January 8, 2011

Dear Friends:

My last email described my six point agenda for the new year in Montgomery County that I presented at last week's meeting of the county commissioners.  Peg Gibbon's news story about the meeting does a nice job of presenting my suggestions:

Commissioners look back, forward in Montco, peacefully By: MARGARET GIBBONS The Intelligencer Democrat Joseph M. Hoeffel III wants to create "mini-summits" to deal with upcoming issues and Republican James R. Matthews reviewed past successes as Bruce L. Castor Jr. listened. The peace and good will of the holiday season spilled over into this week's meeting of the normally quarreling Montgomery County commissioners. One commissioner outlined what he hopes will become the board's agenda in this administration's final year while another gave his "state of the county" views. Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr., the administration's outsider, said he was not prepared to share his thoughts on the past or future, having not been advised his fellow commissioners intended to address those issues at the meeting. However, he was pleasant in his comments. Given an opportunity to take shots at the ideas and thoughts offered by the other two, Castor declined. He explained that, while he might disagree with them on some of their issues, he would wait until each issue required some action before voicing his opinion. Commissioner Joseph M. Hoeffel III, a Democrat running for re-election this year, outlined a six-item "Agenda for Progress" that he said could lead to a final "productive" year for the current administration. Most of Hoeffel's proposals involve holding mini-summits on various issues the county will have to decide on this year. For example, he said, commissioners should meet with public safety stakeholders and municipal officials to get their feedback on the multimillion-dollar upgrade of the county's emergency dispatch system. To meet a federal mandate, the county is required to switch from an 800 megahertz system to a 700 megahertz system by 2013. The estimated cost of the switch, designed to cut down on overlapping and interference, will cost in excess of $50 million, according to county public safety officials. The upgrade includes the construction of 10 new radio towers and the purchase of new portable radios for all police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and public safety officials. "I would suggest that we meet with all stakeholders to figure out how to implement the changeover and, frankly, who is going to pay for it," said Hoeffel. "Historically, the county has paid for it but I don't think we can do that anymore. Still, we should not make this decision in a vacuum." With the departure of the county's human services director and the commissioners' decision not to fill the vacancy, Hoeffel also said the commissioners should form a "human services cabinet" with representatives of all the county's human services departments. The commissioners should then meet with these cabinet members, who will advise them on the impact to county services from cutbacks, current and anticipated, in state and federal funding for social service programs, according to Hoeffel. With few or no capital dollars allocated this year for the county's fledgling economic development program, Hoeffel said the commissioners should meet with its economic development cabinet, its community revitalization board and other county departments that have some economic development responsibilities to coordinate what few dollars are available and direct them for job-creating projects. Commissioner Chairman James R. Matthews added a few projects of his own to Hoeffel's to-do list including filling the vacancies on various county boards, commissioners and committees. He said he also wants a sustained effort directed toward the sale of the county's human services center. But Matthews, unpopular with his Republican Party's leadership and facing an uphill battle to win re-election, opted to spend more time on the past by sharing his view on the "state of the county," focusing over his last 11 years in office. Citing the public's concern with runaway government, Matthews said the county over the last 11 years has been the "antithesis of that." The county has reduced the number of employees from about 3,500 in 2000 to about 3,000 today, according to Matthews. Also, employees' wages have been frozen for the last two years and employees now are chipping in for their health care costs, he added. Taxes have been at or below 2002 rate every year since, according to Matthews. In addition, the county has addressed quality of life issues including creating an open space acquisition program, creating a demonstration congestion-relieving local transportation program, continuing to financially shoulder its almost one-third costs of operating the community college and attempting to help out the county's library system when the state is cutting back its dollars, said Matthews. "We are on an island here," said Matthews. "Montgomery County is a success story sustained and driven by our great employees."

Sincerely,