Dear Fellow Citizens of West Mayfield Borough:
In recognition of all who put me into office four years ago, I want to thank you for supporting me then and now as West Mayfield Borough council person. I campaigned on the pledge to help make the borough a better place to live. Four years later, West Mayfield is–in fact–a better community in so many ways.
During my term on council, I served as chair of the Ordinance Committee. I also served on the Parks & Playground Committee and Finance & Litigation Committee. I am pleased to say that in each of these areas, our community and local government has seen improvement and forward momentum. I am honored to have contributed to these and other efforts crucial to the borough’s well-being, including the creation of our very popular borough website.
However, in coming years our community will face persistent issues in dealing with an aging infrastructure, plunging property values, a declining tax base, and disturbing indifference from our county and state representatives. Additionally, of grave concern to all of us should be the long-term sustainability and stewardship of our local volunteer fire department.
In coming years we also face serious quality of life issues, such as rising crime rates, water quality issues, urban decay, and a lack of recreational activities for our children. We must also guard against the exploitation and unregulated use of our greatest community asset—West Mayfield Community Park.
As a private citizen, I will remain active in the community to help our elected officials manage the challenges that come before us. I encourage every citizen to do the same; your voice and vote matter.
Indeed, elections have consequences. And going forward, I wish the incoming council and mayor all of the best. God grant them the ability to govern our community wisely.
Sincerely,
Janet Helbig, West Mayfield Council