Second in a series of two by Cliff Lewis
Ben Bamford—a Democrat running for Republican Tony Allen’s seat on the Lancaster Township Board of Supervisors—places public communication at the forefront of his case against the incumbent. According to Bamford, the existing Board has not done enough to keep residents informed about what goes on in Township Government: “Communication, I think, is sorely lacking on a number of levels,” Bamford said, adding that “because of the way that our township is configured, I think we need to spend even more time making sure that we are communicating.”
To improve this dynamic, Bamford recommended expanded use of the Township website, frequent e-mail updates, and the possible relocation of regular Supervisors meetings.
Allen maintained that the Township Government has not done anything to impede public knowledge or input: “We have a very open government, everyone can come to our meetings…, all of our documents are exposed, and we don’t do anything behind closed doors, unless it’s an executive session on personnel.” He added that any suggestion of poor transparency is “probably more to strike up a bit of energy than anything else.”
The Township’s handling of the police contract negotiations, Bamford asserted, was a prime example of insufficient communication. “The police issue has been worked on since October of 2008,” Bamford said, “and I think that, when you’re talking about an essential service for the residents of the township, you need to engage them early and often, and make sure that they completely understand the issues.” Bamford noted that the Fall 2008 and Winter 2009 Township newsletters made no mention of the police issue:
“This is one area where they have complete editorial control, and they chose not to put anything in this newsletter about [it],” Bamford asserted.
Public communication aside, Bamford also suggested that the Township did not adequately establish its requirements to the municipalities proposing police services: “It would have been very helpful had we created a request for proposals that outlined completely all of our concerns and questions and needs and wants, which we did not have.”
“I don’t think that anyone appreciated the way that the situation was handled,” Bamford said, “I know that we have created some animosity with the City.”
Allen disagreed that the Township’s relationship with Lancaster City has been damaged as a result of the contract switch. “This was strictly a business deal,” Allen asserted, “They priced themselves out of the market, so to speak.” He also stressed that the Board’s selection of Manheim Township police will increase services for Lancaster Township residents: “We will have [24/7] police coverage in Lancaster Township, which we did not have before. A lot of people are not aware of that,” Allen said.
Now without the decades-long police connection, Bamford recommends that Township officials meet with City officials to discuss future cooperative efforts: “Now that the contract is signed, and it’s created such an uproar with the City and the Township and Manheim Township, we really need to bring the City in, sit down and say, ‘Okay, moving forward, we’re neighbors: What are we going to do to work together?’”
Allen asserted that such coordination with the City already occurs through the Lancaster Inter-Municipal Committee.
One issue upon which both candidates agree is the importance of preserving the character and identity of Lancaster Township. For Allen, a three-term incumbent, this means maintaining a low-cost government that remains in its proper place: “The only thing you can do on this level is keep things going and make it a good community to live in.” For Bamford, this means keeping watch over developments that could spur traffic conditions and alter the quality of living in residential spaces: “We are not a heavily commercial township,” Bamford said, “We are built of neighborhoods and that’s what we need to focus on.”
As a citizen who attended all four meetings about the police issue, I find it hard to believe that someone is saying that the supervisors of Lancaster Township did not open all discussion to the general public.
As for the information not being in the news letter, it was better and fresher to [leave to] the local media. Both television and newspapers did a fine job of reporting the information to the general public and, if you really wanted to know about the issue, you had the right to show up to the meetings which notification of the time and place were on the townships web site.
I am sorry Mr. Bamford, but you remind me of someone who did not want to take a stand before the decision was made and now your going to second guess the agreement claiming that not enough was known. Did you take the time to come to a meeting [so] you might have learned something???