Our Pledge to Berks County

(Presented Publicly 11/29/2022)

This is our pledge to the people of Berks County

for the next four years.

• Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability - We are committed to keeping fiscal responsibility as the number one goal of Berks County. We need to manage the county's finances so we can continue to keep county property taxes low and yet make sure that Berks County Government is run efficiently.

• Transparency - We are committed to making sure the people of Berks County know what we are doing and why. All regular public meetings are both in-person and online. We also are working to provide better access to key department information throughout the year through a new county publication scheduled for early 2023.

• Election Integrity/Security - We are committed to elections that our people can trust. Berks County has been a leader in providing security that the law does not require but that we believe is critical relative to the electoral process.

• No Reassessment - Now is not the time for reassessment. There has been no consideration of a reassessment in Berks County.

• Criminal Justice - The new jail project is being placed on hold due to serious cost concerns. We are committed to utilize this "pause" to carefully review the proposed size of the jail now and into the future. We do not want to waste tax dollars building a jail larger than what is necessary. When considering the jail population we know that serious mental health issues impact nearly 50% of our average daily inmate population. Additionally, we are considering moving our work release program to a day reporting program that would cut the average daily population by over 10%.

• Economic Development - For the first time in our history we have an economic development strategy for Berks County. This was developed by public and private sector stakeholders and addresses rural, suburban, and urban areas of the county. It also addresses job retention and growth as well as workforce development and key economic sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and tourism. Implementation is already underway.

• Transportation - Planes, trains, and automobiles. We are committed to support projects that are critical to public safety, economic growth, and access to this region and beyond. That is why we are supporting the completion of the 222 North project to connect with the Lehigh Valley, the West Shore Bypass (422 around Reading), continuing to work towards the restoration of passenger rail service between Reading/Philadelphia/New York and DC, and strengthening the aviation value of the Reading Regional Airport for this region.

• Agriculture - Agriculture is the one constant in the Berks County economy. It is an enormous part of our history and continues to be a critical part of our present and future. We are committed to supporting our agricultural economy through our Berks County Dept. of AG and our Agricultural Land Preservation program. We are committed to efforts to promote "buying local" and supporting our extremely diverse local ag economy both in the ag production, processing, wholesaling, and retailing.

• Truth - We are committed to the truth. When we make decisions we seek the data, the facts and in short, the truth and act in accordance with what we learn. When we make mistakes, we own them and we do not try to blame others for our failures. We do not hide, and we will not run. We listen, we learn, and, in the end, we tell the truth and take actions consistent with the truth.