As we enter the last week of September, attention can now focus on local elections. Council and mayor elections are coming up for the local boroughs with township supervisor spots appearing in the township areas. This article will examine the upcoming election issues for the surrounding communities with focus on Leechburg, West Leechburg, Hyde Park, Allegheny township and Gilpin township area. 

In Leechburg there are currently four council seats that are up for election with three candidates appearing on the ballot. According to Armstrong county primary election results. Only one incumbent Chuck Pascal is appearing as a democratic candidate. Dina Blake will appear on the Republican ballot and Michelle Ferretti will appear on the Democratic ballot. That leaves at a minimum one spot that will be decided by write in candidates. It is also rumored that there may be a fifth spot appearing in the near future with an incumbent possibly leaving.

Issues for Leechburg voters to consider:

·How to obtain 24-hour police coverage. What went wrong with the recent study to form new regional police department,

·Improve transparency and access to borough information in the modern era of websites and internet access.

·Review of perceived nepotism of hiring practices/

·Review compensation packages of contracts that award higher salaries for street crew laborers than for police officers.

·Review and scrutiny of the sewer user fund as a means to transfer dollars to  borough general fund via loans from sewer fund to general fund. Have all funds borrowed from the sewer user fund to the general fund been repaid back to the sewer user fund.

· Review of sewer user fee structure as the first state loan for sewage line separation was paid off within the past year or so and the annual collection amount for the first loan was approximately $120 per household per year, Will the borough  subsequently adjust the amount of sewer user fund fee to now reflect only collecting funds to pay for the second loan which should amount to approximately $216 per year per household. If the borough was collecting an excess amount of funds for the sewer user fund, how long had that been going on for and how were the excess funds utilized,

· Review of the borough’s willingness to engage with our neighboring municipalities of Allegheny township, Gilpin township and West Leechburg as well as our borough's. willingness to engage and work with the school district and county government. What efforts are being made to market the community and attract and keep residents and businesses.

Review of how open the borough is to new businesses and other types of development in the community with a focus on. Is it being made too complicated to open a new business in town.

· Review of the practice of what may appear to be selective enforcement of local nuisance ordinances regarding property upkeep. Currently code enforcement officer is only permitted to investigate written and signed complaints.

· What is the status of vacant and abandoned property committee.

  Review of how to get more community members involved in borough affairs to have a more varied representations of the changing demographics of the town

 As there are also multiple other issues that may need to be looked at within the borough, perhaps it is time for a new younger generation of our residents to get active and involved in the local politics so that we may have new and fresh ideas that will challenge the ongoing parochialism of our long-time municipal leaders who appear to be unyielding and unwelcoming of new ideas and new people. 

Now is the time to reach out  to your local republican or democratic party leaders and voice the desire to run as a write in candidate for council or mayor as the current mayor is running unopposed.