State of the Borough

Mayor Keller delivered his final State of the Borough address on Monday according to an article in the Express-Times (read it here).

The article summarizes the accomplishments of the borough since 2002 when Keller was first elected as follows:

The mayor took council back to 2002.

"We were doing business out of an antiquated building on Belvidere Street," Keller said. "We had but one (police) officer on duty for most of each day. The park had great facilities but no summer programs no soccer fields on Sage Street no sparkling new ball field no skate park or dog park."

Keller talked about Green Street being so bumpy "that speed limit signs weren't needed."

He told council, "Even if you looked real hard, you couldn't find a tree lining any street in our downtown."

His speech identified the borough's Web site and additional equipment for the fire department.

While one could argue there was a tree in Brooklyn, or that the new ballpark is unavailable to residents, the over-all point is that we won't all agree on each decision made (ie the proposed government center expansion), but there have been a lot of good things done and there remains much work to do.

I'd also re-iterate a point I've made previously, the best government, in my opinion is the most local government. At Council meetings residents' concerns are not only heard, but discussed. Their budgets are reasonably frugal, but at the same time supportive of community events and activities, not to mention needs. This diminishes rapidly as you get less local, look at School Board, County, State and Federal levels, and look at the spending or extent to which your voice is heard and considered.

Best wishes to Mayor Keller, and keep in mind local elections this year, so if you want to serve on Council, as a Supervisor, or on School Board, this is the year to step up and put your name on the ballot!