Web Casting Public Meetings

It seems like another governing body has "caved in" to modern technology.  According to a Express-Times article (dated May 31, 2009), the EASD school board will start streaming via the Internet  all school board meetings starting June 18, 2009, but not the various committee meetings.  It is about time!

My concern is the various committee meetings will not be streamed to the public via the Internet. If you have attended any school board meetings, it is a very fast paced meeting with an long and aggressive agendas.  Most of the decisions are made at the committee meetings and approved by the school board.  Unless you attend the committee meetings, the public has limited input to the decisions.

Here is my challenge to the EASD school board.  All public meetings (including committee meetings) should be streamed to the public, so we can see and understand the entire decision making process. Additionally, provide a way (IM or email) for the home audience to ask questions and provide input to the meetings. Finally, the school board needs to allow public input and comment on all agenda items. I know this will cause the school board to hold two meetings  a month, but it will improve the transparency between the public and the board members.

I must admit this is a step in the right direction, but the school board needs to provide complete transparency to the public by broadcasting all public meetings. It is the right thing to do!

Get Involved! Every Voice Counts!

EAMS Spring Choral Concert

Tonight, I had the opportunity to listen to the sweet sounds of the EAMS 5/6th grade chorus.  The 5th grade chorus touched on American patriotic songs, such as America, Of Thee I Sing, some reggae, and American Classics. The 6th grade chorus sang several Latin songs, such as Cantate Deo, and a spiritual song that touched our souls.

Finally, the kids belted out a robust medley of Beatles and Abba songs!  It was a great evening. It seems our future is in good hands!

 

Get Involved! Every Voice Counts

Thank you Forks Township Voters!

I would like to thank the voters of Forks Township. I am very honored and humbled to be selected as one of the Forks Township Supervisor candidates on the November 2009 ballot. 

I am looking forward to a robust and rigorous fall campaign.

 

Sincerely,

David Billings

Forks Supervisors Race - one candidate can hit the ground running!

On May 19, 2009, Forks Township faces a critical primary election. We get to decide the future direction of our community. Our choices are continuing on the current path - at the current pace - or getting someone on the ballot who is willing to lead the fight to improve our quality of life.

My campaign has focused on three key areas:

• Voting against more property tax increases.
• Fiscal responsibility.
• And, it matters who you elect

Forks Township needs leaders with integrity, with values, and with experience. I will bring all that to the table and more - MBA, Marketing Director for AT&T, Planning Commission member, Comprehensive Plan committee, Forks Township Athletic Association, Girls softball coach, and blogger!

My participation in many civic and industry organizations has provided me with invaluable experience. So, when the opportunity to seek a seat on the Forks Township Board of Supervisors presented itself, I stepped forward. I am a candidate that is willing and ready to serve you.

I have campaigned door-to-door for the past 4 weeks and listened to your concerns. It has been a wonderful experience.  Forks residents are great people.  And, I've enjoyed conversations about leading Forks Township into the future. 

My message was tested at every doorstep and in every meeting with groups of Forks residents. The feedback has been clear, both long term residents and new arrivals echo that they want a new direction.

On May 19, 2009, we get a chance to set a new direction.

Only together can we do better!

Please remember to vote.

Every Vote Counts!
Sincerely,
David Billings

Campaign Talk - 50+ Hours of Campaigning in our neighborhoods

My campaign strategy has been to meet and speak with as many of you, my Forks Township neighbors, as possible in my four weeks of walking the town's neighborhoods.  Yes, I am running for Forks Supervisor.

My walking campaign has given me the opportunity to discuss many issues facing our township with you, the people of Forks. 

With the election only two days away, I wanted to share some of what I've learned from you and your neighbors:

1. The most often said comment:  "We must watch every penny we spend."
2. The second most often said comment:  "Higher taxes are hurting us all!"
3. And, the third:  "We must limit future tax increases."

It's a simple message.  We need new leadership to bring innovative ideas to our Board of Supervisors.

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas on our blog or via email at billings2009@yahoo.com

Get Involved – Every Vote Counts

David Billings

Campaign Talk- Email Campaigns

I have been walking the neighborhoods since the last weekend. I got the opportunity to meet with fellow citizens and discuss our future. In fact, I have been stopped in the streets several times to hear your concerns.

Mostly though, I shared my ideas and listened to the thoughts of folks like you about our town and what to do to make it better. In fact, I welcome the verbal exchange of ideas that only personal contact can bring. I will not conduct an impersonal email campaign. It is just not my way of doing things.

We have very serious issues facing our township and we need serious people to solve them. Ever-increasing taxes and municipal costs burden us all here in Forks. You and I need to discuss these issues openly and candidly so we can do something about them. That is what my candidacy for Supervisor is about.

Please share you ideas on how to improve our township! I can be contacted at billings2009@yahoo.com

Get involved - Very Vote Counts!

Campaign Talk - Walking the Neighborhoods

I have been walking the neighborhoods this past weekend to meet the people of Forks Township. I had the chance to discuss the future of our township and how to solve the critical issues facing our community. I heard a very strong message during my travels. We must do better!

Many people have expressed concerns about future township growth, high property taxes, future tax increases, and trusting our local government to act in a fiscally responsible manner.  The people of our community want to elect supervisors that understand the township complex problems and have been actively involved in debating the future of our township. They are not impressed with single issue candidates.

So far, I have visited over 700 homes in our township. It has been quite a experience!!

If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas on our blog or via email at billings2009@yahoo.com

Get Involved – Every Vote Counts!

Campaign Talk - Open Government

You may be hearing some campaign talk about Open Government from the Forks Township Supervisor candidates. The following are  portions of my October 2007 blog entry.  As you can see, I have been advocating open government for many years.

Open Government is the ability of our township residents to have easy access to our local leadership, critical documents, and how our township operates on a daily basis. In other words, create a level of transparency between the Board of Supervisors, township operations and our residents.

For example, a Government that practices open access requires having all public documents on our web site, providing a free copy of the Comprehensive plan to our residents, easy access to developers’ proposals that affect our way of life, public display of all traffic studies, and access to the annual budget in a timely manner.

Each of the critical service organizations (Police, Fire, and EMS) should make a yearly report to the township residents to improve our understanding of these critical services and how we benefit as a community from these dedicated professionals. Yes, I will broach the unthinkable -- broadcasting our Board of Supervisor (BoS) meetings on the local cable community outlet channels. At least, the Supervisors should web cast all its BoS meetings on the township web site.

Additionally, I believe we should have occasional Board of Supervisor, Planning Commission, and Zoning meetings on Saturdays to increase the visibility of these critical boards and commissions to our community. Town hall meetings should become a norm in our township not just a campaign slogan.

It is very important that we proactively reach out to residents to get ideas on critical township issues. If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog.

Get Involved –Every Vote Counts!

 

Three weeks and counting - Campaign Finance Laws

So, I’ve taken this line of thought one step further: If a candidate skirts the rules now, in the Primary, can he/she be trusted to obey the law later when in the official capacity as Supervisor?

What? Supervisor Candidates are not following the rules? What rules? Actually some candidates are indeed violating state campaign finance law – right now – in our town.

There are campaign signs everywhere. You haven’t noticed, the print is very small, but most of those signs have the words “Paid for by the candidate” on them.

The words are there for a reason. Yes, Pennsylvania campaign laws do actually mandate that candidates for election must disclose on all their advertising, who exactly paid for that advertising. This is not optional. It really must be there.

Does it matter to you that a candidate cannot spend a little time to learn about the Pennsylvania campaign finance laws? Candidates have four sources of free information about campaign finance laws: the League of Women Voters candidate seminar, the county registrar’s office, the PA Dept of State and the candidates’ local county political party committees.

My question to Forks voters is:  Does it matter to you that a candidate cannot take the time to call these invaluable resources to learn the rules?

What will happen if these candidates get into office?   

Not caring enough to learn what the rules are is not my idea of a candidate’s strength. Is it yours?