‘State of the County’ shows differing views
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery County leaders had differing opinions when addressing constituents during a virtual “State of the County” presentation by county commissioners.
“Today, I am happy to report that the State of Montgomery County is strong,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh.
“Even while battling a pandemic, we have never taken our eye off the future and continue to implement programs to ensure that our county will grow and thrive, be a welcoming place to anyone who wants to live or work here, and be able to provide the high quality services that our residents expect and deserve.”
In contrast, Commissioner Joe Gale said, “It may be easier ... to cherry pick facts and try to spin the State of the County into a positive light, however, for many residents in Montgomery County who have been suffering for over a year now, there’s no denying that the county is in a sad state of affairs.”
Gale, the lone Republican on the three-member board of commissioners, blasted Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the global public health crisis in its early days when a stay-at-home order mandated the closure of non-essential businesses.
“These lockdowns and restrictions have caused great strain on many Montgomery County businesses and have even forced many
small businesses to close their doors permanently, and as a result many people have lost their jobs and livelihoods,” he said.
The pandemic and related mitigation measures were discussed by commissioners in a look back at 2020. Since the pandemic officially arrived in Montgomery County on March 7, 2020 there’ve been 49,134 COVID-19 cases and 1,244 deaths reported.
In addition to organizing testing centers and distributing millions of federal and state funds for programs to assist residents and businesses, officials facilitated a presidential election season.
“2020 not only brought us a pandemic, but a historic general election,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr.
Lawrence, who also serves as chairman of the county’s election board, noted several upgrades to meet the demands of anticipated voter turnout rates and a high volume of mail-in ballots.
To do so, there were “secure drop boxes for mail-in ballots,” according to Lawrence who added that the county’s voter services office “invested more than $1.5 million in ballot processing equipment” and tripled the “staff to handle ballot processing and resident inquiries.”
He thanked those who participated in conducting the “secure and safe election” that was “certified with fidelity.” There was an 84.27 percent voter turnout rate, according to county election results, which Lawrence called a “record turnout.”
Gale disagreed with Lawrence’s assessment as he objected to the certification of both the 2020 primary and general elections.
“Furthermore, the 2020 elections in Montgomery County were botched,” Gale said. “In the primary election tens of thousands of ballots were sent out with wrong instructions. At least 2,000 wrong ballots were sent to voters.
“Many people never received their ballots and the return envelope was not secure and private due to the fact that the envelopes were transparent so anybody could see the voters ballot and how they voted,” he continued.
Looking ahead, Lawrence said the voter services department is “gearing up for this year’s election cycle,” and reminded voters that anyone interested can vote by mail, but must request a ballot by May 3.
During their remarks, officials touched on a number of ongoing county programs and projects.
Arkoosh praised the ongoing efforts of the roughly $415 million Montgomery County Justice Center Project, which is expected to break ground this spring. Arkoosh emphasized how the new vision is set to include “a modern county justice center” with a consolidated space for courtrooms, a “completely renovate the current courthouse facility” and reinventing “Hancock Square Park as an active and inviting, welcoming public park accessible to the entire community.”
There were several personnel additions including 10 new hires for the county’s pretrial services program. The county is also scouting for a director to lead the efforts on developing and implementing “proactive diversity equity and inclusion goals and strategies for Montgomery County,” Arkoosh said.
Infrastructure was also a priority for county officials as the county’s transportation grant program awarded grants for six projects. The final stage of the Lafayette Street Extension Project was completed, according to Lawrence, who added the initiative is slated to improve “highway access and mobility into downtown Norristown and Plymouth Township.”
Lawrence said funds are set aside to rehabilitate roads and bridges. Specifically, he said there are “20 bridge and road repaving projects in design, three under construction and 10 anticipated to begin construction.”
Additionally, 2.8 million people visited the county’s 6,000 acres of public open space and 60 miles of trails in the last nine months, according to Lawrence. Noting that areas were closed in the first few months of the pandemic, there was still active participation as 2 million people typically visit each year.
“Taking care of our mental and physical health is always important, but it is particularly vital over the past year,” Lawrence said.
As for the county’s finances, elected officials passed a $462 million budget in December 2020 for fiscal year 2021 budget, which included a 5-percent property tax increase.
“In a time where people are struggling due to a global pandemic they should not be burdened by additional financial hardship,” Gale said.
As the county’s vaccination campaign continues, 120,682 people have been partially vaccinated, and another 75,440 are fully inoculated, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The Montgomery County COVID-19 vaccine clinic has three locations: at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus, Norristown Area High School and another near the Willow Grove Park Mall.
In addition to the $145 million the county received as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act last year, another $161 million infusion was made available in financial assistance by way of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
“After a year of battling the pandemic in Montgomery County, our efforts are shifting to the future to support a robust economic recovery,” Arkoosh said.
As their comments concluded, all three officials said they remained hopeful, but each struck a different note.
“It is my hope at this time next year when we address the state of the county we can say the county has made improvements in public health, employment, education, Second Amendment rights and election integrity,” Gale said. “All these improvements should be achieved without another property tax hike. I am committed to working toward ensuring Montgomery County sees better days ahead.”
“Here at the county, we remain resilient as we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lawrence said. “We are committed to providing the programs and services our residents need and deserve now and into the future.”
“Together we have made it through a really hard year and even though the work continues we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Arkoosh said. “We will get through this together.”
“Here at the county, we remain resilient as we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to providing the programs and services our residents need and deserve now and into the future.” — Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr.
“It may be easier for me to cherry pick facts and try to spin the State of the County into a positive light, however for many residents in Montgomery County who have been suffering for over a year now, there’s denying that the county is in a sad state of affairs.” — Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale