Originally Emailed November 16, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is Part 2 of a 3 Part Series about Upper Merion’s financial picture with a heavy emphasis on the budget. Part 2: The 2011 Budget.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
“Past performance is not indicative of future results.”
That phrase is not only applicable to the financial services sector, but our local budget process as well. Budgeting for a township is a lot like household budgeting in that it involves projecting the revenue and expenses for the next year. This is best accomplished by utilizing the financial numbers from previous years as well as up-to-date economic data and reviewing local trends in order to provide the best possible projections as to what the revenue and expenses will be for the following year.
It is an inexact science.
As you know, in December 2009 the previous Board of Supervisors reached an agreement with township employees to defer the 5.5% pay raise that they had negotiated just a few months prior. This deferment as well as significant spending cuts, the establishment of a 4 day township workweek for the non-uniformed employees and a planned $1.9 million transfer from reserves is how the previous Board presented a balanced budget for 2010. But there was another reason why the previous Board of Supervisors took those actions; they were concerned that the township’s revenue projections for 2011 would be even less than 2010 projections. This would have made the 2011 budget – the one we just put together and will be on the agenda at the meeting this Thursday – even more controversial than the 2010 budget. In fact, at the time some Supervisors were so convinced that 2010 and 2011 expenses would vastly exceed 2010 and 2011 revenues that they proposed a 1% wage tax on everyone who works in the township.
As this year unfolded, it became increasingly obvious that our township’s financial picture might actually be better than anticipated. Year to date our revenue is approximately $450,000 more than expected. The aforementioned spending cuts implemented by the previous Board of Supervisors have been as effective as planned and the current Board of Supervisors was able to save a substantial amount of money by changing insurance carriers and by working with township management to control expenses. Furthermore we have reason to believe that despite the sluggish national economy retail sales this year at some of our major shopping centers have actually increased, though admittedly we have yet to hit the holiday shopping season. All of these factors have resulted in the end product known as the 2011 Operating Budget. It is a cautious budget, but one that maintains services to our residents at current levels, fulfills the township’s contractual obligations to our employees and doesn’t deplete our reserves – all without raising taxes. Moreover, we are looking at implementing other cost-saving ideas, some of which may also have non-financial benefits.
While the Board of Supervisors has been very proactive in working with our business community to strengthen our local economy, our township revenues may not return to 2008 levels anytime soon. There are some expensive infrastructure projects that must be completed in the next two years and the Board of Supervisors needs to make some decisions about other optional but popular projects, such as a community center and/or a public outdoor swimming pool. We’re still awaiting a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court pertaining to the opening of the casino in the Valley Forge Convention Center. So while Upper Merion Township’s current financial picture is far more stable than it appeared it would be at this time last year, the future is not as certain – at least not yet.
Next time: Part 3 of a 3 Part series about Upper Merion’s financial picture/budget: The Near Future: Where Do We Go From Here?
If you’re new to this email list, welcome! I am always interested in hearing from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally Emailed October 19, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is Part 1 of a series about Upper Merion’s financial picture with a heavy emphasis on the budget. Part 1: How we got to where we are today.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
Over the next 6 weeks, the main issue that the Board of Supervisors will be dealing with is putting together the budget for 2011. A budget isn’t put together in a vacuum as the process is driven by a variety of factors including state law, revenues and expenses from previous years and contractual obligations – among other things. For Part 1 of this 3 Part Series, I want to address how both outside factors and the economy have brought us to where we are today.
The biggest factor that affects our budgeting is the strength of the economy. When our local economy is strong – particularly the retail and real estate sectors – our township revenue increases. Over most of the past 20 years, Upper Merion township had very strong economic growth. In 1989 township revenue was approximately $10 million, in 1998 it was approximately $18 million and in 2008 it was approximately $23.7 million. This substantial revenue growth enabled our township to provide a lot of services (such as free leaf pickup and rapid snow removal), maintain very low taxes, pay our employees a good wage, earn a Aaa Bond Rating and grow our reserve fund. Building up our township’s reserves was one of the smartest things that Upper Merion ever did since unlike the federal government, we are not allowed to engage in deficit spending. This is the first thing that anyone should remember when it comes to putting together our township budget: we are obligated by state law to balance our budget every year. If during the budgeting process it appears as if our projected expenses for next year will exceed our projected revenue for next year, the Board of Supervisors has 4 options. We can cut spending, increase taxes, transfer funds from our reserves or a combination of any of the previous three options.
As you know, in 2008 the economy entered a recession and as a result, Upper Merion’s projected revenues for our Operating Budget declined from the aforementioned $23.7 million to around $21.8 million for the 2010 budget. This decline put the previous Board of Supervisors in a very difficult position made even more complicated by the new employment agreement reached with the township employees earlier that year which granted them raises. Now being asked as part of the 2010 budget to forego their raises or experience layoffs, the non-uniformed employees agreed so long as this policy applied to the police department as well. The police department union did not and this is what created the heated Board of Supervisors last December 10th. On one side was the police department and their supporters who felt that there had been a significant time since their previous raise, their union had negotiated in good faith and the township was trying to squirm out of their contractual obligations. On the other side was the previous Board of Supervisors who needed to approve the 2010 budget amid declining township revenue. While the budget was approved that night, layoffs were ultimately avoided as a deferred compensation agreement was subsequently reached. This agreement along with significant spending cuts, a 4 day township workweek for the non-uniformed employees and a $1.9 million transfer from reserves enabled the previous Board to balance the budget. But it also increased our future financial obligations and significantly reduced the amount we have left in our available reserves. If we continue to drain our reserves it could cost our township its prestigious Aaa Bond Rating, thereby harming our ability to refinance past bond issues at the best possible rate which will prevent us from saving money.
That is the background in which our first 2011 budgeting workshop will take place. While there is some encouraging news – which I will discuss next time – Upper Merion may have some significant challenges ahead and difficult decisions may await.
Next time: Part 2 of a 3 Part series about Upper Merion’s financial picture/budget: Where we are Today – the 2011 Budget.
Additional Business: As elections are less than 2 weeks away, I want to remind everyone to vote and if you’d like to hear from some of the candidates, next Tuesday, October 26th at 7pm at the Valley Forge Towers Club (4000 Valley Forge Circle) I will be hosting Bryan Lentz, who is running for Congress and State Representative Tim Briggs. Regardless of your political affiliation, you are welcome to attend this event and ask these candidates questions. A more formal email invite will go out in the next 48 hours.
If you’re new to this email list, welcome! I am always interested in hearing from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally Emailed September 23, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is about Good Government in Upper Merion and the stories of Bell and Maywood, California.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
“Good Government” is one of those terms that different people define in different ways, often based on whether that person agrees with the policies of that government. For example, I think that it’s fair to say that most Democrats (including myself) would take a look at the vast majority of George W. Bush’s policies and say that good government was not his forte. On the other hand, I think it’s fair to say that many of my Republican friends would say the same thing about President Obama. While only one federal administration at any time is in power, there are thousands of local governments that operate simultaneously including Upper Merion’s municipal government. This makes it easier to temporarily forget one’s political persuasion in evaluating whether a local government is good or bad. Here enter the stories of Bell and Maywood, California.
You may have heard about Bell this past summer. Bell is the city where the Township Manager earns an outrageous $800,000 per year. But this ridiculous salary isn’t limited to just the township manager. A larger pattern exists as the part time city council members earn almost $100,000 each, the police chief $457,000, the city manager’s top assistant earns more than $375,000. Here’s a brief comparison between Bell and Upper Merion.
Category Bell Upper Merion
| Approximate Size | 2.5 square miles | 17 square miles |
| Approximate Population | 36,000 | 28,000 |
| Approximate Median Income | $30,000 | $65,000 |
While it has more residents than Upper Merion, Bell is geographically much smaller and much poorer. As such, it would probably make sense for Bell’s municipal leaders to earn less than ours. But the opposite is true as our township staff earns substantially less than the people in Bell who hold the same positions. So clearly the salaries of Bell’s employees are way, way, way out of line. Regardless of what anybody thinks about any of our current or past Supervisors, I think it’s fair to say that at $4,375 a year none of our Supervisors are in this for the money. But if my salary was the $100,000 per year that my position is Bell receives, would I honestly be able to make that claim? A municipality only has so much money and by providing themselves such exorbitant salaries, Bell’s officials have deprived that economically depressed community of essential government services while at the same time their residents pay a higher tax rate than the residents of Beverly Hills! I don’t know if the city council and local politics in Bell are dominated by the Democrats, the Republicans, or if like Upper Merion it is split. It doesn’t matter as anyone regardless of their political affiliation should be able to tell that something is seriously wrong with the way Bell operates.
Maywood is another California municipality that had an interesting summer. Maywood’s problems originated with their rank-in-file workforce, particularly their notorious police department. According to an L.A. Times investigation, at least a third of their cops had disturbing work histories including witness intimidation, physical abuse, misuse of a firearm and flunking out of other municipal police departments. But Maywood’s employee problems were not confined to just the police, as a city clerk tried to hire a hitman to kill a member of the city council. As a result of employee misconduct, Maywood was repeatedly sued and they were unable to obtain insurance therefore making it risky to perform even the most basic services. Left with few options, Maywood decided to outsource all of their governmental functions – no more police, no city workers, no nothing; and with it they also outsourced their resident’s ability to hold their city government accountable.
Unlike Maywood, one of the great strengths of Upper Merion are our employees. Our police force is one of the best in the commonwealth. Many of our uniformed and non-uniformed employees live in the township and volunteer as firefighters, little league coaches, in the school system and in a myriad of other capacities. Both residents and non-residents consistently rave about their ability and professionalism. On the rare occasion when an employee makes an egregious error, it is dealt with swiftly and appropriately, and it is made clear that conduct is unacceptable. Upper Merion’s employees have enhanced our municipality. Maywood’s employees destroyed theirs.
Bell and Maywood are not typical of municipal governments, though they are not alone in dealing with scandal as even neighboring Radnor Township suffered one last year. All governments make mistakes – even the best ones. But what separates a good government from a bad government is that one commits their errors in good faith and learns from their mistakes, as well as the mistakes of others. The other’s mistakes are fraudulent in nature and are repeated. The former is usually considered an example of good government. The latter usually is not and often suffers as a result.
Next time: Back to economics as the next email will be Part 1 of a series about Upper Merion’s financial picture with a heavy emphasis on the budget.
If you’re new to this email list, welcome! I am always interested in hearing from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally Emailed August 31, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is about the initiation of the “Key to the Township” Award.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
Ideas come from a variety of different places. Earlier this year, I was reading the King of Prussia Courier and there was an announcement about the local NAACP chapter honoring the Tuskegee Airmen at one of the hotels in Upper Merion. For those of you unfamiliar with the Tuskegee Airmen, they were African-American pilots in World War II who fought with distinction despite facing tremendous discrimination, both inside and outside of the military. It is widely believed that President Harry Truman’s conclusion that the United States Military must be integrated was inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen – a decision which was one of the most important events of the civil rights movement. Unfortunately by the time I learned that the Tuskegee Airmen were going to be in the township, the Board of Supervisors did not have enough advance notice to properly honor their presence. Just as importantly, we did not have the best means to do so and going forward I wanted to rectify this situation. This was the genesis of the “Key to the Township” award.
The “Key to the Township” award is designed to resemble the various “Keys to the City” that are handed out in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Basically, this type of award has several purposes. One purpose is to honor individuals or organizations who have had a substantial impact in improving Upper Merion as a way of showing thanks and appreciation for service that’s been provided. Hopefully it will even inspire others to contribute in such a manner. Additionally, the Key to the Township is also a way to strengthen existing relationships – we want people and organizations who have done much for the township without asking for anything in return to understand how important they are to us and that it is important to us that they remain engaged in Upper Merion. A third purpose of handing out a Key to the Township is to honor those whose mere presence in Upper Merion such as the Tuskegee Airmen is a tremendous honor because of the dramatic impact they’ve had on our society. As I’ve stressed in a few of my previous email messages, the sour economy has only magnified the competitive climate that our township is engaged in with other municipalities. This competitive atmosphere doesn’t just exist for businesses and jobs, but for cultural and social events as well and anything we can do that is relatively inexpensive to generate some positive publicity and create a feel-good atmosphere is a smart idea.
