring conversations with Pennsylvania’s municipal managers and leaders about the evolving practice of local government. In this episode, I talk with Brittany Forman, Manager of Media Borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania , about what it takes to build — and preserve — a strong sense of place in a small community that has suddenly...

Hosts Dave Pribulka , Eden Ratliff , and Brandon Ford , candid talk about shaping your team in your municipal organizations.  They explore the essential roles needed in local government, the importance of dedicated HR departments, and the challenges of managing diverse personalities within teams. The conversation delves into the hiring process, community engagement in recruitment, and the dyn...

🎧 This episode of PCC Local Time is part of the APMM Series, featuring conversations with Pennsylvania’s municipal managers and leaders about the evolving practice of local government. Follow APMM on LinkedIn and Read more at APMM.net In this episode of the APMM Series , produced in partnership with PCC Local Time , Nancy J. Hess and Dr. Martin Carcasson explore how local government leaders can s...

Hosts  Dave Pribulka ,  Eden Ratliff , and  Brandon Ford , are joined by  Nancy Hess  for a candid talk about what real change management looks like in local government. They explore how trust, timing, and human connection shape change — from labor negotiations to leadership teams to community-driven expectations. A double header this week… be sure to check out the chat fo...

Fresh from the ICMA Conference in Tampa, the Generation on the Rise crew dives into how to draw the line between leadership and politics. Eden reflects on his ICMA session about rebuilding trust after a $3.2 million fraud case, while Dave and Brandon unpack what it means to stay apolitical and human in a world where expectations sometimes conflict with professional ethics. From the emotional side...

🎧 This episode of PCC Local Time is part of the APMM Series, featuring conversations with Pennsylvania’s municipal managers and leaders about the evolving practice of local government. In this episode on Sustainability , host Nancy Hess talks with three guests who are redefining what local sustainability looks like on the ground: Sara Gibson , Borough Manager, Camp Hill Borough , creator of Storm...