Think before you leap

By EDWARD E. SADER

Unfortunately, while other municipalities were undertaking Comprehensive Planning, adapting business procedures to meet the changing times, cutting spending, communicating with the public, regionalizing services no longer affordable to keep operating alone and looking to how other municipalities were changing the approaches to operating, Honesdale was standing still. And due to this lack of vision, taxpayers may be asked to pay $1 more per $1,000 of assessed value.

Here’s how it happened.

In the late 1980’s, a major change was happening in Honesdale as it moved from a business influence to more control by the elected officials. Longstanding businesses from The Katz Underwear Company, Newmans, Murray Co., Katz Brothers Department Store and others were either shutting down or moving out. It left a gap where successful people who made it a priority to keep the town progressing forward were no longer here. The new business community leadership never really had the clout or the resources to continue to invest the money needed to sustain the community.

While many communities across our nation undertook ‘Vision 2000’ Initiatives with planning, reorganizing and funding their community’s vision for a better future, the elected officials of the time never took a look at the future of Honesdale. They simply lived day-to-day with a provincial mentality. They rejected comprehensive planning. They never enforced the National Building Codes to the limit of the law and never really addressed the boroughs future. They only spoke about the budgetary shortfall when it became time to adopt an unrealistic budget.

But while this was happening in the council room, something wonderful was happening in and around the borough: new and old organizations were focusing on putting Honesdale back on the map.

The Greater Honesdale Partnership, an organization with a vision to help regional businesses flourish and to make Honesdale a tourist destination, is making great forward strides and, along with the refocused Wayne County Industrial Development Corporation (WIDCO), has made the business community a powerful lobby once again. But the borough was just too busy to change with the times: no planning, no vision, no creativity and simply no intent on making Honesdale government fiscally responsible to the taxpayers.

So you wonder why they need to find a way to increase taxes. Why did they not communicate with the public sooner? Why did they not plan for the future? Why did they wait until after an election to announce this increase? Why, as an elected member of this council, was I told ten minutes before the meeting that it was going to be discussed? Why was it kept such a secret? Simple, Honesdale’s elected officials feel that they have no one to answer to, including the public, and can continue to do business as usual.

This time they are wrong and will be held accountable.

[Edward E. Sader is a Honesdale Borough councilman. He has served on the Borough Council for the last four years.]