Our township fair will be held on September 11th and on that day, the first “Key to the Township” will be handed out. While the individual who will be the first recipient of the first key is not an Upper Merion resident, he has donated a substantial amount of time, energy and resources in helping to make us what we are today. I hope you’ll be there to enjoy the fair, learn all about what this individual has done on behalf of Upper Merion and see the presentation of the key!
Additional Business: If you’d like to learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen, here is their website: http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/ and here’s their Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen.
Additional Business, Part II: I received literally dozens of responses to my previous email on Electronic and Hazardous Waste Recycling and I thank you all for your comments. I think that your responses are the best indication of how much demand there is in Upper Merion to establish this program.
Next time: The next email will be about Good Government in Upper Merion and the lessons of Bell and Maywood, California.
If you’re new to this email list, welcome! I am always interested in hearing from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally Emailed August 2, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is about the upcoming Electronic and Hazardous Waste Recycling Program.
Disclaimer: I want to thank several sources for the information in this article, including the EPA, Montgomery County, Wikipedia (and its citations), the Consumer Electronics Association and the National Safety Council.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
While everyone is concerned about improving our local economy, we shouldn’t forget about the environment and the quality of life issues related to it. Improving the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the sky we see is something that benefits all. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels by moving towards green energy has rightfully been emphasized over the past few years, but that is only one fight in the battle to improve the environment. Another is the recycling of electronics and hazardous waste.
We live in a world where technology quickly becomes dated. Americans throw away 30 million computers each year. 1 billion cell phones are sold each year which means that tens if not hundreds of millions of phones annually are taken out of service. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that unwanted electronics totaled 2 million tons in 2005 and 3 million tons in 2006 and this is with only an estimated 15-20% of e-waste being recycled; the other 80-85% of electronics that are actually disposed of go directly into landfills and incinerators. “Actually disposed of” are the operative words in the previous sentence as there are countless electronics and household hazardous waste products just sitting around and gathering dust, including an estimated 75% of all personal computers ever sold according to the National Safety Council.
Electronics and hazardous wastes contain their own unique environmental problems. While only 2% of waste in landfills comes from electronics, this 2% is the origin of 70% of heavy metals in landfills – heavy metals which can seep into the water table and create serious health problems for people exposed to these metals.In the very near future the recycling of electronics must take on added urgency as e-waste is growing at two to three times the rate of any other waste source. Much has been written over the past few decades about the hazards of lead. Did you know that a typical 15-inch cathode ray tube (CRT) may contain 1.5 pounds of lead and other CRTs have been estimated as having up to 8 pounds of lead? Other elements and chemicals in electronics include mercury, americium, sulphur, cadmium and various chlorides and oxides.
Recycling of electronics has already provided tangible results. In 2007, approximately 414,000 tons of electronics were collected in the US for recycling. Recycling this material prevented the release of greenhouse gases equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 178,000 cars. But we can easily do so much more. By recycling 100 million cell phones, approximately 7,500 pounds of gold could be recovered – allowing that amount of gold to go into new products. Cell phones also contain copper, silver, palladium and platinum. Recovering these metals rather than mining them would prevent more than 12,000,000,000 pounds of loose soil, sand, and rock from having to be moved, mined, and processed.
At one of the Board of Supervisor Workshop Meetings earlier this year, I asked township manager Ron Wagenmann and our public information officer Ed Higgins to look into establishing an electronic recycling program. As a result, sometime next year I expect that Upper Merion will become the 7th municipality in Montgomery County to participate in their free Hazardous Waste and Electronics collection program. Here’s a list of products that will eligible for collection:
Paint Products
- Oil-based Paint
- Paint Thinner
- Turpentine
- Shellac
- Stains and Varnish
- Furniture Stripper and Finisher
- Wallpaper Cement
Outdoor Products
- Swimming Pool Chemicals
- Weed Killers
- Septic Tank Degreasers
- Asphalt Sealers
- Caulking Compounds
- Joint Compound
- Roof Cements
- Rodent Poison
Automotive Products
- Grease and Rust Solvents
- Fuel Additives
- Motor Oil
- Antifreeze
- Gasoline
- Carburetor Cleaners
- Transmission/Brake Fluid
- Lead Acid Batteries
Household Products
- Drain/Oven Cleaners
- Rug Cleaners
- Kerosene
- Toilet Bowl Cleaners
- Adhesives/Solvents
- Mothballs/Flakes
- Spot Removers
- Dry Cleaning Fluid
- Wood and Metal Cleaners
Electronic Equipment
- CRT Monitors
- CPU’s
- Cameras
- Cell Phones
- Fax Machines
- Scanners/Printers
- TV (30″ and smaller)
- Computer Peripherals
Miscellaneous
- Acids, Caustics, Solvents
- Flammables
- Oxidizers
- Organic Peroxide
- Reactives
- Lead
- Pesticides
- Mercury Bearing Items
- Fluorescent Bulbs
- Propane Cylinders (20lb or less)
- Rechargeable Batteries
When I was a child I first heard the phrase, “think globally, act locally.” This is one of those issues where this adage has tremendous merit. There are many people in Upper Merion who care deeply about this issue as several residents have contacted me specifically about it and we have a strong, passionate Environmental Advisory Council which is planning to publicize this event. Most of the 29,000 residents of Upper Merion have antiquated electronics sitting around their home, so as a community we can easily prevent the improper disposal of thousands of hazardous waste products and electronics. But we can have an even greater impact if other municipalities, counties and possibly even Harrisburg are impressed by the number of recyclables we collect and use their resources to adopt similar programs in their jurisdictions or statewide.
Next time: The next email will discuss the new “Key to the Township” Program.
If you’re new to this email list, welcome! I am always interested in hearing from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally Emailed July 6, 2010
The following email is part of my ongoing series. This email is about the Business Improvement District.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
Upper Merion’s economic history is a direct result of our geography. We’re fortunate to sit at the crossroads of 422, 202, 23, the Schuykill Expressway, the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Blue Route. Our convenient location provides easy access to Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Washington DC and elsewhere and this led large corporations such as GE to establish bases here and enabled our growth in the 1950s. Other businesses followed, the King of Prussia Mall was built and Upper Merion also emerged as a retail center. These enterprises helped build an extremely strong local economy and turned us into a suburban economic powerhouse which to this day allows us to offer the lowest residential real estate tax rate in the 5 county area, along with no income tax, no wage tax and the township to maintain a AAA Bond Rating.
As I’ve previously discussed, other neighboring municipalities recognized our economic success and copied this blueprint. But they had one advantage – the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Their major arterial roads, built more recently in time than ours, are often viewed as superior to ours. Their office buildings are marketed as being more modern, more attractive and more energy efficient than those in King of Prussia. Commercial renters and shoppers who in the past would have automatically come here now had other options. Recognizing that a powerful economic base is vital to the future of the township and in cooperation with our business community, Upper Merion Township started holding meetings a few years ago with our businesses about the possibility of strengthening our local economy by forming a Business Improvement District, also known as a B.I.D.
The B.I.D. is a $5+ million dollar investment in our community over the next 5 years by the businesses of our community. The money for the district comes from the businesses – large and small, corporate and family owned – assessing themselves, pooling their resources and working together to improve the business climate in King of Prussia by stepping up to meet the competition in neighboring municipalities. If successful, the Business Improvement Districts may solidify property values, attract new shoppers, reduce vacancy rates and attract new investments. There will be no increase in taxes to our residents.
