On Tuesday afternoon, Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter offered thoughts on his first 100 days in office.
The first 100 days have been a roller coaster.
Our administration was off to a good start – accomplishing some of our initial goals of getting our team in place, getting the City management processes and financial records in order, and working with City Council to formulate a long-range strategic plan for City government. Those accomplishments would be important under normal circumstances, but are more crucial now as we work our way through the new reality we face.
This pandemic has changed plans for all of our citizens as well as for Williamsport. I wake up daily, concerned about the impact COVID-19 is having on every aspect of our community. The first priority now is to find ways that the city can mitigate the hardships everyday citizens are experiencing because of this historic worldwide health crisis.
As a former member of Council, I know it is important to listen to City Council’s ideas and points of view. If City Council and I do not always see eye-to-eye, that does not mean we are not looking in the same direction. There is never just one way of doing something. As a mayoral candidate, I emphasized working on our financial records, fundamental management, and working with realistic budgets. Every day, as I make decisions, I still have these as a primary focus. We have made positive strides in updating our daily administrative functions. Often the work is behind the scenes so the average citizen does not always know what has been updated or improved. It is not flashy work. Every day we work on creating a better government. This will always be my motivation.
I want every citizen and business of Williamsport to know that our city is resilient and we will get through these tough times. Just like every citizen and business is now doing, the city is evaluating how to reduce expenses, conserve resources and continue its mission to serve the public. Where, in the past, the city may have contracted for outside services, we will look to do much of our work in-house using the professionals and experienced employees that we have. We will try to balance between the need to cut expenses and to not “cut corners” to do our work.
In response to the needs of the greater community, I created the Mayor’s COVID-19 Advisory Board. This board of key stakeholders will identify the impact, needs, and a path forward for Williamsport. The board will determine how the City can best respond and assist as we navigate COVID both in the short-term and long-term. Their advice will help guide us, help the City make the necessary changes it may need to make, and help this administration find the extra resources to do the work.
We were going to develop an advisory board to work on strengthening our community and economy even before the pandemic hit us; this crisis has pushed that to the forefront. The public will be invited to participate in broad discussions about how to expand our mercantile, manufacturing and service industry base. Again, there is no one way to do something. What ultimately matters is being effective and building resilience.
During this health crisis, we are in daily contact with local, county, and state health officials to ensure Williamsport is as prepared as we can be. We monitor the confirmed cases both here in Lycoming County and throughout the Commonwealth. I speak with and monitor what other mayors and municipalities are doing. If we see something that works somewhere else, we will evaluate it to see if it is applicable for Williamsport.
Because we implemented timely policies and procedures to keep our employees and residents safe and healthy, we are in a stronger position to have a more vigorous restart of our economy. We are following the guidance of trained and competent professionals in public health and safety. Keeping our population healthy now will be the key to regaining our economic strength later. I firmly believe that this is how we emerge out of this crisis with the best outcome for our city.
The response from our community has been incredible. I want to thank every person and organization who has stepped up during this time to offer their support and resources. These collective efforts have been nothing short of heroic and show the true resolve of Williamsport. Without a doubt, COVID has changed the initial work of our administration. Nevertheless, our commitment to the taxpayers and citizens of Williamsport remains the same.
I ask that everyone remain calm during these challenging times. Follow the guidelines outlined by the state and federal governments’ health and safety experts. Together, we will get through this. My administration is working diligently to ensure we are prepared both now and for the long-term.
Contact my office with any questions or concerns. Sign up for our new texting alert system, TEXT WILLIAMSPORT, by texting “Hello” to 855.922.2818 in order to receive updates.
Stay calm. Stay safe. Stay home. And most importantly, stay healthy.
