Why Phil Donahue? Expertise and Experience.My wife and I moved into Tredyffrin over 17 years ago to raise our family of five children, now ages 11 to 20. Over time, I have gained a deep personal understanding of the challenges facing families in this township. Protecting the TaxpayerOur township is a complex $35MM business. In addition to an MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, I offer over 20 years of business experience developing cost effective solutions and being held accountable for budgets, projects and people. It is this hard earned experience that will help me protect the tax payer both today and tomorrow. My opponent, a 2005 college graduate, simply does not have this kind of expertise. Let’s put the budget into perspective. Tredyffrin has an 8% revenue shortfall. Given the economy, it could have been worse, much worse. To get started, we need to prioritize our spending (like fully funding our police and firefighters); cost effectively collect all taxes due the township and make decisions on how to live within our means and not look for new or increased taxes. The EIT (Earned Income Tax), which inequitably targets only W2 wage earners, is not a smart way to solve the real budget issue. With the help of the hard work being done by the Budget Advisory Working Group (BAWG), we need to act quickly on their recommendations. I welcome BAWG’s fresh perspective and see this as a great opportunity rethink old assumptions. By acting decisively on its recommendations, closing the gap on an 8% revenue shortfall will be tough but it is far from fatal. In the end we will have a more efficient township operating at a lower cost just like businesses across America do every day. Protecting our Quality of LifeIn the last 17 years, I have been active in protecting our quality of life. I have learned how to get things done from organizing neighbors and rallying our politicians to delivering results. A recent success that took a lot of work and the help of many people is negotiating a win-win solution with the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission over the Valley Forge Rest Stop. Other examples of community leadership include: challenging the Turnpike expansion (the PTC is now considering alternatives to taking homes and creating excessive storm water); blocking a 150 foot cell tower by presenting better options; getting sound walls for 202; eliminating an ill-conceived slip ramp; and, rejecting a bus depot in a residential neighborhood, among others. I’ve learned a lot. ImprovementAre there some things that can be done better in this township? Yes. One area, in a word: communications, the key to transparency. Residents should never be surprised about developments in our township but it happens with regularity. We need to be proactive, clear and open in how we communicate. With budgets tight, we must make even better use of our public access television Channel 2 (24), especially for those not using the Internet. We need to leverage neighborhood email groups to push out relevant information. These are low cost solutions but very effective. The FutureLet’s all focus on keeping Tredyffrin a place where the next generation can and will want to raise their families. We will achieve this vision by exercising fiscal restraint, tackling development issues and improving communications. I ask you for your support so that I may use my business expertise, community experience and personal understanding to help our community be even better. Thank you for your support.
Phil Donahue |
