As I have now announced my candidacy for York County Commissioner, I will use this blog to begin sharing my ideas with the York County voters in the run-up to the Democratic Primaries on May 17th and in anticipation of the general election in November. I want to begin with a topic that affects all of us and permeates every issue: Increasing Revenue & Saving Money
I applaud the efforts put forth by the York County Economic Development Corporation, the York County Area Chamber of Commerce, the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce and the World Trade Center. I want to put forth an even more concerted effort to preserve the current employment base. The county leaders need to collectively market and promote the equipment and products that are manufactured in York County and educate York County residents and organizations about our products. Based on that foundation of understanding, I would call upon all business organizations, corporations and county residents to promote and market York County products both nationally and internationally.
Our dedicated school board members are working hard to balance their individual district budgets. Now let’s explore ways in which we can consolidate administrative resources, such as a unified district effort to purchase computers.
Some of the greatest county parks in the State of Pennsylvania can be found in York County but some of the land located within these parks is not being utilized. The Board of County Commissioners should begin studying the possibility of earning income for York County by leasing unused portions of land for agricultural use.
Over the years the staff of the York County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has successfully attracted organizations to hold their events in York, especially at the York Expo Center. We can do even more by joining forces with a regional convention and visitors’ bureau. If elected, I would like to initiate regional consolidation talks with the Hershey-Harrisburg CVB. There are tremendous benefits to be gained from promoting York County as the “gem” located between Baltimore and Hershey. More promotional opportunities will be available to York County by working within a larger regional organization. When you work within small budgets the rewards are usually small, but when you work with a larger budget the rewards can be exponentially greater.
We have some very talented and hard working individuals who are employed within the departments of county government. I’ve also heard some very interesting ideas from my colleagues and neighbors outside of government. I welcome all suggestions concerning fiscal responsibility for an effective and efficient running county government.
What ideas do you have? I look forward to your comments on my weekly blog posts and I hope that we generate some discussions through Twitter
@RobertWrightYPa.