For Immediate Release
January 16, 2008
Contact:
Christine Cummings
Legislative Assistant
717-627-0036
Back

Senator Brubaker Completes Municipal Roundtable Series

Senator says meetings have been mutually beneficial

LITITZ – State Senator Mike Brubaker has completed his series of municipal roundtables with representatives of the local governments in the 36th District, the Senator announced today.

Today's meeting with West Cocalico and East Cocalico townships and Adamstown and Denver boroughs was the last of ten meetings Brubaker has convened since his Senate term began in January 2007.

"As a former township supervisor, I have firsthand experience with the way in which actions in state government can impact decisions made by local governments," Brubaker said. "In addition, I now serve as a member of the Senate Local Government Committee, which reviews and considers legislation dealing with municipal matters. For that reason, I wanted to establish reciprocal lines of communication with each municipality in the 36th District to give both sides a chance to ask questions and air concerns."

Brubaker said that he was very interested to learn about the issues and priorities currently facing townships and boroughs, such as transportation and road issues, other necessary infrastructure improvements, and community development, including both preservation and revitalization efforts.

In addition, several municipal officials indicated their support for state legislation to increase the bid limit thresholds for public purchases and contracts. "This feedback was a direct factor in my decision to co-sponsor a package of bills in the state Senate that will raise the bid limits, which have not been changed since 1990," Brubaker noted.

The legislation would increase the bid limit above which a municipality must go through the formal bidding process to $25,000, and increase the threshold for written or telephonic quotes to between $7,000 and $25,000. Brubaker is the prime sponsor of two of the 16 bills: those amending the Political Subdivision Joint Purchases Law (Senate Bill 1080) and the State Public School Building Authority Act (Senate Bill 1083.

"This will enable local governments to make relatively small purchases without the time and expense of advertising, thus making bidding more efficient and ultimately saving municipalities and their taxpayers money," Brubaker said.

Further, Brubaker indicated that he and his staff have been able to assist in addressing issues between local and state government that were raised during the roundtables, and have facilitated meetings between municipalities and state departments accordingly.

"The municipal roundtable series has had many mutual benefits, and I am looking forward to continuing our exchange of information and working on behalf of the 36th District local governments in the state Senate," Brubaker said.

In addition to meeting with constituents and reviewing comments and concerns that come in from the 36th District, Brubaker plans to hold meetings with school districts, business chambers and other organizations over the coming year so that he can better represent the District's interests in the General Assembly.