My Plan for New Harmony Council

My Plan for New Harmony 2024-2028

1) I will initiate a plan to review and reconsider the entirety of our Town Ordinances. This will be an ambitious plan that will be best taken one section at a time. It will require legal review, public input and involvement, and commitment to bringing our ordinances into the 2020s. Why will I propose this initiative?

a) Several of our ordinances are simply not necessary and/or obsolete. From time to time, these need to be removed. Unless governments are diligent, laws are added to the books, but seldom removed once they are dated or unnecessary. It is time to clean up the books.

b) I am convinced that many of our ordinances made sense 50 years ago when they were enacted but need to be reconsidered given today’s technology and communications. The guiding question should be: “If we were to begin with a blank slate, would this ordinance be something that makes sense for our town as it is today?” What made sense years ago may not make sense today.

c) Our zoning laws are often vague, contradictory, and impossible to understand. Are our nuisance ordinances adequate? Is it necessary for us to have certain sections of the town zoned the way they currently are? While I served as Zoning Administrator for the town, I found it impossible to comprehend why or what some of our zoning ordinances mandated what they do. It is time for a comprehensive review and update.

2) I will initiate a modernization plan that will include, 

a) Digitization of our Town’s Ordinances in order to make them easily accessible on our town’s website.

b) Modernization of our utility payment systems that will include on-line payments and credit card payments.

c) A progressive update to our Town’s website and Facebook systems that considers better communications between the town and citizens.

d) Digitization of our archived files from paper to electronic files. Should we have fire or some other catastrophe, our files would be lost.

3) Push forward with a five to ten year Comprehensive Plan. There is an old saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Strategic Plans are not written in stone. As time goes by, plans are impacted by changes that are impossible to foresee. But there is great benefit in considering what our priorities are and how to plan to accomplish various aspects of our future. For example, our Town’s Plan could involve the following questions,

a) What are the medium and long term plans for our water, gas, and sewer systems? Are we adequately planning for these investments or simply dealing with them when they come up?

b) Is expansion of Maple Hill Cemetery a priority for the town? Can the Town look at ways for the Cemetery to become its own entity without Town ownership?

c) Are there Economic Development Projects worthy of the Town’s investments for the long term benefit? Are there parcels of property best suited for additional housing development? Many years ago, the Town’s Plan considered the impact of the Bridge’s and the School’s closure. Are these assets still a priority from an economic development standpoint and if so, how can the Town have an impact on their development?

d) How can the various “players” in town better work together? USI, State Museums, RGE, Blaffer Trust and others play a crucial role when it comes to economic development. Does the Town play a role in creating positive synergy between everyone?

e) How does One New Harmony (Main Street Organization) and Town Council work together and assure a shared vision of the future?

f) Development of Long-Term Plans for our Parks and Trails.

I believe these kinds of initiatives are best led by an outside consultant that is well versed in the process, but short of that, this kind of initiative might be possible with limited outside help. Most importantly, all interested citizens should be included and feel a part of the process.

4) Work toward more inclusiveness and citizen input by changing Town Council Meetings from Tuesday mornings to a time more accessible to the public and develop a system where Council and other meetings can be live broadcasted and recorded.

5) Assure that the transition of our Clerk/Treasurer and Superintendent positions are staffed and trained adequately to provide seamless transition in these critical roles.