The B.I.D. will benefit more than just our businesses. By law, Upper Merion Township is guaranteed one of the seats on the Board of Directors of the B.I.D. This will ensure that the voices of our residents are heard and the benefits of the B.I.D. will extend to our residents. In fact, more than $1 million dollars of the proposed budget goes towards physical improvements that will increase the attractiveness of our community. There may also be an opportunity with redevelopment to improve a large swath of the 202 corridor. Additionally, a successful B.I.D. will have a positive economic impact in our community as increased business revenues serve to keep residential taxes low. It might even spur public transportation improvements.
A few weeks ago, the Board of Supervisors passed the required ordinance for the B.I.D to move forward. But the ultimate decision as to whether the district is established rests with the business community. When I was Chairman of the Economic and Community Development Committee, I commented that the formation of this B.I.D is the best thing that could happen to Upper Merion Township from a purely economic standpoint. On July 12th at 5pm, we will know its future.
Next time: The next email will discuss our township’s upcoming electronic and hazardous waste recycling initiative.
As always, I want to hear from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people have asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or just feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
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Originally emailed on June 11, 2010
The following is part of my ongoing series about local issues. This email is about our soon-to-be new township website and the local economy.
Friends, Neighbors and Fellow Upper Merion Residents:
Prior to being elected Supervisor, I was Chair of Upper Merion’s Economic and Community Development Committee (ECDC) and during my tenure on the ECDC, the committee spent a great deal of time discussing our township’s presence on the web. I specifically remember commenting that our website was inferior to the websites of neighboring municipalities and by failing to put our best foot forward in cyberspace, we were putting ourselves at a competitive disadvantage to other municipalities who were aggressively and intelligently using their web presence to court economic growth. As other ECDC members said in the past, I also strongly believed that our local government could not sit idly by and just rely on revenue from the King of Prussia Mall and transfer taxes to continue to provide an extremely high level of services to our residents while maintaining the lowest residential real estate taxes in the 5 county area.
As imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, other municipalities had taken notice of our successful economic model and decided to follow our blueprint – as evidenced by all the new shopping centers and office buildings that have cropped up along the 202 and 422 corridors over the last few years. As a result of this increased competition, some shoppers and commercial renters who in the past would have automatically come to Upper Merion were now being siphoned away into other municipalities. In a year where revenue was going to decrease significantly as a result of the Great Recession, the increased competition made matters even worse.
All this begs the question as to how we are going to improve our revenue stream so we can continue to provide 1st rate services to our residents, while maintaining our status as the lowest taxed municipality in the 5 county area and keeping our AAA Bond Rating. Even when the national economy fully rebounds, the competition that has arisen around us will remain. A portion of this answer rests in doing a better job in marketing ourselves.
There are reasons why you receive coupons in the mail, see ads in the paper and commercials on television. It’s because marketing works and a website is the modern form of advertising. Every chain store has a website, as do most other businesses, public officials (including myself) and the overwhelming majority of municipalities. A great website might not necessarily be sexy, but it is essential in presenting a positive image of our township to outsiders, providing information and services to our residents, attracting shoppers, new businesses and making government more efficient. All of these are vital components in improving Upper Merion’s economic outlook.
This brings us full circle to where we are now. In the near future, after years of the ECDC pushing for a website that enhances our township including our economic competitiveness, and in cooperation with the Media Communication Advisory Board, our township will be unveiling our new website. Is a new website alone going to turn around our current economic fortune? No, of course not. But it is one of the pieces of the puzzle – as is the potential establishment of the Business Improvement District (which will be the subject of my next email) – that is needed to enhance our economic competitiveness and reinvigorate our revenue stream.
Next time: Staying on the topic of the local economy, the next email will discuss the Business Improvement District.
As always, I want to hear from you. Many outstanding ideas have come directly from Upper Merion residents. So please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time. Lastly, a few people asked me if they could add their friends to my email list. So, if you know anyone who would like to be added to my email list, please let me know and I’ll add them, or feel free to forward this email.
Sincerely,
Greg
Reading a Story to Kids on Earth Day
